KUANTAN: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail has rebuked Harakahdaily following their article claiming that only the Islamic party can be relied on championing the Islamic agenda.
Wan Rosdy said the article titled 'Agenda Islam di Pahang, hanya PAS boleh diharap' (Islamic agenda in Pahang, only Pas can be relied upon) was published online on Sept 1 on Pas' mouthpiece, quoting the state Pas Commissioner, who is also the Tanjung Lumpur assemblyman.
"The article was based on a speech delivered during a programme at Chegar Medang in Bentong on Aug 31. I am not sure if the YB Tanjung Lumpur had uttered those words or if it was merely sensationalised by Harakahdaily.
"I find the statement in the news article arrogant and seems to give a negative sentiment and perception as if the Pahang government is not doing anything to increase the principles and teachings of Islam (syiar Islam) in Pahang.
"The news report not only questions the efforts that have been done and implemented by the state government all these years but seems to also dispute the authority of the Sultan of Pahang, as the head of Islam in Pahang.
"His Majesty had made a lot of efforts, suggestions, advice and recommendations to spread the message of Islam in Pahang," he said in his winding-up speech during the one-day state assembly sitting at Wisma Sri Pahang today.
Wan Rosdy reiterated that the state government had put a lot of effort into strengthening Islam in Pahang including setting up the Pahang Maahad Tahfiz, which emerged as the top education institution during the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination last year.
"We have set up Pahang pre-tahfiz kindergarten which began as a single branch in 2018 and now has 25 branches. The pre-tahfiz kindergarten education module is now used by 4,000 Community Development Department (Kemas) kindergartens in the country.
"The Pahang government has set up the Universiti Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah, Pahang Maahad Tahfiz Turath and Sekolah Rendah Tahfiz Negeri Pahang which is under the administration of the state government.
"Over the past five years, we have built 18 new mosques, 15 are still under construction and four are in the design stages," he explained.
In the Harakahdaily article, state Pas commissioner Rosli Abdul Jabar was reported as saying that Pahang Pas had held various programmes to create a wave and uplift the spirit of its members as there was no one else to rely on to champion the Islamic agenda in this state except for Pas.
On the five newly-appointed assemblymen, Wan Rosdy said he hoped they would execute their duties responsibly by prioritising the welfare of the people across the state.
"The five appointed assemblymen will report to me regarding their services to the people so that it could be improved from time to time," he said.
Today, five appointed assemblymen took their oath of office before state assembly speaker Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin.
Meanwhile, Wan Rosdy later told reporters that the appointed assemblymen were not assigned to specific constituencies and their main tasks were to assist the state government, including explaining the policies to the people.
"They can look into the needs and grouses of the people across Pahang. Pahang is a huge state so they have been appointed to assist the state's administration," he added.