JOHOR BARU, June 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob should not have to carry the weight of issues plaguing Malaysia alone, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said today.
He said the responsibility of addressing the nation's multiple challenges, including its economic recovery, should be jointly undertaken by the rest of the Cabinet.
Among the issues he highlighted were drawing investment into Malaysia, the current food crisis and road traffic congestions.
“The food crisis is not a new issue and was worse during the (Covid-19) pandemic and at the same time, the ministers and relevant ministries cannot plan ahead to avoid all these problems.
“Chicken, fish, meat, vegetables and cooking oil are now costlier, but what is more worrying is the inadequate food supply,” said Mohamed Khaled in a statement on his Facebook page.
The former Johor mentri besar described Malaysia as the most successful developing country, and said it is hard to believe that its people currently lack food, let alone sources of protein.
Apart from that, he said the civil service in Malaysia was facing a crisis of confidence and efficiency and gave as example, the lengthy wait to renew passports.
“Hundreds of thousands had to queue for hours due to congestion at the Malaysian Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex. While everyone has almost two years to improve the system for smooth service during the pandemic.
“I don't know how many more times the light rail transit (LRT) does not work smoothly, making it difficult for hundreds of thousands of workers who have to go to the office every day. The congestion in Kuala Lumpur and the highways is becoming crazier,” he added.
Mohamed Khaled also took Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz to task, chiding the latter for purportedly pursuing a political campaign in Kuala Selangor following recent news reports that the Finance Ministry was “adopting” the district and planned to build a station in Puncak Alam as part of the Northern Alignment for the East Coast Rail Link.
He added that the Treasury did not need to “adopt” any parliamentary constituency
“It is a confusing move amid more pressing matters,” the veteran Umno man said, without overtly naming Tengku Zafrul in his statement.
Instead, Mohamed Khaled called the Finance Ministry to focus on Malaysia's economy.
Mohamed Khaled also reminded the government's top bureaucrats to enforce disciplinary rules to improve the civil service's efficiency.
"The denial of all these problems was no longer the government's choice and Barisan Nasional (BN) as part of the government would not run away from responsibility for all that.
"However, placing all the blame on the prime minister is not appropriate. The ministers involved should come forward and show leadership,” he said.
