KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 ― Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) today unveiled its aspirations for the Johor state polls, which included getting the country back on track and eliminating what it labelled a “shameless culture” that is allegedly the legacy of Barisan Nasional (BN).
Among many other aspirations the party has for the people of Johor, party chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there are three things which he wanted to highlight and will be the focus of the party during the state polls.
“There are many other aspirations for the people but these three things: to bring the country back on track for the people, fight corruption and to eliminate a 'shameless culture' which Barisan Nasional introduced ― we want to prioritise,” he said during the launch campaign here.
Explaining further, Dr Mahathir said the country right now is living by the “shameless culture” which was introduced by BN under Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“The country is now deviated by a theory (hujah) brought about by the opponent party, by BN-Najib, which says that we don’t need to feel shameful.
“What is there to be ashamed of? Those who did this are our leaders and our leaders are Malay-Muslims. There is no need to feel ashamed.
“If he stole chicken, stole money, we would not consider it as a crime, because this is something that does not bring shame to us,” he said.
Dr Mahathir also drew comparisons between individuals who feel no shame, citing a scenario of when foreign diplomats visit the country, they arrive fully clothed in uniform and medals, while Malaysian leaders appear ‘naked’.
“(Imagine) our leaders receiving these visitors without clothing.
“Why without clothing? Because they felt no shame... this is the kind of culture that Najib carries, and we want to return to our original culture following those who are fully clothed with dignity,” he said.
He added that Malaysians needed to be reminded that civilisation showed people there are things that one cannot do because they are shameful.
Dr Mahathir also said that Pejuang has plans for economic recovery whereby the party is hoping to divert the attention for investments to large domestic ones.
“All this while, we were dependent on foreign direct investments. But when we introduced this, no one liked FDIs. Now all countries want FDI, so there is scarcity coming into Malaysia.
“We need to shift our dependence from FDI to local investment on a large scale,” he said.
He added that the country should no longer be exporting raw materials, but instead invest on producing finished products for export.
Meanwhile, Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, who was also present, said Pejuang’s Aspirasi Johor (Johor Aspiration) was put together after collecting feedback from various quarters.
He said these were the aspirations of the people of Johor.
“We hope Pejuang’s offer will be well-received by the people of Johor,” he said.
