Zahid defends security laws, urges Pakatan to keep BN's good 'legacies'

Updated 7 years ago · Published on 19 Jul 2018 5:11PM · 7 Comments

Umno president and opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says it is unfair to put down all the policies and agencies set up by the previous Barisan Nasional administration. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, July 19, 2018.

UMNO president and opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said preventive security laws adopted during his time as home minister had successfully lowered crime rates, and urged the Pakatan Harapan government not to dismantle policies for the sake of destroying Barisan Nasional’s legacy.

Zahid (BN-Bagan Datuk), formerly the deputy prime minister, said the new government’s call to review and remove laws like the Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2015, Prevention of Crime Act, and Security Offences (Special Measures) Act would endanger the country’s security.

“I am not blowing my own horn, but there is evidence that these measures worked. It is documented,” he told Parliament in his motion of thanks for the royal address today.

“Their effectiveness was shown through the performances of the police force, the home minister, and other security agencies.”

Zahid said it was unfair to put down all the policies and agencies set up by the previous Barisan Nasional administration.

“Don’t point at what came before and after, as if all the legacies from the past were bad and only the new ones are good,” he said.

Zahid said that dismantling elite teams such as the Special Tactics and Intelligence Narcotics Group, the Special Task Force for Anti-Vice, Gambling and Gangsterism, and the Special Task Force on Organised Crime would also be a mistake.

“The units were formed to prevent leakages of information to the target suspects… they have been effective. Please don’t dismantle them,” he said.

“To do away with all agencies just because they were old legacies of the previous home minister, who is now lucky enough to be the opposition leader, it is not right.

“Keep them if they have done well. We want crime rates to go down.”

He also criticised the PH administration over its review of the High Speed Rail and East Coast Rail Link projects as “populistic”.

He said HSR, ECRL, and the LRT3 projects were all good infrastructure projects for the people.

“I think we should not be populistic. If there needs to be improvements, then just make them,” he said.

RM1 trillion debt disputed

Zahid also flayed the new administration for making “flip-flop” remarks about the state of the country’s finances, by announcing the RM1 trillion debt and then back-tracking by saying the Malaysian economy remained strong with solid fundamentals.

“If there had been weaknesses before, then improvise, make improvements… but we don’t see this being done,” the Umno leader said.

He questioned the RM1 trillion amount, saying that PH’s move to include GLC and private debts into the national debt was non-compliant with international standards.

“Look at Singapore, China, Taiwan, and many other countries. Their GLC debts are not added into the national debt statistics.

“If they say the government can go bankrupt, let’s look at Singapore, where the corporate sector’s debt is highest in this region, at 257% of its GDP in 2015. Singapore’s economy is GLC-driven,” he said.

Manifesto promises

Zahid continued to criticise PH over its election manifesto, questioning the pact’s ability to fulfill its pledge to return rights to Sabah and Sarawak as provided in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, as well as returning to the states half of their tax revenues and 20% oil royalties.

He said PH would not be able to cover development expenses in West Malaysia after giving so much back to East Malaysia, adding that the government was “strangling itself”.

Zahid also said the replacement of the goods and services tax with the sales and services tax (SST) come September 1 was merely a “gimmick”, adding that the prices of goods would be expected to increase.

“This is a gimmick. I dare the administration to prove that prices have gone down by between 0.3% to 70% after GST was zero-rated.

“I think we should just look at the pledges by PH…. the manifesto,” he said.

“If you can’t deliver your promises, just say you are not able to do them.” – July 19, 2018.

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Comments

  • Which measures of your worked la, Zahid?Are you referring to drops in crime rate that were so significant until we could stop paying more to pay for neighbourhood security services? Wait a minute, that didn't happen, right?

    Posted 7 years ago by Rock Hensem · Reply

  • "He said PH would not be able to cover development expenses in West Malaysia after giving so much back to East Malaysia, adding that the government was strangling itself."

    So it's true that BN has been shortchanging East Malaysia all these while then. Thanks for the confirmation.

    Posted 7 years ago by Gerald Lau · Reply

  • Islamic State activities may be our biggest emerging security threat. Church bombings have already occurred in Indonesia..

    Posted 7 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • Actually there could be enough for everyone & everything with a people-centric govt like Pakatan Harapan?..

    Posted 7 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • Nothing good implementation by BN except to make them more hardships

    Posted 7 years ago by FM CHEN · Reply

  • Legacies? Who cares about BN legacies. Good to BN more often than is not good to people and those outside BN. PH is going to do whats right for the people

    Posted 7 years ago by NA Bayezid · Reply

  • Yeap what legacies are you talking about. All your legacies left a sour taste in our mouth. I am glad we have the chance to make right what you done wrong. People will only remember you and BN for the massive corruption you done. Full stop. While you are still MP, pls make right what you have done wrong.

    Posted 7 years ago by Ho Seng Tan · Reply