JOHOR BARU, March 31 — A Johor parliamentary foundation chief claimed that an Umno division has been politicising the issue of donations in light of the Covid-19 crisis.
Pasir Gudang Foundation chairman Liow Cai Tung said she was informed that the donation by the Pasir Gudang Foundation will be presented by Pasir Gudang Umno.
“I am also sad to see this happen because Umno has taken advantage of the people's welfare to play a political role and has affected the work of the foundation’s staff,” said Liow in a statement today.
Liow, who is also DAP’s Johor Jaya assemblyman, urged Pasir Gudang Umno to refrain from politicising such issues at a very challenging time for the people of Johor, who are battling the Covid-19 outbreak.
“This is not a good time for politics. The welfare of the people must always be given priority,” said former Johor executive committee chairman under the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.
Liow said that there is a restriction in the process of distributing the donations as the list of recipients needs approval from the Johor Housing and Local Government Committee and the district office.
“I hope the state government can help expedite the approval so that donations can be made to recipients quickly,” she said.
Earlier, Liow said the approved donations were the result of the Pasir Gudang Foundation’s efforts to look into the welfare of the constituency’s community.
“As a result of the discussion, the foundation’s board of trustees unanimously approved 2,000 sets of basic necessities to be delivered to the less fortunate in Pasir Gudang, where 1,000 are meant for the first phase and the remainder for the second phase.
“Subsequently, the Pasir Gudang Foundation presented this news in their Facebook page by way of application to make the registration process more transparent,” explained Liow.
Separately, Johor Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) secretary Mohd Faizul Mohd Salleh advised the Pasir Gudang Umno division to stop their unprovoked attacks on two PH leaders who are also their respective parliamentary foundation chairmen.
The recent issue involves Liow and also Amanah’s Kota Iskandar assemblyman Dzulkefly Ahmad, who is also the Iskandar Puteri Foundation’s chairman.
Both, who were appointed during the PH’s state administration, have been asked by Pasir Gudang Umno to resign as chairmen in a posting on the division’s Facebook page yesterday.
Mohd Faizul said such “attacks” should be stopped, as the focus is on helping the people.
“If it is the case of money being disputed by the (Pasir Gudang) Umno division, then it is an embarrassment as the NGOs and other individual bodies are able to mobilise aid to all in the state.
“The fact is that Umno has to learn to be mature in managing their capabilities,” said Mohd Faizul when contacted by Malay Mail on the issue.
