“No Need PhD to Know Rakyat is Suffering” – Opposition Criticise Maslan’s GE15 Remark

These MPs didn’t spare any kind words for Ahmad Maslan following his remarks yesterday!

Recently appointed Barisan Nasional Secretary-General, Datuk Seri Ahmad bin Maslan faced almost universal criticism yesterday regarding a remark that he made during an UMNO Tanjung Malim event.

In case you missed it, the MP for Pontian claimed that uneducated Malaysians won’t understand why GE15 must be held as soon as possible. He also said that only PhD holders will fully understand why GE15 needs to happen soon despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Understandably, such remarks drew widespread criticism on Ahmad Maslan and was seen as narcissistic and out of touch with the general public. Furthermore, Ahmad Maslan and UMNO’s persistence in pushing for a General Election during a pandemic have been lambasted by opposition MPs.

Taking to Twitter, MUDA founder and MP for Muar, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman criticised his fellow Johorian and said that now is not the time to think about power. Moreover, the former Youth and Sports Minister also advised Ahmad Maslan to be responsible and take care of the rakyat’s welfare first.

“You don’t need a PhD to know that the rakyat is suffering, hungry and hurting… Covid-19 crisis is getting worse, the flood crisis haven’t been resolved.. Please, let’s do work for the rakyat first.”

Tak perlu ada PhD untuk tahu rakyat sekarang sedang susah, lapar dan sakit.

Jangan 24/7 fikir soal kuasa sahaja. Dah jadi kerajaan sekarang, ambillah tanggungjawab dan jaga rakyat.

Krisis COVID makin parah, krisis banjir belum cari jalan nak selesai.

Buat kerja dululah. pic.twitter.com/mxcQiRMiyM

— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) January 9, 2021

Meanwhile, from one Secretary-General to another, DAP veteran and MP for Bagan, Lim Guan Eng labelled Ahmad Maslan’s remarks as ‘derogatory’ and showed how disconnected PN leaders are from the suffering of the ordinary rakyat. In a statement released yesterday, the former Finance Minister said,

“Malaysians are sick and tired of endless politicking by PN and want the permanent political crisis in the government to end.”

MP for Bangi, Ong Kian Ming also took a jab at Ahmad Maslan’s remarks and tweeted,

“I think the pemarut kelapa (coconut grater) is far more intelligent in comparison to this GPA 3.8 guy….”

This was in reference to how Ahmad Maslan said that the coconut grater as not having a high enough education to understand the necessity of holding GE15 soon. 3.8 GPA is also a reference to Ahmad Maslan who famously said in 2015 that he scored 3.8 GPA when he was an MBA student in UKM.

Saya rasa budak pemarut kelapa jauh lebih bijak berbanding dgn si GPA 3.8 ni… https://t.co/cOAROfQjKe

— Ong Kian Ming ?? (@imokman) January 9, 2021

Well, it was not only opposition MPs that took a swipe at Ahmad Maslan, but a government MP as well, albeit not in regards to his PhD remarks. As reported by NST, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin said last Friday that those who called for elections during the pandemic as having a ‘pisang goreng’ mentality.

Although he did not mention Ahmad Maslan by name, the remark was believed to be aimed at him. In fact, during the same UMNO Tanjung Malim event which Ahmad Maslan made his latest infamous remarks, he said that they have been issues between himself and Khairy Jamaluddin in regards to ‘pisang goreng’.

Also read: Uneducated Malaysians Won’t Understand Why GE15 Must Be Held ASAP, Says Ahmad Maslan