Umno Cheras divisional Chief Datuk Seri Syed Ali Alhabshee’s response to my statement dated Nov 20 shows one simple fact—that he is not bold enough to raise 1MDB issue at the Umno General Assembly.
In order to hide this fact, he has chosen to make baseless attacks against me and DAP. The attacks include the allegation that I have in the past insulted the position of Malays and Muslims.
It is not surprising that he has not backed his attacks with any evidence because his allegation is a complete lie and there is no way he can produce any evidence.
Two days ago, in response to Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein ‘s revelation that among the topics which will be debate at the upcoming Umno Assembly will include single-stream schools versus vernacular schools and the role of government-linked companies in strengthening the Bumiputera economy, I have raised three issues :-
- What is it that Umno Assembly wishes to achieve by making vernacular schools a main debate topic and in the context of single stream versus vernacular school?
- If Umno members are keen and concerned about issues of primary school education, they can always discuss rationally why national schools have failed to become the main choice of parents or why, as recently highlighted by former Prime Minister, that more and more Umno ministers and leaders are sending their children to private or international schools, whether local or foreign.
- The issues related to 1 MDB and raised by DAP and Tun Mahathir are very serious issues which Umno delegates should be bold to take up in their debates.
Is it a tactic to try to blame the vernacular schools for the government’s failed policies to bring about genuine national unity or for BN’s unsatisfactory electoral performance in the last two general elections?
Syed Ali has chosen to ignore the first two issues but has accused DAP of politicising the 1 MDB issue to tarnish the Prime Minister’s image.
Why has Syed Ali chosen to ignore what I said in my statement?—that in September, former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir has raised questions about the heavy debt and usage of funds at 1MDB?
Among the issues raised by him were that:-
- 1MDB has paid above market prices in their purchase of power plants from Genting and Ananda Krishnan
- it has a debt of around RM38 billion after just five years in operation
- that the money for 1MDB is not from the country’s surpluses but billions of ringgit of debt that has added to the already high national debt
- the government will not have the ability to help pay the 1MDB debt as it is already facing a deficit budget problem
Is Syed Ali going to allege that Mahathir has politicised 1MDB issue to tarnish Najib’s image?