MUNYONYO (Uganda), 28 July 2009: The federal government has never victimised any state, including opposition-ruled Kelantan, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said the federal government had carried out its responsibilities as stipulated in the Federal Constitution.
For instance, he said, the federal government has allocated RM7 billion to implement various development programmes in Kelantan under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
“And we have not neglected Kelantan, as we have given an easy loan of RM600 million to assist the Kelantan government carry out its clean water supply projects.
“No state has been victimised or not given any allocation. In other words, the federal government has performed its responsibility towards the state governments,” he told Malaysian journalists covering the 19th Global Smart Partnership Dialogue 2009 here today.
On Kelantan Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s statement that the Kelantan PAS government only wanted to work with the federal government and not with Umno, Muhyiddin said state-federal government cooperation was unavoidable.
“The BN’s policy is development for all,” he said, adding that BN-state government cooperation could not be separated from federal government-state government cooperation.
He said cooperation at the government level only without political cooperation was not feasible and had never happened before.
“There can only be federal-state government cooperatioon if there is some political understanding between both parties,” he said.
“It’s up to them (the Kelantan PAS government). We have good intentions and we want to do good … not for the leaders but for the nation.
“When we say something, he (Nik Aziz) will say something else … sometimes I don’t know what to make out of what he says,” Muhyiddin added. — Bernama
Nicholas Aw says
[…] another absurd statement. Are the people to believe what the DPM said — that the federal government has never victimised any state including opposition-ruled Kelantan? Please Mr DPM, don’t put the rakyat’s intelligence to the test. You mean that opposition-ruled states like Kedah, Penang and Selangor are being treated equally?
Please allow me to narrate a true story about mission schools since education comes under your purview. It is public knowledge that mission schools have always been considered step children of the Education Ministry. The irony is that almost all of the teachers in these schools are government officers. But because of your policy these teachers do not even have the luxury of sitting on cushioned chairs. The chairs and desks found in the staff room of mission schools are plastic chairs of the type used by hawkers peddling their food. There are many more shortcomings, but I shall not indulge in them. The point I’m trying to prove is that Teacher A in a fully-aided school enjoys first class amenities whereas Teacher B (same rank and status as Teacher A) in a mission school is treated […] with primitive amenities.
So, Mr-DPM-cum-Education-Minister, if you practise double standards in your own school system which you manage, how are the people going to believe your […] story of equal treatment for all states whether BN ruled or [PR] ruled? Please don’t simply make a statement without thinking as it further destroys your credibility.