KUALA LUMPUR: MUDA’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has taken a swipe at Umno for failing to criticise the government in Parliament despite being critical of the Perikatan Nasional administration in the run-up to the Parliament sitting and on social media.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Syed Saddiq (Independent- Muar) urged Umno MPs not to be afraid to speak up against the PN government, warning them that the people were watching their moves.
“When we look at this PN govt, don’t kid ourselves, this is not a Bersatu government alone. Where’s Umno? In social media, they make so much noise, but in the Dewan Rakyat, they’re all quiet, they don’t say anything.
“Don’t be afraid. If they want to threaten you, let them. We fight back (Kita lawan). They (Umno MPs) say on social media that the government has failed , but in the Dewan Rakyat they are quiet, they leave.
“If you want to oppose the government, oppose properly. The people are watching and evaluating you,” he said.
His stinging attack was aimed at Umno leaders like former prime minister Najib Razak and party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan among others, who have been critical of the government on social media.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was absent today because he is Covid-19 positive, had previously announced that the party was withdrawing its support for prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
On Sunday, former Umno man Zaid Ibrahim had challenged Umno MPs to decide whether or not they will continue backing Muhyiddin, either by sitting among the government or opposition backbenchers.
Earlier, Syed Saddiq was speaking on the government’s failure to deliver 150,000 laptops to B40 students for online learning, which were supposed to be distributed in early February.
He said that when opposition MPs queried the relevant ministries on this, they were given the runaround instead.
“The finance ministry will say the matter is under the education ministry, then the education ministry will say that it’s under the finance ministry. It’s not hard. It’s just 150,000 laptops, but even that is hard for them to coordinate.”