Ahmad Zahid compares Pakatan govt to tempe

(The Star) – Bagan Datuk MP Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has slammed the Pakatan Harapan over their inconsistent statements, likening the new government to the soybean dish called “tempe”.

Mstar reported that the former Deputy Prime Minister also criticised the Pakatan government for not fulfilling its election promises.

“We see for example, when they were declared winners, they said the fuel price will go down but in reality it has not gone down,” Dr Ahmad Zahid was quoted as saying by Umno Online.

“They also declared that the goods and services tax (GST) will be abolished, but the prices of goods have not dropped even though GST is now zero-rated. There are 90 items that have risen in price,” he added.

“They say one thing in the morning and another in the afternoon. Like tempe… It is peanut in the morning, by the afternoon it has become tempe and tomorrow it will grow mouldy,” he said.

He said Pakatan’s promise to waive PTPTN loan repayment for those earning RM4,000 and below will prevent other students from receiving the loan.

“They also said the country’s debt is RM1 trillion, when in fact it is only RM686.8 billion. They say there were foreign loans but it is actually ‘domestic debt’, which is domestic loans, this means there are no foreign outflow of cash,” Dr Ahmad Zahid said.

He made the statements during a breaking of fast programme with Umno Division information chiefs on Sunday (May 27).

Dr Ahmad Zahid said the new government also accused the former government of making loans in US dollars and Japanese yen but Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has proved that only two percent of the loans were in US dollars and one percent in yen.

“It means our loans are in ringgit. They also said the KL Bursa will increase but it fell further.”

“They used to say that the economy was in disrepair and the country was almost bankrupt but now they say the economy is strong.”

Dr Ahmad Zahid also hoped all Barisan Nasional MPs will unite to become an effective opposition in the Dewan Rakyat to curb defamation by Pakatan Harapan.