Mahfuz, the former Pokok Sena MP, likened Perikatan Nasional’s tactics to the old practice of scaring children with ghost stories to stop them from staying out late at night.

“Every day they accuse the government of failing, yet they themselves have done nothing. Not a single policy solution has been proposed to bring relief to the people.

“Instead, they push fear-based politics, such as claiming the country is tilting towards China,” he said at a ceramah in Penang last night.

He added that the weaknesses of state governments under PN control were shown up by such matters as the unresolved water supply issue involving the Sungai Limau water treatment plant in Kedah, which has required federal government intervention, as well as the political turmoil in Perlis.

Mahfuz defended the achievements of the Madani government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, including two increases in the padi floor price and maintaining the RON95 petrol subsidy at an affordable RM1.99 per litre.

“The government has never promised an easy life, but when people are struggling, we do not leave them to fend for themselves,” he said.

“When they were in power, egg and chicken prices soared sharply. Now that we provide Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) assistance, they complain as well. What kind of politics is this, where nothing is ever good enough?” he said.

Yesterday, economy minister Akmal Nasrullah Nasir said the federal government is expected to allocate an additional RM50 million to rescue the stalled Sungai Limau project in Baling after the original contract for the project was terminated last year.

He said the nearly RM100 million project had only achieved between 15% and 20% progress before construction was stopped, forcing the federal government to step in and take over its management.