KUALA LUMPUR – The immature political attack by the Member of Parliament for Tasek Gelugor, Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, regarding the ‘Madani City’ development project not only demonstrates his ignorance but also belittles the government’s efforts to meet the needs of civil servants and workers.
PKR Central Leadership Council member, G Sivamalar, said the accusation that the project was supposedly named after the Prime Minister is clearly malicious, misleading to the public and smacks of cheap politics.
Sivamalar said that Madani City is not ‘Anwar City’ as cynically claimed by Wan Saiful.
“The name Madani was never created to elevate any individual, but is the core of the country’s administrative policy today. In fact, Madani is an abbreviation of the values of sustainability, well-being, creativity, respect, confidence and Ihsan (excellence) as the main principles in the Malaysia Madani policy.
“It is shameful that a Member of Parliament is willing to belittle the nation’s philosophy based on these noble values for narrow political gain,” she said in a statement today.
Yesterday, Wan Saiful, who is also a Supreme Leadership Council Member of Bersatu, called on the Madani Government not to be narcissistic and to stop the practice of using administrative slogans as the names of government initiatives.
“How much of the people’s money has to be wasted when government slogans change and the labelling is also changed?” asked Wan Saiful, who also urged the government to find another name for the Madani City project in Putrajaya.
Commenting further, Sivamalar said that 90% of Putrajaya’s residents are civil servants, so it is appropriate and essential for the government to ensure their basic needs are met.
Madani City, she said, is not a project for the elite and is far from the skyscraper syndrome that plagued previous governments. Instead, Madani City is a concrete solution to the legacy issue of public housing in Putrajaya.
“The 2021 Auditor General’s Report confirms that almost 18,000 civil servants are still on the waiting list to occupy government quarters, but no new quarters have been built in recent years.
“Madani City will provide 10,000 units dedicated as quarters for civil servants, which can accommodate up to 30,000 residents, and this is not just a number but a real commitment to meet their rights and needs,” she said.
Sivamalar added that in terms of design and planning, Madani City offers an inclusive and sustainable urban development model and a city designed to facilitate people’s daily lives.
“Wan Saiful’s statement is just another old political ploy trying to thwart the government’s reform efforts, and if he really cares about the welfare of the people, he should support projects that solve the housing problems of civil servants and urban workers.
“Cynical politics and rhetoric without facts like this are outdated and no longer relevant in the new Malaysian landscape that wants to move forward with fair, equitable and comprehensive policies,” she said.
She said that Madani City is not a city of rhetoric, but a city of hope and prosperity built on the real needs of the people. – June 5, 2025