Umno leaders have accused the government of practising double standards in sacking Tajuddin Abdul Rahman as Prasarana Malaysia Bhd chairman when some in the cabinet were being tolerated.
They said some ministers from Bersatu were let off without any action when there had been complaints about them, including for breaching movement-control order standard operating procedure and for alleged criminal acts.
They told The Malaysian Insight that some under-performing ministers and deputy ministers continued to remain in the government when they should have been sacked.
Umno Supreme Council member Razlan Rafii said these incompetent ministers and deputy minister in Muhyiddin Yassin’s cabinet were still receiving full salaries.
“There should not be any double standards. There are many others in the cabinet who aren’t performing well but continue to draw salaries.
“The people are paying for their salaries. If they can’t work, better don’t be a minister.
“If they can sack Tajuddin, they must also sack those who are not performing. At this moment, there is no real focus in the government,” Razlan told The Malaysian Insight.
Former Umno Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam echoed Razlan’s sentiments and said all Umno ministers and deputy ministers should have resigned in support of Tajuddin.
“It is a case of double standards. Why was there no action against Mohamed Azmin Ali for breaking MCO rules during Hari Raya? Why is Hilman Idham who is implicated in a criminal offence not being punished?
“Umno’s image is being tarnished by Perikatan Nasional. It is best for Umno to just withdraw support now,” he said.
Yesterday, the Finance Ministry terminated the services of Tajuddin as the chairman of Prasarana with immediate effect.
This comes after strong public criticism over his callous attitude at a press conference on Tuesday on the LRT train collision that took place on Monday night.
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz informed Tajuddin, a senior Umno member, of the end of his tenure in a letter.
Tajuddin was appointed as Prasarana chairman in May last year as soon as the PN government came into power.
MoF Incorporated is the sole shareholder in Prasarana, which oversees the management and running of the public transportation services in the country.
Meanwhile, another former Supreme Council member Aziz Kaprawi said PN’s decision to terminate Tajuddin’s tenure as Prasarana chairman was only to polish its image that has been smeared by several issues, especially with the government’s inability to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It was easy to sack Tajuddin because he is not a staunch supporter of the PN. This is just to clean PN’s image and to gain popularity from the people.
“Yes, maybe Tajuddin was wrong in the way he handled the press, but how about our prime minister who has yet to have a press conference after more than a year becoming the prime minister,” said the former Sri Gading MP.
Aziz also questioned the lack of action taken against ministers in PN who have yet to succeed in curbing Covid-19.
“What about the other ministers who have failed to fight the virus and have caused thousands of deaths?
“The economy sector has not improved, any action taken against the relevant minister? The government also fails to handle communication between agencies that caused the public to get confused with the SOP.
“What is the action for those mistakes,” he asked.
Outspoken Umno leader Mohd Puad Zarkashi, meanwhile, challenged Tajuddin to retract his support for Muhyiddin.
In a short Facebook post, he said Tajuddin has nothing more to lose and urged his Umno colleague stop backing the Pagoh MP.
“What else are you waiting for? You have been sacked from Prasarana. It is time to ‘tarik sokongan’ from Muhyiddin,” he said.
On Monday, two LRT trains collided on the underground stretch of the line between the KLCC and Kg Baru stations, resulting in minor injuries to 166 passengers while 47 others suffered serious injuries with three currently warded in the intensive care unit due to brain haemorrhage.
Tajuddin was berated by social media users on how he handled the press conference on the LRT crash the following day.
He is also under police investigations for not wearing a mask during the press conference. He, however, had worn a face shield. – TMI