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| Abdul Karim (second right) shaking hands with Wong after the joint press conference. |
KUCHING: Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah had to clear the air on his remark ‘beggars cannot be choosers’, which is believed to have offended some constituents in the opposition areas.
At a press conference yesterday, he said he did not refer to any particular person and clarified that “sometimes quotes are given in jest”.
“Definitely, the honourable members from DAP (Democratic Action Party) and PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) are not beggars, they are elected representatives,” he said at the media centre after delivering his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly.
Among those with him at the conference were Pelawan assemblyman David Wong and Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang.
Abdul Karim admitted he mentioned “beggars cannot be choosers” last Saturday when commenting on the minor rural project (MRP) fund that the Sarawak government would be granting opposition state assemblymen.
He said he was aware of the meeting (last Thursday) between the Chief Minister and some opposition members of the State Legislative Assembly to deliberate on the matter but he had no details on the meeting.
“I was not there, so I’m not sure how much the quantum is to be given. But they (opposition members) had informed the Chief Minister how much the federal government and all that are giving.”
The minister said he had earlier indicated that the amount to be given to the opposition members by the Sarawak government “will be much, much more than what the other state assemblies are giving to the opposition members”.
As an example, he said he was informed that the Johor government is giving RM50,000 to the elected representatives from Umno.
Abdul Karim reminded all that the Sarawak government had never allocated MRP fund to the opposition and now that “we are giving… and so we give a bit, they are asking for much more”.
“They are saying Parliament is giving this, this, this. We are the state assemblymen, we are not Parliament. So that is the reason why I said when you’re the beggars, you cannot be choosers,” he quipped.
In this respect, he said there was no need for him to apologise since he was not calling anybody in particular beggars.
“This is just out-of-jest quote, which is commonly used. Beggars cannot be choosers kan (right)? It’s like that,” he added.
Elaborating on the matter, Wong said they must make it clear that people in the constituencies presently held by the opposition pay taxes too.
“So it is only fair that we are given the funding,” he asserted.
“The funding is not for us personally. It is to help to provide better services to the people in our constituencies,” he added.
While Abdul Karim concurred with him by saying “Agree, agree, ya”, Wong went on to say: “But to use the word (saying) ‘beggars cannot be choosers’, it really hurts. It not only hurts me but I think it hurts the rakyat (people) and taxpayers.”
According to Wong, people are calling him from Sibu and asking him to explain why they are considered beggars.
“In the same analogy, if the (Sarawak) state government asks for funding from the federal government, are we considered beggars? I think that is why we have to be very sensitive.
“Can we call the Sarawak government beggar? No. Because Sarawak government is only demanding what is right for Sarawak, and we are only demanding what is right for our constituents,” added Wong.
Abdul Karim was quick to reiterate: “That is the reason why I used the words ‘in jest’.”
His response prompted Chang to say: “I think sometimes jest can go too far as well.”
To this, Abdul Karim said with a broad grin: “If you get offended by that, I’d say very sorry about that. But then it’s not and never my intention to call you a beggar because I know you are an honourable member of the assembly.”
Wong then shot back: “People are offended by that.”
Chang chipped in, saying: “I think if you call us (the opposition) beggars, it is quite okay because we are the elected representatives. We are doing on behalf of the people, (but) you are not entitled to call the people of our constituencies beggars.”
To which, Abdul Karim quickly responded: “No, no. I don’t call them (people) beggars. They are not the recipients, they might be the beneficiaries.”
He also said the MRP fund would be meant for the opposition members to run their service centres “because we feel it’s not cheap to employ an office and clerks, the state government is sympathetic also”.
The minister’s remarks prompted Wong to immediately say: “We have been there for a decade, you know”.
Abdul Karim responded by saying: “But at least we are giving you (MPR fund), so we are also caring towards the opposition.”
The conference concluded with Wong declaring “Okay, we clear the air” and Abdul Karim saying “No offence, ya”. -TheBorneoPost
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