Government using Malay daily to camouflage its poor economic management and failed policies, says DAP sec-gen Lim Guan Eng.
PETALING JAYA: DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng said the recent price hike of essential items and the controversial Utusan Malaysia report that Christians are conspiring to install a Christian Prime Minister is linked.
“It’s a deliberate and desperate attempt by BN-Umno government to divert attention from the real issue. Its poor economic mismanagement and policy failures have resulted in the prices of petrol and sugar to go up,” said the Lim, the Penang Chief Minister.
Lim said the recent rise in the price of petrol and sugar have “exposed the real malicious motive” behind Umno leaders’ purported alarm over allegations published by Utusan that a Christian conspiracy is afoot to turn Malaysia into a Christian state.
Instead of explaining the price rises, Utusan had “taken the easy way out” by designing a “dangerous lie against the Christians, an easy target to bully”, said Lim.
He was referring to the hike of RON97 petrol announced last Wednesday, to RM2.90 – up 20 sen since the last increase in April. Five days later, the price of sugar went up by 20 sen to RM2.30 per kilogramme, a 10% rise from the price of RM2.10 per kg.
The price hikes are a part of the government’s plan, announced last year to reduce its expenditure on subsidies.
BN’s double standard
Lim dismissed claims that the latest price increase resulting from a cut in sugar subsidy would enable the government to channel RM116.6 million saved to development projects.
He slammed the government for this, saying he doubted that the RM116.6 million is likely to go towards development projects due to the lack of transparency and rampant corruption.
“Corruption is rampant with no open tender for the proposed new RM53 million MRT project and refusal to investigate the RM52 billion missing bumi/Malay shares scandal,” he said.
He said that the government stands to save RM19 billion if it ends gas subsidies to independent power producers (IPPs).
He quoted a recent United Nations report which said that Malaysia experienced a moderate slide in economic growth partly due to the lack of political will to carry out reforms.
Lim added that if the government fails to punish and stop Utusan’s “campaign of lies that Islam is under threat”, it will only make the Christians, who are helpless, unable to defend themselves.
“It will make them an object of hatred and incite Muslims against the minority Christians. Such double standard by BN leaders add to the suspicion that Utusan enjoys full immunity as an Umno-owned paper,” he said.
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