Don T Be Ignorant About History Says Zahid

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Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said people must speak based on facts. (Bernama pic)KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said MPs should not be ignorant of history when making claims in public.
“I agree that one should not be illiterate to the point of accusing another of being a communist,” said Zahid in the Dewan Rakyat today.
“We need to speak based on facts instead of levelling accusations against an individual or a political party.”
Zahid, who is the Umno president, said this when responding to RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) who wanted to get the former’s take on the controversial claims made by a PAS MP.
At a ceramah in Terengganu recently, Kepala Batas MP Siti Mastura Muhammad claimed that Lim Kit Siang’s family and several other DAP leaders were related to former communist leader Chin Peng and former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Kit Siang and his son, Lim Guan Eng, have since given Siti Mastura 48 hours to furnish proof.
Several DAP leaders also lodged police reports against her earlier today.
Siti Mastura has since sidestepped press questions when asked to respond to Lim’s demand to back up her claims.
Need to relook Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954
On a separate topic, Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, said there was a need to review the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954.
“Engagements are being carried out between the Orang Asli development department (Jakoa) and state governments, as we must respect the community’s rights to their land,” said Zahid in his winding-up speech for the committee stage debate of the 2024 supply bill.
Zahid expressed optimism that up to 500 youths from the community would be enrolling in both public and private universities next year, more than the 400 targeted by Jakoa.
He also announced that Cameron Highlands MP and Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Ramli Nor had been appointed as the chairman of the government’s Orang Asli development affairs committee.
Meanwhile, Zahid also revealed that the rural-to-urban migration trend had seen a decline from 3.9% in the past to 3.4%, without citing any particular timeframe.
This decline, he said, was due to the facilities and infrastructure set up in rural areas.
“The (rural) poverty rate has also gone down from 3.4% to 2.9%,” added Zahid. - FMT

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