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Jeyakumar: PH risk losing vote of Malays anxious over rights

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PSM’s Sungai Siput MP says Pakatan Harapan is not doing enough to allay the concerns of the rural and urban poor Malays that it will continue to look after them if it takes over Putrajaya.

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PETALING JAYA:
Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj has cautioned the opposition that it stands to lose out on Malay rural support in the next general election (GE14) unless it addresses the community’s fears about losing its rights.

The PSM leader said there was anxiety among rural Malays that Pakatan Harapan (PH) would be soft on asserting their economic rights if the opposition pact took over the federal government.

He said the coalition should give ample focus on dealing with such concerns, instead of putting more weight on issues related to 1MDB and other corruption allegations against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

“Corruption and 1MDB are important issues, but aside from talking about those issues, Pakatan should also address the fears of the rural Malays when it comes to their future.

“Umno has a well-defined support system of incentives and subsidies for the Malay poor, so much so that the party is seen as their protector,” Jeyakumar told FMT.

He added that PH has not done enough to allay misgivings about this support system being taken away if the opposition came to power.

Jeyakumar said it was difficult to counter BN’s allegations against PH.

He also cited Prime Minister Najib Razak telling civil servants earlier this week to imagine their future if the opposition came to power. Some opposition members have alleged in the past that the 1.6 million-strong civil service was bloated and should be reduced.

Jeyakumar said many rural and urban poor Malays felt that although Umno might be corrupt, rejecting the party could mean that they would lose their incentives and subsidies.

“They are aware that the government is corrupt and things are not quite right.

“But on the issue of affirmative action, people in Pakatan have given the impression that they are for the free market, where the market would determine the issues.

“Such fears will help Umno retain rural Malay votes,” he said.

PH needs policy statement

Jeyakumar said subsidies implemented by the Umno-led government included RM300 million worth of free fertiliser distributed to paddy farmers, a RM300 monthly payment to small-scale fishermen and benefits for rubber smallholders where the government tops up the rubber price if it drops below RM2.20 per kg of “cup lump”, that is latex collected in tapping cups.

He said it was not too late for PH to come up with a policy statement to address the social and economic programmes targeted at the Malay poor, over and above existing incentives and subsidies, as the Malays also faced a lot of problems.

He cited the example of how rubber smallholders have complained of receiving low-grade rubber seeds from Bumiputera contractors, that resulted in lesser earnings.

“The smallholders feel cheated. They wait for seven years for the tree to grow just to have a lower yield of rubber. This matter needs to be looked into.”

He also said that although fishermen received RM300 on a monthly basis, the government was also issuing licences to foreign boats to fish in Malaysian waters, causing locals to suffer from a lesser catch.

“These are the kinds of issues Pakatan should look at. We need to have measures to overcome these problems,” he said.

“Consult those on the ground. It will convince people that we are aware of their issues. These issues can also be added into the manifesto,” he said.

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