PUTRAJAYA will revive the dormant veterans’ council, said Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu.

The council was formed in 2012 but up until last year, there were no meetings, he said.

“The council met for the first time last December and will meet again in February to discuss veterans’ needs. It has not functioned under Barisan Nasional since its formation six years ago,” Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said during a Pakatan Harapan ceramah in Sg Koyan last night.

Mat Sabu was refuting his predecessor, Hishammuddin Hussein’s allegations that PH will not look after veterans’ interests.

In Sg Koyan, there are three Felda settlements. Koyan 1 was given to Pahang residents while Koyan 2 and 3 were allocated to former servicemen under the Abdul Razak Hussein administration in the 1970s.

“Pakatan will ensure that the veterans will continue to enjoy all the benefits given by BN. On top of that, we have raised the annual budget for veterans by RM20 million to RM98 million per year.”

Meanwhile, the Amanah president also tried to allay fears about DAP.

“When DAP became government in Penang in 2008, there were weekly demonstrations against chief minister Lim Guan Eng and how he would sideline the Malays.

“But in 2013, then Pakatan Rakyat won even more seats. And in the last elections, BN has been reduced to just two state seats.

“As such, even the Malays in Penang have realised that DAP would not sideline any race,” he said.

Such allegations are false and BN’s continued use of racial rhetoric against PH will also fail in the Cameron Highlands by-election, he said. 

The by-election will pit BN’s Ramli Mohd Nor against M. Manogaran (PH) and two independents.

While the result will not alter the situation at the federal level, the by-election is nevertheless a test of PH’s support among rural Malay and Felda voters. – January 17, 2019.