NIBONG TEBAL, Aug 20 — Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob today said the opposition will continue making allegations that the government is selling off the country just because of the investment from China in the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) project.
He said the overall package of the project was not owned by the foreigners as the government had set a condition that 30 per cent of the tender must be given to Bumiputera contractors.
“They (opposition) panicked when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak managed to bring so much new investments into the country, hence the various allegations.
“In the past, when we had the Look East Policy, they didn’t say that we sold the country to the Japanese. Even the Petronas Twin Towers were built by foreigners, one by a Japanese company, and the other by a Korean contractor. Did they say we sold the country’s sovereignty back then? No, they didn’t,” he said when opening the Nibong Tebal Umno Division Delegates Conference here today.
Also present were State Umno chairman and Nibong Tebal Umno chief Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman.
As such, Ismail Sabri said Umno need to be more aggressive in countering the allegations hurled by the opposition, especially through the social media.
“We cannot leave it unaddressed for too long because if we do, the allegations will be deemed true. That is why I call on the young Umno Youth and Puteri Umno members, who are more social media-savvy, to use it to give explanation to the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri, who is Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the ECRL project had benefitted the national education sector as 750 GiatMara trainees would undergo training under the project, while Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) would set up a new faculty offering rail engineering programme. — Bernama
