Don't get personal, PM told after setting 'be nice' condition for govt funds

Anwar Ibrahim should not be personal when it comes to executing his duties to the people, a former minister said after the prime minister set a condition of "courtesy" in seeking government allocations.

"It's unbecoming for a prime minister to lose his head," former law minister Zaid Ibrahim added.

"Members of the public will sometimes curse their leaders, as Anwar himself regularly did to Barisan Nasional leaders. They should not be denied whatever funding the government has allocated to them."

Announcing an allocation of RM130 million in additional diesel subsidy and community development initiatives for Felda settlers on Sunday, Anwar said the government was prepared to release more funds as long as the negotiations with him were done in a courteous manner.

"So how to get subsidies? Negotiate properly. I am your representative, so negotiate properly and we will find a solution.

"If you insult, you won't get anything, and the more you insult, the more I'll be fed up and ignore you," said Anwar.

He also suggested that it was easy for him to approve allocations.

"So I asked, approximately how much would it cost to channel (subsidies) for Felda? They told me about RM100 million.

"On Friday, I informed them the RM100 million subsidy had been approved."

Zaid however reminded Anwar that the funds belonged to the government.

"It's not the personal property of anyone," he said.

Anwar had set a similar condition for allocations for opposition constituencies, an issue that has earned him criticism for going against his own campaign pledge to distribute development funds equally to all MPs.

Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been among the most vocal in questioning Anwar's refusal to release funds for opposition MPs.

On July 1, he completed a solo 200km marathon from Muar to the Parliament building as part of a campaign to raise funds for his constituency as well as public awareness of the issue.

Anwar had however mocked Syed Saddiq, insisting that he would disburse funds only if MPs negotiated with the government.

"No need to run, no need to jog. Just negotiate, discuss, done," he said.

Federal Territories Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz agreed that Anwar's remarks were unbecoming of a prime minister.

"I think Anwar should be re-trained to speak as a prime minister, because past Malaysian PMs were courteous and mindful of their words befitting their position as PM," Tun Faisal told MalaysiaNow.

He said there was nothing special about the allocation announced by Anwar for Felda settlers, adding that it was their right which had been removed following the goverment's move to end diesel subsidy.

"The allocation is also not Anwar's money, but the people's money collected through ever increasing taxes," said the former Putrajaya Umno deputy chairman who was sacked from the party last year.