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Flooded Malaysians vent fury at PM Ismail Sabri on Twitter over slow relief effort
- Netizens use the ‘Do Not Donate To Government’ hashtag to protest against the administration’s handling of the crisis
- The phrase refers to a public fundraiser launched by the government to help the victims of the floods that have displaced more than 61,000 people
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Malaysians took to social media to protest Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s handling of severe floods that has left dozens dead and displaced more than 61,000 people with the “Do Not Donate To Government” hashtag trending on Twitter.
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The phrase refers to a public fundraiser that Ismail Sabri’s government launched earlier in the week to help the victims of the floods that worsened last weekend and continue to inundate parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
The gesture didn’t go down well on Twitter, which has become a go-to platform for citizens to coordinate rescue and aid efforts following the government’s slow response.
The emotions captured on Twitter echo the public fury and desperation that cut short Muhyiddin Yassin’s brief time as premier this year. A social media campaign during the height of the nation’s lockdowns prompted citizens in need of aid to hang white flags outside their homes.
In the end, Muhyiddin stepped down in August, paving the way for Ismail Sabri to take over as Malaysia’s third prime minister since the 2018 general election.
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In bid to calm angry citizens, Ismail Sabri said on Friday that his ministers were ordered to cancel their holidays and return immediately to help with the flood situation. He tweeted a snippet of his media conference that was met with even more criticism.
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