DEPUTY Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim has hit out at Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman for calling the unity government a “Nato (no action, talk only) government”. 

In a Facebook posting, Adam Adli said all three matters raised by the Muar MP, namely allocations for the opposition, asset declarations by cabinet ministers, and the dismissal of ongoing corruption trials, had been explained many times within and outside parliament. 

On asset declarations, he said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had expressed his firm stand on the matter since January and had ordered that a more transparent and comprehensive mechanism be created, rather than just a declaration without a specific format. 

“Not just in a press statement, it was also agreed upon in the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption meeting Series 17 Bill. 1 of 2023, which was chaired by the prime minister himself last July,” said Adam Adli. 

On the court decision to grant Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), the Hang Tuah Jaya MP said it was explained in detail by Law and Institutional Reform Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said in parliament yesterday. 

“The decision to drop the court case, which, I am sure, refers to the TPM (deputy prime minister) case, has been answered in detail in parliament by Yang Berhormat Azalina in her capacity as minister of law and institutional reform, while stressing the government’s commitment to the separation of powers between the attorney-general and the public prosecutor. 

“In fact, the decision to grant a DNAA to Zahid has also been brought to the attention of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee and will be answered by the prime minister himself in Dewan Rakyat today,” he said. 

As for allocations for opposition MPs, Adam Adli said the government had repeatedly reminded the opposition to initiate negotiations on the matter. 

“On the ‘Nato government’, it would be better for Syed Saddiq not to just reflect on issues according to his taste. Look at welfare policies under Budget 2023 and ongoing initiatives to eradicate hardcore poverty, resolve the people’s problems, and basic needs including schools and healthcare facilities, clean water supply, post-pandemic economic recovery, and the energy transition that will soon begin,” he added. 

Adam Adli, who is also the Angkatan Muda Keadilan chief, lashed out at Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal too for saying the government practised ‘pork barrel politics’. 

“I’m not sure where the idea of pork barrel politics came from, when his constituency, Machang, is one of the areas that also received a large allocation of RM1.44 billion for Kelantan in the form of basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges. 

“This does not include the government’s commitment to solve the water supply issues (in Kelantan), which also reach a billion ringgit,” he said. – Bernama, September 19, 2023.