J-KOM DG advised to conduct university research on Selangor voters' interest in PN

SABAK BERNAM - Director-general of the Community Communications Department (J-KOM) in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff has been advised to conduct research at a university regarding his statement claiming that voters in Selangor were not interested in voting for Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Former Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa said that Agus should provide evidence from his research before asserting that Selangor would regress if the state chose PN in the upcoming election.

"I believe he (Agus) should go back and conduct research at a university," Annuar briefly commented when asked about Agus's statement, which claimed that Selangor voters were uninterested in PN because they wanted to avoid setbacks like those experienced in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah.

Agus allegedly cited various factors, including the rejection of extremism and leaders obsessed with politics, as reasons why voters no longer respond to Malay-Islamic sentiments.

Meanwhile, former Selangor Umno chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar expressed that comparisons between Selangor and the three mentioned states should not have been made.

He argued that Selangor had progressed long before the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government came into power.

"Selangor is a developed state; it only requires new policies to attract investors, improve the economy, and support rice farmers, farmers, and fishermen," he said.

In a related matter, Selangor Pas secretary Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir described the view as "superficial" and unfair to the people of Selangor.

He mentioned that Pas had proven its capability in Selangor based on the record during the formation of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government in 2008.

"It is unfair to compare Selangor with other states because we know that Selangor earns the highest income of RM2 billion per year compared to the other three states.

"I believe efforts have been made in Kelantan and Terengganu, but they reached a dead end when the federal government did not entertain requests from the state government.

"There were efforts during the tenure of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri as Prime Ministers, but the period of governance was short," he explained.