Supporters of Perikatan Nasional (PN) need not be so reactionary and evasive when the question of cabinet members promising to declare their assets after one month of Putrajaya rule is raised.

According to ADUN Paloh Sheikh Omar Bagharib Ali, the question he raised about the issue was a simple and grounded one.

“My question is simple. Has the Perikatan Nasional (PN) cabinet declared their assets or not. Yes or no? There’s no need to overly react. As the Prime Minister said, there’s no need to ‘turn here, turn there’,” he said in a statement on 14 April.

In fact, he stressed that the focus to assist the rakyat who are needy during the Covid-19 outbreak could not possibly be stopped in its tracks simply because he raised the question.

“Fighting the war against Covid-19 is our shared responsibility regardless of whether it’s the government, the opposition, or even all Malaysians in various fields. Insya-Allah no one would lose their focus.”

“There is no need for us to beat our chests as if we’re the only ones doing a service helping those in need out there,” he added.

In a statement dated 13 April, Sheikh brought up Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s promise on 11 March that his cabinet would declare their assets within a month.

However, this has stirred displeasure amongst PN supporters. Amongst them is comedian Shahrol Shiro who has allegedly accused Sheikh of prioritizing political issues while the nation is struggling to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Sheikh who is also Johor’s DAPSY Chief, added that it was most unfortunate that the PN government failed to answer a question so simple.

“Going back to my question, it is most naive if the government today can lose their focus simply because of the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question I threw at them.”

“More than one month has passed now. So, this is the question that I’m asking. It is most unfortunate if a question as simple as this cannot even be answered,” he said.