KUALA LUMPUR: The voice of the voters cannot be ignored.
This is the gist of former Sungai Benut Member of Parliament Tawfik Ismail’s response to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s recent attack on him.
“People want to move away from authoritarian systems and (it appears that) Muhyiddin is a part of that. What they say is the absolute truth and no one can question them.”
“When I was in Umno I was on the side of Tengku Razaleigh (Hamzah) and (Tun) Musa Hitam opposing Tun (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) in the party in 1987. After that he excluded those with ability in favour of those who were loyal (to him) in his reshuffled cabinet,” he said, in reference to the Umno leadership crisis in the late 1980s.
“They need young, idealistic and clean candidates who can speak up in parliament and argue on the constitutionality of bills. We cannot for instance have veterans such as Datuk Osman Sapian and Tosrin Jaravanti because they do not appeal to the grassroots,” he said, while drawing on the party’s choice to field Osman and Tosrin for the state seats of Kempas and Bukit Permai, respectivelty.
Tawfik was earlier lambasted by Muhyiddin for suggesting that there was a difference in opinion between the latter and Dr Mahathir in the selection of candidates for Johor.
Tawfik had been reported to say almost all the Johor candidates for the May 9 polls were “Muhyiddin’s men.”
He also said that candidates fielded were not strong and designed for defeat.
Tawfik defended himself by saying it was his right as voter in Johor to speak his mind on the political candidates.
“I am a registered voter in Pontian and I have every right to question the candidates up for election and all candidates and parties must allow themselves to be scrutinised,” he told the New Straits Times in a phone conversation today.
When asked if he was a “sour-grape” over PPBM’s decision not to field his nephew, Tariq Ismail, who heads the party’s Sri Gading division, he said: “I am not a PPBM member to begin with so there is no reason for me to be a sour grape.
“Also my nephew not making the list has nothing to do with this. He made his own decision to join PPBM, I respect him as a person but his political beliefs are his own,” he added.