KUCHING, Feb 4 — Sarawak Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah today reminded Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Chong Chieng Jen to concentrate on his job of solving the rising cost of living instead of encroaching on other ministries.
“He is looking after domestic trade, and yet he is always talking about Pan Borneo Highway and corruption which come under the purview of other ministries,” he told reporters after meeting tourism industry players here.
Karim was responding to Chong pointing out Malaysia’s 10-place improvement on the Corruption Perception Index this year.
Instead of talking about the CPI, he said Chong should be talking about what he was doing in the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to reduce the prices of essential goods.
“We want to see what he is doing so that his ministry can overcome the problems faced by the people due to the rising prices of food items,” Karim said, adding that there is no need for Chong to glorify the good work of other ministries.
“The only thing he knows that has gone down is the price of shuttlecock. The price of shuttlecock has gone down; that he knows because he plays badminton.
“But the prices of other goods have gone up. You just go to any shop. Prices of hot drinks like kopi-O and hot chocolate, have gone up,” Karim said.
At a recent Chinese New Year gathering organised by Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) and attended by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Chong listed the CPI improvement as evidence of the coalition’s fight against corruption.
He had said corruption was declared as the public enemy number one when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the prime minister.
Chong, who is also state PH chairman, had said the level of corruption in Malaysia was reduced under Ahmad Badawi, but then worsened before this was reversed under PH.
