IPOH: The opposition’s action of harping on the “kangkung” (water spinach) issue is to cover up their own shortcomings in many areas, says Perak Umno liaison secretary Datuk Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib.
He said their motive to exaggerate a trivial issue was to shift the people’s attention on issues such as the high increase in the Selangor menteri besar and state government exco members’ allowance and the closure of the Pusat Giat Mara in that state.
“Kangkung has been made into a big issue but those issues involving the opposition parties, such as the inflated house prices and assessment rates that have caused much anxiety to the people in Penang as well as Penang chief minister (Lim Guan Eng)’s luxurious car, are being ignored,” he said.
He said Perak Umno strongly condemned the opposition’s irresponsible action in issuing statements that undermined Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in relation to the “kangkung” issue.
The opposition’s irresponsible actions, including disseminating caricatures on the issue, were disrespectful and rude, he said.
“Their attitude seems to show that they don’t respect the prime ministership as an institution that is respected by the people at large.
“It does not matter if they are from a party that supports or opposes the government as the prime minister was elected by the people in a democratic election process,” he added.
In JERTEH, Umno Youth Social and Ethics Bureau chairman Mohd Iskandar Jaafar called on all quarters, especially social website users, to study and understand the issue which arose from the prime minister’s speech which touched on the price of kangkung, instead of twisting it.
He said apparently, many had misunderstood the motive of citing the vegetable which was now used by irresponsible quarters as a joke on social websites.
“The prime minister had meant to make a comparison on the rise and fall of prices of goods which depend on environmental factors such as weather, demand and such,” he said.
Personally, he said, he was concerned about the perceptions and statements spreading through the social websites on Najib’s speech. — Bernama