PAS is up in arms over a recent documentary featured on RTM the government's official TV station depicting the sufferings of the rural poor in Sik, Kedah.

The documentary entitled Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan (The difficulties and trials of life's journey) was broadcast over the station's prime time news slots between Nov 28 and Dec 2.

It showed clippings of interviews with local villagers lamenting how miserable life was in Sik after PAS wrested the state from the Barisan Nasional in 1999.

In a joint press statement, Sik member of Parliament Shanon Ahmad (pix, above), state assembly representatives Mohd Isa Shafie (Belantik) and Yahya Abdullah (Jeneri) criticised RTM for its "bad intentions" in showing the clippings.

PAS claimed that those interviewed were Umno members and not from PAS as claimed in the documentary.

Fool the people

They said that RTM had been "shamelessly used by Umno and BN for their own narrow political interests to discredit" the three elected representatives from PAS.

"RTM and Umno tried to show that the role of elected representatives is to construct bridges, roads and give financial handouts," said the trio.

"We are not only disappointed, we regret RTM's attitude of trying to fool the people with such immoral propaganda.

"We regret that RTM is willing to be the devil's tongue when it lies about the activities and role of PAS elected representatives in Sik for the past three years," they added.

Repeated attempts to contact RTM's broadcasting department for comments, however, have been unsuccessful.

RTM, under the stewardship of Information Minister and Umno secretary-general Khalil Yaacob, has been diligently featuring PAS-ruled states Kelantan and Terengganu as poorly managed and neglected.

Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan was actually the title of Shanon's novel, which in 1994, became the first Malaysian book to be turned into an international movie, the French-backed and set in Cambodia Gens de la Riziere (Rice People).

Shanon, a national laurette, has courted controversy since his book Shit, which was heavily criticised for its "gutter language and vulgar imagery" hit the book stands in 1999.

Shit is a satire which channels the writer's disgust at what he perceives to be the less-than-pristine state of the Malaysian political scene.

Where funds went to?

Meanwhile, the trio said Sik had been backward since state Umno chief Abdul Hamid Othman, who is currently the country's "spiritual advisor", led the constituency before the last general election.

They said the duty and responsibility of providing basic amenities and infrastructure lie with the federal government and not elected representatives.

Although representatives were allocated RM500,000 and RM100,000 each for parliament and state seats respectively, it is the state and Umno branches that decide where the money was channeled to, they added.

"Rantau Sepanjang Jalan has revealed Umno's attempt to hide corruption, abuse of power, and mismanagement in Sik," they claimed.

"The question is where has the money gone, who has it gone to and how much? Who decides how the money is spent?" they asked.

The trio urged RTM to "stop the lies and distortion of facts as it will hurt the station's credibility", adding that it should never be used as the agent of Umno, who is presently in "dire straits and lacking in idea of how to continue its narrow political agenda".

Always in bad shape

In a related development, Dr Mohd Hatta Mohd Ramli, political secretary to Opposition Leader and Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang, said the documentary reflected Umno's weaknesses as Sik had always been in bad shape even during Umno's rule.

Mohd Hatta said RTM had actually exposed the sad state of affairs of constituencies in Kedah, a state in the northern part of Malaysia, which is the homeland of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"What is RTM talking about? It is not as if Sik had been a modern city before or that we have torn down towers and shop lots when we took over," said Mohd Hatta when contacted.