KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) strategy and policy deputy chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan hit out at Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Moktar Radin today over his statement that the high obesity rate in the country was due to economic prosperity.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Wan Saiful said Bung Moktar and other Umno MPs were “lacking in class and intellect”.
“His remark that Malaysians are fat and therefore prosperous is simply ridiculous and shows how detached Umno has become from the hardship faced by common people like you and me,” he said.
Wan Saiful said Malaysia, labelled the fattest country in Asia, was currently facing a major health crisis that was straining its resources.
“More importantly, the World Health Organisation's report pointed out (the) issue of malnutrition amongst children. As an MP, he should ask himself why this is happening, instead of making ridiculous statements like this.
“The report indicates that Malaysians do not have access to healthy and wholesome food. This forces them to resort to unhealthy, convenient food that are not nutritious”, he added.
Wan Saiful also took a swipe at the dietary options available to top Umno politicians over their consumption of expensive food items, which he claimed was out of reach for most Malaysians.
“Bung Moktar needs to spend some time walking in the shoes of the rakyat instead of shooting off his mouth and making a mockery of parliament. We need better people in parliament,” he said.
Bung Moktar’s statement was in response to Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s comment that that the rakyat was suffering.
“The Opposition leader says that many do not have the opportunity to work and lack a healthy diet ― but I think this is fake news.
“There is no such thing. What I see is that our nation is blessed with abundance of food,” Bung Moktar said when debating the motion of thanks on the Royal Address in the Dewan Rakyat today.
