‘PAN using Johor palace for political gain’
JOHOR BARU: The Parti Amanah Negara’s (PAN) suggestion to build a university and name it Universiti Sultan Ibrahim is seen as a move to confuse the people by misusing the good name of the Johor palace.
State Environment, Health, Information and Education Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said yesterday PAN was using the palace for political gain.
He said it showed that the party was ignorant about educational opportunities in the state and hard- pressed to come up with issues to champion.
Ayub said the Johor ruler had only recently issued a stern warning not to misuse his name for political gain, but PAN seemed to have ignored this.
“While we are all still confused and not sure whether they have gotten the consent of the palace to use Sultan Ibrahim’s name for the university they want to set up, they have gone ahead and ‘hawked’ Tuanku’s name and politicised the issue.
Ayub said the move was a sign of desperation as PAN was frequently excluded from the plans made by its partners in Pakatan Harapan.
“This (the exclusion of PAN from plans made by other Pakatan parties) is apparent as the suggestion to set up a university is a big deal, one that takes on a national-level aspect. Yet, this was not included in the opposition pact’s manifesto.”
The proposal was brought up at a programme on Thursday attended by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.