Incompetency nothing to do with racism, PAS leader told
DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng says all ministers, including Idris Ahmad, are subject to criticism.
PETALING JAYA: Idris Ahmad’s cry of racism over criticism that he is an incompetent minister is uncalled for, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said.
Lim pointed out that Idris’ poor rating was first suggested by academic Agus Yusoff, who branded all PAS ministers as incompetent. He said he was merely supporting Agus’ claim.
Idris, the religious affairs minister, recently accused Lim of trying to “fan the flame of racism” and widening the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims.
This was after Lim said Idris “tops the list of incompetent PAS ministers”, claiming he brought no value to his job “apart from threatening national unity and disrupting religious harmony”.
“Is Idris trying to distract attention from his incompetence by using the racial and religious bogey, preying on people’s fears to hide their incompetence?
“I wonder why he isn’t saying anything about Agus. Idris is not a sacred cow … as a minister, he is subject to criticism,” he told FMT.
Lim had responded to an FMT report on Monday in which Agus, of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said Umno should not partner with PAS as the Islamic party was starting to grow unpopular, even among Malays and Muslims.
Agus said the public could see “how PAS rides on religion, governs certain states poorly, and has incompetent ministers”.
DAP central committee members Young Syefura Othman and Syahredzan Johan also hit out at Idris for his outburst.
Syefura said Idris’ call to Muslims not to attend the Bon Odori festival was testament of the poor rating given by Agus.
“For me, someone’s incompetence has nothing to do with a person’s religion or race. It is an individual trait,” she said.
Syahredzan said Idris’ use of religion to justify his actions “missed the point” of the criticism levelled at him.
Idris received flak last week for his remarks on a teenage actress who shared that she was molested by her father when she was younger.
He was quoted by Berita Harian as saying the 15-year-old should not have gone public with her experience but should have reported the incident to the police and let the law take its course.
Noting that the brickbats against Idris came from all quarters, Syahredzan said “this is not a religious issue but about a woman who suffered horrific abuse and came out to expose it”.
“It should have been an empowering tale of a brave woman, yet with one fell swoop the minister dismissed it,” he said.
PETALING JAYA: Idris Ahmad’s cry of racism over criticism that he is an incompetent minister is uncalled for, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said.
Lim pointed out that Idris’ poor rating was first suggested by academic Agus Yusoff, who branded all PAS ministers as incompetent. He said he was merely supporting Agus’ claim.
Idris, the religious affairs minister, recently accused Lim of trying to “fan the flame of racism” and widening the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims.
This was after Lim said Idris “tops the list of incompetent PAS ministers”, claiming he brought no value to his job “apart from threatening national unity and disrupting religious harmony”.
“Is Idris trying to distract attention from his incompetence by using the racial and religious bogey, preying on people’s fears to hide their incompetence?
“I wonder why he isn’t saying anything about Agus. Idris is not a sacred cow … as a minister, he is subject to criticism,” he told FMT.
Lim had responded to an FMT report on Monday in which Agus, of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said Umno should not partner with PAS as the Islamic party was starting to grow unpopular, even among Malays and Muslims.
Agus said the public could see “how PAS rides on religion, governs certain states poorly, and has incompetent ministers”.
DAP central committee members Young Syefura Othman and Syahredzan Johan also hit out at Idris for his outburst.
Syefura said Idris’ call to Muslims not to attend the Bon Odori festival was testament of the poor rating given by Agus.
“For me, someone’s incompetence has nothing to do with a person’s religion or race. It is an individual trait,” she said.
Syahredzan said Idris’ use of religion to justify his actions “missed the point” of the criticism levelled at him.
Idris received flak last week for his remarks on a teenage actress who shared that she was molested by her father when she was younger.
He was quoted by Berita Harian as saying the 15-year-old should not have gone public with her experience but should have reported the incident to the police and let the law take its course.
Noting that the brickbats against Idris came from all quarters, Syahredzan said “this is not a religious issue but about a woman who suffered horrific abuse and came out to expose it”.
“It should have been an empowering tale of a brave woman, yet with one fell swoop the minister dismissed it,” he said.
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