IN light of Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor’s criticism of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s commitment to eradicate hardcore poverty in the country, Hassan Karim has come to the prime minister’s defence, saying that one does not have to be poor to understand poverty.

The Pasir Gudang MP highlighted Tun Abdul Razak Hussein as one of the few politicians who put forth significant effort to aid those in need despite never having faced financial hardship.

“Does Sanusi know that our second prime minister studied in Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) before?” Hassan said in a Facebook post today (June 5).

“Razak was a son of a noble family in Pahang, but look at what he has done to fight for the poor?

“Who was the prime minister who opened thousands of hectares of land nationwide under the Felda land plan to be given to poor Malays? Of course, the answer is Razak who used to study at MCKK and is not from a poor family.”

Hassan said perhaps the PAS elections director needs to remember that Razak - dubbed the country’s Bapa Pembangunan (Father of Development) - was the one who founded the New Economic Policy whose main purpose is to eradicate poverty for all Malaysians regardless of race and religion.

The PKR leader was responding to Sanusi’s accusation yesterday (June 4) that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was “all talk” when it comes to eradicating hardcore poverty in the country.

In a speech at Perikatan Nasional’s campaign programme in Tanjong Karang, Selangor last night, Sanusi questioned if Anwar had ever been poor as he had previously studied at MCKK and came from a wealthy family.

“What is so wrong for study at MCKK? The MCKK school is for the best Malay students. I know that because my eldest son also studied there as he achieved the best grade during his UPSR exam,” Hassan remarked.

He also cited Anwar’s first action as Prime Minister as another example of helping the poor despite never experiencing financial struggles.

According to Hassan, the Tambun MP’s first action was to reportedly discuss with business tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, who owns Padiberas Nasional Berhad (BERNAS) rice company about giving back some of his RM100 mil profits to the poor farmers in Kedah.

He also called for Sanusi to be more modest in his speeches and be respectful to others, including the Prime Minister. - June 5, 2023 

https://focusmalaysia.my/tun-razak-wasnt-impoverished-but-yet-he-fought-for-the-poor-mp-reminds-sanusi/