WHILE workers in the country are being retrenched all over, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has been dishing out positions and goodies to its leaders, said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The Port Dickson MP slammed Putrajaya for not practising austerity at a time when the country is going through economic difficulty.

“The country’s leadership is incessantly creating a new era where they have added the number of ministers and GLC (positions).

“I understand a lot of them (that received positions) are my friends but people nationwide are getting retrenched. By the year’s end, 1 million people are expected to lose their jobs but we are focusing on wealth distribution (among PN leaders),” Anwar said in the Dewan Rakyat while debating the Agong’s Speech.

The PKR president added Malaysia is seemingly headed back to the old ways when Barisan Nasional was in power, with more and more shady deals being done.

“The new normal seems like things are going back to the old ways. We know this rot in the system did not stem from Covid-19 alone, it has been there even before this. We need to get rid of this,” Anwar declared.

Anwar also jumped to the defence of Dr Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan when Umno’s Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan accused them of being indifferent to the case of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim

“In the case of Adib, the case was under the home minister then. The home minister then is now prime minister. It is very strange the politics in Parliament now. All that is forgotten but the focus is attacking PH.

“I am not a staunch supporter of Langkawi (Dr Mahathir) but we need to be fair in this matter,” he said.

The former PH home minister was Muhyiddin Yassin who is now PN’s prime minister.

Adib, 24, was gravely injured while responding to a riot near the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya on November 27, 2018. He died 21 days later on December 17 at the National Heart Institute. – July 14, 2020.