PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan has invited singing icon Sheila Majid (pic) and other celebrities to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) for a briefing on the current state of the Malaysian economy.

"Maybe Persatuan Seniman can organise the visit and I will be delighted to be the host,” said the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department who is in charge of the EPU in a series of tweets on Sunday (Dec 10).

Sheila recently made headlines with her tweet about the rising cost of living.

Abdul Rahman said that it is not wrong for celebrities to comment about the country's current affairs, but just like everyone else, be prepared to be criticised.

"Politics ain’t one way street,” he said from his @mpkotabelud account.

I would also like to invite Shiela Majid or anyone of our beloved celebrities to come to Economic Planning Unit (EPU) for a briefing on the current state of our economy. Maybe Persatuan Seniman can organise the visit and I will be delighted to be the host. — Abdul Rahman Dahlan (@mpkotabelud) December 10, 2017

The Kota Belud MP, who is a self-professed “big fan” of the singer, said he can surely listen to her or anyone’s honest view if he can tolerate “inane ramblings by the Opposition”.

“But I do hope she can engage her critics and articulate further the reasons why she said what she said,” he added.

Abdul Rahman also encouraged the public to visit the EPU-organised Expo NegaraKu, which is currently being held in Dataran Merdeka, for a highly interactive exhibition of the Government’s actions to make Malaysia a better place, including “policies to make cost of living more bearable”.

He had earlier tweeted that in other countries, “celebrities, comedians and even porn stars” have a say about issues affecting their nations, with some deciding to become full-time politicians.

“But these celebrities have a track record of involving themselves, for years, in issues they are passionate about. They attend and organise talks, participate in discussions etc. They rarely tweet one or two times and expect people to understand their motives.

“By the way, many of our celebrities went through trauma of being criticised harshly by netizens and the Opposition for a simple and honest photo taken with the PM. Welcome to Malaysian politics!” said Abdul Rahman.