Two Youth wing leaders from Harapan component parties have come out against Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar for his criticism that Pakatan Harapan was formed to enable its leaders - Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim - to gain power, rather than to seek truth and justice.

“This (statement on Sunday) shows that Khairy is worried that BN will lose power in the 14th general election (GE14) as he is unable to offer any solutions to problems faced by the country and the people.

“Instead, he is playing on cheap propaganda to distract the public’s attention from real issues,” Amanah Youth deputy chief Faiz Fadzil said in a statement today.

PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad took a similar stance, questioning if Khairy was intimidated by how former foes Mahathir and Anwar have joined forces.

“Khairy’s obsession towards Anwar-Mahathir shows he and his Umno-BN friends are in fear. They are afraid because they know this reconciliation, after almost two decades (of animosity), will topple Umno-BN in GE14.

“History has shown that new changes will come when a country’s leaders put aside their differences and prioritise the needs of the people. We cannot reject anyone who is willing to accept the reformasi (reformation) agenda and changes that will benefit people,” Nik Nazmi said in a separate statement.

'Harapan is for the rakyat'

Faiz argued that Harapan was established for the right reasons.

“Harapan is not a coalition for any leader’s personal agenda… but for the objective of fighting for the rakyat and saving the country.

“Harapan was established on Sept 22, 2015… when Mahathir was still in Umno. Khairy should check his facts before releasing propaganda that will confuse the people,” he added.

Plus, the opposition coalition has promised to abolish the goods and services tax (GST), stabilise petrol prices, fight corruption at its roots, form a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal and rehabilitate the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) within 100 days of forming the government.

'Umno betrayed the nation'

This proves that Harapan was focused on solving problems faced by the country, Faiz said.

“BN, on the other hand, has not acted against corruption, especially by the prime minister and his cronies involved in 1MDB,” he added.

Khairy, who is also youth and sports minister, went on to accuse Mahathir and Anwar of betraying their former political party, Umno, and accused them of trying to divide the party as well as the Malay people.

In response, Amanah strategy director Dzulkefly Ahmad said yesterday that it was out of protest against “Najib’s kleptocratic government”, which has betrayed the nation, that many former Umno leaders had left the party.

Dzulkefly also advised Khairy against stooping too low to defend Najib, lest he “reduces himself to his wannabe successor Jamal (Md Yunos, the Umno Sungai Besar Umno division chief)”.