Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said the coalition's MPs would demand when Parliament sits from tomorrow that the government stop subsidising the few who are rich in preference to the many who are poor.
Speaking at a dinner jointly organised by PAS Youth and PKR Youth in Batu Lanchang in Penang this evening, Anwar termed as “obscene the Umno-BN government's featherbedding of an elite group of businessmen”, a pattern he claimed had weakened the national economy.
“Independent power producers are subsidised, contracts are given to cronies and families of the well-connected, and now when the economy has been brought down, they want to cut subsidies for the poor,” he told a working class crowd gathered at the multi-purpose hall in Batu Lanchang.
“No way that we in Pakatan are going to allow this to happen. You want to cut subsidies, remove them from the protected rich before you do anything to subsidies meant to help the poor,” said Anwar.
The dinner was the penultimate stop in a day-long campaign swing through Penang and Kedah that had earlier seen him officiate at the opening of a surau in Komtar.
Anwar told the largely Malay crowd that it was imperative the DAP-led Penang government headed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng be supported because “what money they save in running the government they plough back to the people.”
“You hear some say this government is not good for the Malays and Muslims but did the former one open a surau for the public in Komtar like this one did this morning,” asked Anwar.
“I spoke at the mosque in Bayan Baru just before coming here. I told scores of worshippers there that they should support the Penang government because they do things right by the people, and not for their cronies and relatives,” he said.
Facing suspension from Parliament
A tired-looking Anwar told the crowd he would fight for them with every ounce of energy he had because not to do so would see the country proceed down a path where “the politics of fear, of stirring one race against another so that people will be suspicious of each other while a few get away with plunder” would continue to reign.
“There is no reason why this country cannot provide for all who are committed to it so long as a well-connected few are prevented from plundering it,” he said.
Turning to the parliamentary session opening tomorrow, he said, “If they suspend me from Parliament” - this was with reference to his being hauled up before the powerful rights and privileges committee on Tuesday - “that will give me more time to go all over the country to campaign.”
Before ending his speech which he had to curtail because he had arrived late and was off to his final stop in Kulim Bandar Baru in neighbouring Kedah, Anwar told the crowd that the points he had raised would be elaborated by PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa who was scheduled to speak after him.
With that he was off to Kulim, leaving the crowd wondering from where he got his energy for he needed help to ascend the steps to the hall on arrival.
Speaking at a dinner jointly organised by PAS Youth and PKR Youth in Batu Lanchang in Penang this evening, Anwar termed as “obscene the Umno-BN government's featherbedding of an elite group of businessmen”, a pattern he claimed had weakened the national economy.
“Independent power producers are subsidised, contracts are given to cronies and families of the well-connected, and now when the economy has been brought down, they want to cut subsidies for the poor,” he told a working class crowd gathered at the multi-purpose hall in Batu Lanchang.
“No way that we in Pakatan are going to allow this to happen. You want to cut subsidies, remove them from the protected rich before you do anything to subsidies meant to help the poor,” said Anwar.The dinner was the penultimate stop in a day-long campaign swing through Penang and Kedah that had earlier seen him officiate at the opening of a surau in Komtar.
Anwar told the largely Malay crowd that it was imperative the DAP-led Penang government headed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng be supported because “what money they save in running the government they plough back to the people.”
“You hear some say this government is not good for the Malays and Muslims but did the former one open a surau for the public in Komtar like this one did this morning,” asked Anwar.
“I spoke at the mosque in Bayan Baru just before coming here. I told scores of worshippers there that they should support the Penang government because they do things right by the people, and not for their cronies and relatives,” he said.
Facing suspension from Parliament
A tired-looking Anwar told the crowd he would fight for them with every ounce of energy he had because not to do so would see the country proceed down a path where “the politics of fear, of stirring one race against another so that people will be suspicious of each other while a few get away with plunder” would continue to reign.
“There is no reason why this country cannot provide for all who are committed to it so long as a well-connected few are prevented from plundering it,” he said.
Turning to the parliamentary session opening tomorrow, he said, “If they suspend me from Parliament” - this was with reference to his being hauled up before the powerful rights and privileges committee on Tuesday - “that will give me more time to go all over the country to campaign.”
Before ending his speech which he had to curtail because he had arrived late and was off to his final stop in Kulim Bandar Baru in neighbouring Kedah, Anwar told the crowd that the points he had raised would be elaborated by PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa who was scheduled to speak after him.
With that he was off to Kulim, leaving the crowd wondering from where he got his energy for he needed help to ascend the steps to the hall on arrival.
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