KEPALA BATAS: Penang Perikatan Nasional (PN) elected officials claim zakat aid has been denied to their constituents.
State opposition leader Muhammad Fauzi Yusof said numerous requests by the opposition to meet Deputy Chief Minister I Professor Datuk Dr Mohammad Abdul Hamid were ignored.
"He (Mohammad) has been denying the poor the zakat assistance in constituencies held by the 11 opposition elected representatives," Fauzi told reporters at the Markas Pas in Pongsu Seribu here today.
"When we asked Penang Zakat for an explanation, we were told there was an instruction from Mohammad.
"We want to tell Mohammad, the state Islamic Affairs Committee chairman, not to politicise assistance for the poor and not to use Penang Zakat as a bait to fish for Malay votes.
"Zakat is paid by rakyat in the government as well as by those in the opposition.
"I remind Mohammad that most of the Malay people voted for PN in the 15th general election.
"We are giving him a chance to change his ways or we may resort to other actions," Fauzi said.
Present were some of the 11 opposition elected representatives.
Fauzi said the issue began when Penang Zakat only called representatives from the unity government parties to attend a session on the school uniform scheme and Nur Ramadan hamper presentation to the poor earlier this month.
The New Straits Times has reached out to Mohammad for his comment.