KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional (PN) can only blame itself for not being a part of the administration, as the coalition rejected the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s proposal to form a unity government, said Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Speaking to Scoop, Fahmi said PN tirelessly questioned Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) integrity for working with Barisan Nasional (BN) simply because the coalition was “salty” after wasting its chance to participate in the government.
“They didn’t get on the ‘bus’ when the Agong decreed for a unity government,” he said.
“(Prior to the formation of government) The Agong didn’t invite BN (for discussions in Istana Negara), he (the King) asked PN and PH. If there’s anyone they should blame, they should blame themselves.”
“To subsequently – day in and day out – try to create this narrative that the government will fall in March, May, or August, is borderline seditious.”
In the 2018 general election (GE15), PH had won 82 seats, which was 30 short of forming a simple majority. However, the coalition had teamed up with BN which held 30 seats, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) with 23 seats, as well as Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) with six seats, and Warisan (3 seats), to take a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the PKR information chief said the ministry aims to set up the Madani Community, a body consisting of volunteers at the grassroots level to help disseminate government announcements to the people.
This comes after the ministry resolved several “internal matters”, which enabled the government to have a more coordinated approach to communicating its policies and successes.
Fahmi also said the Malaysian Broadcasting Department (RTM) has been undergoing recalibration processes to better convey content through traditional broadcasting channels and over-the-top (OTT) media services.
“There’s this credo (which says that) the most important information always reaches the intended audience,” he said.
“One of the things people look out for is ‘how can I be assisted now?’ and ‘how can I have extra money in my hands today?’, I believe those things are communicated.
“But, we have to try to understand why some government initiatives and policies are not as well understood or well known so that more can benefit from (them),” he added. – August 2, 2023