So many issues plaguing govt but PN largely silent, says Khairy

Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin has hit out at Perikatan Nasional (PN) over its failure to capitalise on the issues plaguing the government, including the decision to grant a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Khairy said PN needed more "goalscorers" to speak up on issues that do not involve identity politics or the 3R issues of race, royalty, and religion.

"The DNAA issue is something that only one or two PN members have really spoken about. The rest, we don't know where they are," he said on the latest edition of Keluar Sekejap, a podcast he co-hosts with former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan.

Zahid was given a DNAA on Sept 4 after the Attorney-General's Chambers decided to discontinue the case, where he had been on trial over 47 charges of corruption.

Khairy's comments came in the aftermath of the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections in Johor, which saw Pakatan Harapan retain both seats with smaller majorities of 18,641 votes and 3,514 votes, respectively.

"PN needs to learn from these two by-elections that it's not enough to rely on the 3Rs and DNAA if they don't up their game to focus on policies and provide an alternative vision.

"You can't expect to win by default," he said.

Khairy, who was sacked from Umno, said PN cannot expect an increase in votes in the two seats as many will forget about the Zahid case in a few years, adding that the coalition should address issues affecting the country's future and government administration given that many of its leaders have experience in both federal and state governments.