YOURSAY | ‘Only the rakyat can keep Umno from forming the next govt.’

COMMENT | Flood polls show govt's cynical priorities

OCT: Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob’s 'Keluarga Malaysia' (Malaysian Family) is a facade to fool the rakyat that it is a caring government when in fact the government is so inhumane as to call elections during the monsoon season.

The Meteorological Department has warned that this year’s monsoon will be fierce. The YDP Agong has advised the rakyat to be prepared. The government thought otherwise. Instead of investing time and resources to prepare for floods and landslides, they are preparing for elections.

The government is foolhardy to prioritise elections over floods. The government thinks human lives are expandable with no value except their votes.

The current term of this government is coming to an end, and after having a backdoor government for over two years, another few more months is of little consequence.

There is no necessity to push for an election during monsoon season except for the obvious reason that Umno politicians are desperate to stay in power so as to plunder with impunity and avoid prosecutions. Those under detention may even get a free pass out of jail.

The rakyat can clearly see how corrupted and crooked these Umno politicians are. Let's put all our differences of race and religion aside and stop Umno from being the government. This is a clarion call.

We have ourselves to blame if they win. We must all vote. It's the least the rakyat should do.

Hrrmph: Not only Budget 2023 is an election manifesto, it is an "en masse" offer of a bribe. They brought forward the budget speech so that they can quickly dissolve Parliament. They are likely hoping that the general election can be held before the worse of the monsoon is upon us.

With that kind of timeline, they know very well that there is no way the budget will be voted on. The only way is if they are voted back into power.

In days of yore, we hear of voters being offered money to vote for certain parties, mostly surreptitiously. Those days, we had carnivals of food and concerts. But under jailed former premier Najib Abdul Razak's watch, any pretence to gentlemanly conduct was dropped.

This last week of events takes the cake. The timing of the budget and almost immediate dissolution of Parliament is nothing more than an offer of a bribe to the whole country that if we vote for them, each of us gets such and such amount.

The impunity with which it is done leaves me breathless. How do we fight corruption and all manner of ills besetting this country when these people who make up the government see nothing wrong in what they are doing?

They are openly and without shame using all the powers vested in them as well as the whole government machinery to enable this.

Cogito Ergo Sum: No one in the current cabinet can hold a candle to former minister Rafidah Aziz.

Her summation of this administration is an astute, damning indictment of a group pretending to be a ‘government’. In reality, it’s a den of thieves.

To hold elections during the annual monsoon season is not just insane but is a calculated ploy to undermine voter turnout.

But this time, the armed forces can no longer be considered a fixed deposit. Their veterans and current members are treated worse than ‘pendatangs’ (immigrants).

Umno/BN will be humiliated very badly in this GE. Go, Umno/BN go. And never come back.

Pensieve: The Almighty can only save us if we ourselves make the right choices and do the right thing.

Rafidah, besides venting in Malaysiakini like us ordinary mortals, a powerful person like yourself should list actions you can take to help the nation.

For instance, you and your family could go to the Malay heartlands and educate the senior citizens there or the struggling urban folks in low-cost flats. Imagine the great publicity and the pull of your personality. Put it to good use and help save Malaysia.

PKC: If I am not mistaken, then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad did it before (in 1999) - announcing the national budget which was followed by Parliament dissolution. Rafidah, you were part of his cabinet. So, isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Purple Occa 8200: It was so obvious what Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did. It’s not about the legitimacy of the government, the people’s mandate or even the rakyat. It’s all about him and his court cases. And if BN wins, he becomes the PM to rule, reap and rob the nation further.

I hope the voters will remember Umno/BN’s selfish motive for GE15. Please vote them out to save this nation and the future of the next generation.

Kenny Tan: It is time for the rakyat to show who’s the real boss of this country. They hope you would not come out to vote. So go out to vote this time, rain or shine.

Show them you’re the boss. Show these unqualified politicians that it is time that they pack up and leave.

You have the power to sack them. Will you do it?

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