MP slams opposition for 'baseless, populist' claims
Kampar MP Chong Zhemin said the opposition consistently resorted to empty rhetoric without offering substantive proposals to address national issues.
He said the opposition plays with cheap sentiment, stirring up racial and religious issues to divide the people for narrow political gain.
He added that such claims were "not nation-building" but the "destruction of our country's future".
"I would like to take this opportunity to respond to the baseless and populist claims frequently made by the opposition.
"Day in and day out, both inside and outside this House, they only come with empty rhetoric and lack of any concrete policy proposals.
"To the opposition, if you truly care about this country, prove it with mature proposals," he said when debating the 13th Malaysia Plan.
While the opposition has rejected the expansion of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), said Chong, when asked for alternative suggestions, there was only silence.
On calls by some in the opposition to abolish SST and reinstate the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Chong said the GST would result in a tax burden twice as heavy for the public.
"What's funnier is that they reject subsidy rationalisation while simultaneously calling for tax reductions and a solution to our national debt.
"They want to increase subsidies, reduce taxes, and lower national debt, all at the same time. This is an economic fantasy. As if money grows on trees," he said.
Since the Madani government took office, Chong said three federal budgets had been tabled, yet the opposition had not presented a single alternative.
"We will wait until October. Let's see if the opposition can produce a (alternative) 2026 Budget," he said.
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