BN strategic communications director Abdul Rahman Dahlan has reminded Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail that her husband is an issue of the past, and she needs to focus on the present.

In a series of tweets, the Kota Belud MP zeroed in on the PKR president’s Budget 2016 speech at the Dewan Rakyat.

“Wan Azizah delivers the first budget debate by peppering her speech with Anwar’s name. That's the past, ma'am. You are the now,” Rahman said.

Anwar, the former opposition leader, is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for sodomy.

Anwar ( photo ) has maintained that the charge was fabricated but the authorities have dismissed this allegation.

Meanwhile, Rahman also noted that Wan Azizah asked when the BN government budget would not be in the deficit.

“For her information, her coalition's alternative budget is also in deficit,” tweeted the housing, local government and urban well-being minister.

He pointed out that while Wan Azizah criticised the government budget for being in the deficit, she had also, “in the same breath”, rapped the government for not spending more on programmes for the people.

“Wan Azizah should give us glimpses of her economic plan for Malaysia in her budget speech. She must not spend her entire speech to criticise,” Rahman said.

Why minimum wage is lower in Sabah

The Sabah politician also responded to the opposition leader’s criticism that minimum wage in Sabah is lower than that in the Peninsular.

“She does not understand that minimum wage must be seen from the ability of employers in Sabah to pay,” he argued.

In the 2016 Budget, tabled by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak last Friday, it was stipulated that minimum wage for workers in the private sector be increased from RM900 to RM1,000 per month in the peninsula and from RM800 to RM920 for those in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

The minimum wage is not applicable to domestic workers.

Continuing his dissection of her speech, Rahman tweeted: “Wan Azizah ( photo ) spells out why world economy is bad. She proposes counter-cyclical policy. But she didn't say what.

“Budget has limited funds. What Wan Azizah should do in her budget speech is tell us which programmes she plans to cut to finance her proposed programmes.

“By doing so, Wan Azizah can be transparent to Malaysians. In other countries opposition proposes cuts and redirects the funds to their programmes,” he added.

Rahman said it was important to know which programmes Wan Azizah wants to cut the funding for.

“Then let Malaysians decide if they will tolerate the cuts," he said.

As for the opposition’s accusation that the cabinet was being racist, Rahman urged the coalition to prove that it was indeed racist.

“Talk is cheap. Show us which government policy is racist and against the constitution,” he challenged them.