KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — PKR leaders have corrected PPBM supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan for saying the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was sidelining the needs of the rural poor in order to chase institutional reforms that “urban elites” favour.

Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin agreed there was a disconnect between the urban rich and the rural poor.

However, she told Malay Mail it was not right to portray the government as only listening to the “urban elite”, and said using the term was also unhelpful.

“It’s incorrect to state that the government has been listening to only urban elite, and that we have purportedly ignored the poor rural Malaysians. Firstly, the terminology urban elite is an outdated concept.

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“There are both urban poor and rural poor. Not all those who are living in the urban areas are elitist or well to do.

“Secondly, there are so many new policies and packages that was introduced by the PH government targeted for the poor, both in urban and rural area,” said the housing and local government minister.

Some of the examples she gave include Peka 40, My Salam, Rebat Electric and her own initiatives under her portfolio which includes the Affordable Housing Programme aiming at providing good homes at reasonable prices and the National Community Policy to uplift the urban poor.

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Zuraida further questioned why Wan Saiful presented institutional reforms and focussing on the poor as mutually exclusive pursuits.

The PPBM leader asserted that the PH government was heavily influenced by the urban elite at the expense of the grassroots in urban and rural areas, praising PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for highlighting the matter in an interview recently.

According to Zuraida, institutional reforms on basic human rights and judicial independence can take place at the same time as uplifting the rural community, and one did not negate the other.

PKR’s former Padang Serai MP N. Surendran concurred on Twitter.

The Lawyers for Liberty advisor also said Wan Saiful’s belief to be unfounded.

“Nonsense and spin... We can do both — carry out institutional reforms and at the same time solve bread and butter problems. The one does not exclude the other.

“Why sneer at right-thinking Malaysians who want institutional reforms and blame them for any poor government failure to deliver to the rural poor,” Surendran said.

However, PKR communication director Fahmi Fadzil suggested that Wan Saiful and Anwar’s view may be because Malaysians in rural areas might not understand the benefits of such reforms as they do not directly experience them.

“The reforms implemented thus far have been fundamental and substantive, from widening the role of Parliament to deal with the systemic rot within FELDA and Tabung Haji, as well as renegotiating major deals such as the ECRL.

“Even so, I believe ordinary Malaysians and especially those who live in rural areas have not felt or understood the benefits of these reforms. Such major course corrections will only be felt in two to three quarters’ time, which is often too far away for our imagination,” said Fahmi.

He also pointed out that Anwar was consistent regarding the needs of the B40.

Fahmi acknowledged Wan Saiful’s remarks by saying these should drive PH lawmakers and Putrajaya to ensure that reforms are felt by Malaysians across the board.

Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Oh Ei Sun also supported Wan Saiful’s observation, calling it the “gospel truth”.

He also said the term “urban elites” was more accurately “NGO elites”, noting that some activists were already influencing the government after winning on various platforms during the 14th General Election.

“His (Wan Saiful) statement was a gospel truth. I call them NGO elites (the activists who has influence in the government through various platforms, including some members of parliament),” said Oh.

When asked about lawyer Siti Kassim who criticised Wan Saiful and Anwar’s statements on PH’s public approval rating that fell to 39 per cent in March, he said she perfectly described the symptoms of urban elitism.

Oh noted that Siti Kassim called out the failure to communicate well with grassroots, power struggles among the ruling elites, and the desire to appease conservative Malays for political support, which was often at the expense of popularity with urban and non-Malay supporters.

“So Siti and Anwar are actually talking about the same things, just expressing them differently,” Oh pointed out.