KUANTAN: The move by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad' to politicise Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP) here is an attempt to sabotage the country's economy.
Pahang Umno Youth vice-president Azril Rizal Yusof Mohd Sarit expressed his regret over their action to play up the anti-MCKIP sentiment saying it was a desperate tactic to condemn and portray the government in bad image.
He said it is in fact known to the public that the project launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak some four years ago will benefit the Malaysian business community and will provide exciting opportunities for investors besides developing the state.
"Even Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob had several times provided explanation during the state assembly sitting and replied to questions posed by reporters including those from the pro-opposition media. The state government has been transparent and consistent with its answers, and explanations concerning MCKIP.
"Sadly, the opposition are still the same(raising same issue)...Dr Mahathir and the opposition only prioritise themselves and are not bothered about the future of the people. After their failure to politicise China's investment in Forest City, Johor and the East Coast Rail Link, they have now switched their attention to MCKIP," he said in a statement today.
Azril Rizal, who is also the Temerloh Umno Youth chief, said the opposition's agenda to derail the country's economy is a move to topple Najib's administration.
He said on the overall, the MCKIP investments from China is important from all aspects including development, geopolitics and information sharing.
"Malaysia has always adopted an open economy making it conducive and ideal to foreign investors. There is no reason to raise questions about their investments as China remains the largest trading partner with Malaysia since 2009.
"There has been a lot of research, articles and opinions made public to support MCKIP's development especially under the "One Belt One Road' initiative which will benefit everyone, and Malaysia will be an important gateway for trade along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road," he said, adding the opposition should help create more matured politics in the country rather than employing politics of hatred to mislead the people.
During a recent video shared online, Dr Mahathir the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman at stopover at the busy stretch along MCKIP said the building's name was only in English and Chinese while national language, Bahasa Malaysia was absent from its signboard.
He alleged MCKIP is part of the country which had been handed to foreigners where the contractors, and workers were not from Malaysia.