PAS: Muhyiddin needs to keep the Malays confused

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS leaders are unperturbed by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s sneaky and deliberate manipulation of their statements.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said that Muhyiddin savours the role of instigator and will manipulate, from time to time, statements made by him and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders.
According to Khalid, Muhyiddin needs to keep the Malays in a constant state of confusion which will then enable Umno-BN to retain its place in the 13th general election.

Khalid was referring to Muhyiddin recently pitting PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang against him on the issue of discounts and subsidies on housing and commercial properties.
“Before this he (Muhyiddin) pitted PAS president against Tony Pua (DAP's PJ Utara MP). Now he’s doing the same with me and Hadi.

“But the fact is there is no discord. Hadi and I have the same views. We both want to help the Malays, the poor Malays not the rich Malays and bumiputeras,” he said.

He said Muhyiddin had his own agenda in playing up the bumiputera 7 to 10 percent discount on luxury and commercial properties worth RM500,000 to RM2 million.

“He loves it if more Malays are poor because this way the rich can continue receiving more subsidies.

"They keep instigating issues to keep the Malays in a constant state of confusion and upheaval,” Khalid said.

Protecting the rich

The majority of the grassroots Umno leaders living in low cost houses don’t see that the rich Malays are benefitting from the 7 percent discount on properties worth RM500,000, he said.
“Only the rich can afford to buy a RM500,000 house. The poor can’t. This is what the section of Umno leaders living in PPRT (low cost) housing cannot see.

“They just support the instigators not realising that others are enjoying the subsidy and not them,” Khalid was quoted as saying in Harakahdaily.
He also questioned the rationale behind Muhyiddin’s defense of the discount and subsidies policy.

“How do we eradicate poverty among Malays if Muhyiddin continues to defend the subsidy and discounts only for the benefit of the rich?” he asked.

He that if Muhyiddin was indeed the people’s champion, he should then campaign for a bigger discount and subsidy on low and medium cost properties.

Earlier this week Muhyiddin had challenged Khalid to support Abdul Hadi’s stand on the bumiputera discount on the basis of the Malay struggle.

The challenge came to pass after Khalid took the 'middle road' by merging Abdul Hadi’s suggestion with Pua’s for maximum benefit to the low and middle income Malay community.

13/08/10

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