Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan said: “I see no difference between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. Both are happy to be Robin Hood, the thief. They take by force from one section of society and pass the stolen goods in the form of winning support.”
He was speaking at a public forum titled “No more subsidy?! What do we do now?” at the KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night.
He claimed that BN redistributes wealth according to races while the PR wants to redistribute wealth according to classes.
“The culture of charitable giving is missing from our country. We depend too much on the government that we forget there’s something called charitable giving,” he said.
Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno Youth chief and MP for Rembau, who was also at the forum, said he disagreed with Wan Saiful on his idea of an ideal government.
“I pray every day that I’m not born into a government that Wan Saiful described because intellectually and philosophically, there is no justification for a night-watching state,” he said.
DAP Klang MP Charles Santiago agreed with Khairy that the government plays a crucial role.
“If you live in a society which relies on the altruistic nature of men to help you out, then I think you’re screwed, my friend,” Khairy said with pessimism.
He said he believed that the government was there for a reason and if the government “screws up”, then you can vote them out during elections.
Khairy said he viewed Robin Hood as an “enduring hero” because of his fight to redistribute wealth to the underprivileged.
