Masidi gets touchy when told leaders not in touch with people

TOURISM, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun Masidi chided Likas assemblyman Junz Wong for saying that some political leaders do not feel the plight of the people on the ground as they were ‘too far from the ground'.

“That is a serious allegation. We go to our constituencies every weekend,” Masidi said, adding that he himself was born in a village.

He then demanded that Wong withdraw his statement, which the latter did.

Earlier at the state assembly sitting, Masidi also asked Wong to be realistic over the latter's proposal of giving Sabahans dividends to buffer the impact of the bad economy.

Wong said the State Budget had not addressed measures to cushion the increasing cost of living for Sabahans, adding that many shops and businesses have closed since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) because they could not generate enough profit to cope with the tax.

He said the Usno government had given Sabahans dividend twice or thrice a year for a period of nine years. He said a small token given by the government at this difficult point in time would mean a lot to families.

In his response, Masidi said the suggestion might gain public applause but Wong had to be realistic.

He said the government provided assistance to the Bottom 40 (B40) groups in the form of 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M), the people who deserved to be helped.

“I know it is a popular statement to do this. What is popular may not be right. What you (Wong) are suggesting now may be popular but it is not right,” he said during the debate session at the State Legislative Assembly sitting yesterday.