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Former DPM criticises Muhyiddin for making federal allocations an issue in Sabah poll

Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail says federal funding for individual states should not be determined by the political decisions of voters. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail says federal funding for individual states should not be determined by the political decisions of voters. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Federal funding for individual states should not be determined by the political decisions of voters, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said when criticising the prime minister for raising the matter while on the Sabah campaign trail.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin said in Sabah that the federal government could not assist the state beyond its obligation under the Federal Constitution, ostensibly because the state government was from a different party.

Dr Wan Azizah, the immediate former deputy prime minister, criticised Muhyiddin for this and reminded the latter that the prime minister was bound to all of Malaysia and not only particular states that were politically aligned.

“He should be the prime minister for all states and for all Malaysians, rather than only the prime minister of those states that are governed by the party of the federal government or those who vote for the ruling party,” she said in a statement.

She also stressed that the previous Pakatan Harapan government had treated all states fairly regardless of their politics.

The former DPM also took a veiled swipe when telling the Perikatan Nasional federal government to continue efforts to develop Sabah, one of the country’s poorest states despite being a major source of petroleum resources.

“Don’t demean the people of Sabah who are forced to be creative when trying to access the Internet, simply because of the federal government’s weakness in providing complete infrastructure,” she concluded.

The final statement was in apparent reference to two deputy ministers who falsely accused Sabahan student Veveonah Mosibin of faking a video that she showed herself camping atop a tree in June as was the only way she could reliably get online to take her university tests then.

Voting for the Sabah election is on September 26.

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