The reason The Star is upset with Malaysia Today
“DAP leaders are used to being treated with near-idolatry status by Chinese voters, but of late, some party bigwigs have been heckled and booed at gatherings. From being champions of the Chinese community, they have now found themselves branded apologists of Dr Mahathir. It’s as if the DAP and MCA have traded places, as the latter was severely criticised in the past while under the Barisan government,” said Chun Wai in The Star.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Malaysia Today has been publishing items “lifted” from The Star for 15 years since 2004 and it has never been a problem in the past — until we published the article by Wong Chun Wai a couple of days ago.
READ HERE: The Star Wants To Sue Malaysia Today
Chun Wai’s article was very critical of Pakatan Harapan and this was hurting PPBM and Pakatan Harapan in the Tanjung Piai by-election. Since The Star is owned by MCA and the candidate for the Tanjung Piai by-election is also from MCA, Chun Wai’s article may have been seen as an attempt to swing the voters in Tanjung Piai.
Chun Wai said, “A year-and-a-half into new governance, and the economy has shown little sign of improving. It’s time to up anchor from stagnation and brave the waves with conviction.”
“Pakatan Harapan guaranteed everything under the sun because they never imagined they would be in government, and that has been the open admission of Pakatan leaders,” argued Chun Wai.
“In some situations, these ministers have been simply incompetent.”
Chun Wai added, “In some situations, these ministers have been simply incompetent. Had they been in the private sector, they would have got the boot after the probation period. The Prime Minister’s attempt to revamp the Cabinet has failed to take off, forcing him to live with the hastily cobbled together line-up.”
In what can be seen as a direct hit to Lim Guan Eng, Chun Wai said, “Malaysians are also tired of ministers blaming the past government for the country’s shortcomings. Sure, the claims are probably true, but they should just zip it and fix the holes. That’s why they were elected in the first place.”
“Malaysians are also tired of ministers blaming the past government for the country’s shortcomings.”
What was probably the most upsetting part of Chun Wai’s article was when he said, “Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s popularity has taken a beating, and one only needs to look at the comments on social media to gauge the disenchantment on the ground. A formal and more structured survey will likely reveal the same assessment, too.”
DAP was not spared criticism either when Chun Wai said, “DAP leaders are used to being treated with near-idolatry status by Chinese voters, but of late, some party bigwigs have been heckled and booed at gatherings. From being champions of the Chinese community, they have now found themselves branded apologists of Dr Mahathir. It’s as if the DAP and MCA have traded places, as the latter was severely criticised in the past while under the Barisan government.”
“Unfulfilled expectations have caused the Pakatan government to lose its ratings with the electorate.”
And as per what many Malaysians are now saying, Chun Wai confirmed it by saying “Unfulfilled expectations have caused the Pakatan government to lose its ratings with the electorate. In the digital age, where politicians’ promises are recorded in the public domain, Pakatan leaders have now found themselves unable to meet these expectations. Even if the reason is real, such as empty coffers, it’s difficult to explain to the electorate.”
Chun Wai went on to talk about Chinese issues and explained why the Chinese are now very unhappy with DAP and Pakatan Harapan. Basically, the Chinese expected a lot but now are not even getting half of what they had hoped for. As the Malays would say, harapan tinggal harapan, so now many sudah tinggal Pakatan Harapan.
