Putra Heights Fire Are You Trying To Hide Something Afif Asks Selangor Mb

---

 


A Perikatan Nasional leader accused Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari of sidelining the opposition when conducting a briefing about the Putra Heights gas pipeline fire.
Taman Medan assemblyperson Dr Afif Bahardin asked if the move not to invite opposition leaders was an attempt to create their own narrative about the incident without having anyone ask critical questions.
“Or is the state government trying to hide an agency’s mistake or someone’s negligence from public scrutiny?” he asked in a statement yesterday.
Two days ago, Amirudin said he had chaired a special briefing session on the incident for Selangor assembly members and parliamentary backbenchers.
The briefing, he added, outlined the immediate and upcoming measures by the state government to address the impact of the incident and prioritise the welfare of affected residents.
Undemocratic
Taking Amirudin to task, Afif (above) said the move not to invite elected leaders from the opposition to the special briefing was undemocratic.
Selangor MB Amirudin ShariThe Selangor PN secretary stressed that any effort to restore and rehabilitate areas affected by the fire incident must involve all quarters, regardless of their political affiliations.
This was to ensure that such mishaps would no longer happen in the future.
“Any action to sideline the opposition bloc would only affect the people’s perception of the state government’s integrity.
“It would also seem like the state government is more concerned about political control over the people’s welfare,” Afif added.
Public scrutiny
Echoing Selangor opposition leader Azmin Ali’s calls for a special assembly sitting to discuss the fire incident, Afif said any reports or investigation findings must be tabled at the august house for public scrutiny.
“The people have the right to know who was responsible for the incident and what steps the state government is going to take to protect the people’s safety moving forward.
“But so far, the state government continues to ignore the call, as if they are afraid and refusing to face legitimate checks and balances measures,” he added.
On April 3, Amirudin dismissed Azmin’s call for a special state assembly sitting to debate the fire incident, saying the priority now was to help those affected.
“Now is not the time for debates in the honourable Dewan, now is the time to solve this safety issue.
“When the session convenes in July, we will have an opportunity to discuss the incident in a more comfortable and orderly manner then,” he said. - Mkini

---