Newly-minted Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is taking a hard line against the Federal Government’s detractors, saying that they won’t even see him coming when he lays down the law on them.
“This is not a warning. I am taking action without warning,” he said at the Bayan Baru UMNO annual general meeting yesterday.
“You will have to pay a very expensive price. Don’t ever spin. This is Zahid Hamidi, okay?”
According to The Star Online, Zahid also vowed not to let false allegations and fabricated evidence against Putrajaya run rampant on his watch.
“Not under my leadership; I am telling you this. Don’t expect me to warn, expect me to take action.”
He also asserted his position as the Deputy Prime Minister for all Malaysians, albeit one with a clear stand on the rights and privileges of Malay-Muslims in the country.
“I am a fundamentalist in Islam. I am a Malay but I’ll never forget non-Muslims and other races. I am a minister for all Malaysians; a Deputy Prime Minister for all Malaysians.
“But I will never compromise my principles for Islam and Malays.
“I have to be fair to the rest, but do not question my stand.”
Exhorting UMNO members to defend the party against attacks on social media, Zahid advocated using online networks to hit out against “political enemies”:
“Use social network to counter slander,” he said.
“Umno and Barisan Nasional are hard to be broken from the outside but easily broken from the inside. What happens among us is an attempt to break us from the inside with our different views.”
During a press conference after the event, the DPM dismissed rumours that he would move to block online social networks moving forward.
“Do not smear my name. Their intention was to portray that I am not familiar with the law.
“Retract your lies now. Don’t play with me and don’t spread lies against any party or country leader.
“Do not use the freedom of speech and freedom of expression to spread lies.
“If the police manage to find the source, tiada maaf baginya (no pardon for you).”
Zahid’s personal brand of jutice was felt over the weekend, when the #TangkapNajib protest in front of Sogo KL on Saturday saw an unusually large police presence and the arrests of 29 demonstrators, 21 of whom are still under remand order in the Jinjang Police Station.
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