Lim Kit Siang Should Hand Out an Olive Branch to Abdul Ghani & Appoint Him as a DAP Senator

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's decision not to admit former Johor menteri besar Abdul Ghani Othman into his new cabinet.

"It is most unfair and ungrateful for Umno leaders to drop Ghani like a tonne of bricks after he failed to defeat me in Gelang Patah," said Lim (right).

Lim garnered 54,284 votes in the May 5 general election, while Ghani, in his first ever electoral defeat, drew 39,522, votes.

Lim said he had openly acknowledged that Ghani had made an invaluable contribution to the development of Johor and that his experience should be tapped as a cabinet member.


He said he was surprised that there are those within Umno resisting Ghani's return to national politics, citing Former Barisan Elected Representatives Association (Mubarak) as an example.

Mubarak had raised its objection to appointing those who lost in the general election to government posts, which Lim argued was aimed at Ghani.

If Kit Siang thinks so highly of Abdul Ghani, he should seek the permission of his party's CEC to appoint Abdul Ghani as a Senator on his party's quota in Penang.

I am sure the appointment would allow Abdul Ghani to continue contributing to nation building and help the DAP to reach out to the Malay community.

It would be a waste and a mistake to watch such a good leader fading away from the national politics. 

It would be more productive and the right thing to do for Kit Siang to hand over an olive branch to Abdul Ghani and to save his political career for our common good. 

I trust the good judgement of Kit Siang.   

Democratic Reforms: Recognize Opposition Leaders & PR Can Take the Lead

DAP has urged that sweeping parliamentary reforms be put at the top of the agenda following the 13th general election, including making the position of opposition leader equal to that of a minister in the cabinet.

“The parliamentary opposition leader should be provided with adequate staff to carry out his duties - at least two political secretaries, one private secretary and three search assistants,” said DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

He added that the opposition leader should also enjoy the same perks and privileges accorded to a minister, on top of being consulted  in the arrangement of parliamentary businesses.

“The elevation of the position and status of the parliamentary opposition leader is in keeping with those of a normal democratic country, where alternation of power in every general election is taken as a routine exercise of the democratic rights of voters and not as a national catastrophe...” he said.

I support Lim's call to accord the necessary recognition, perks and privileges to the Opposition Leader in Parliament. If PM Najib is serious about his reform pledge post 13th GE, this should be an easy step to take. 

The provision of resources to employ research assistants can help to enhance the quality of debate in the Parliament.

Hence, I would like to urge both PR and BN state assemblies to adopt the same approach too and accord the right recognition to the Opposition Leader of the house. 

To take it a step further, I would like to urge PR state assemblies to make the first step. I am sure this might nudge BN harder to make the same move. This is definitely the right stet to take.

PM Najib & UMNO Must Take The Right Steps Towards Real Reform

I would have to agree that it is important for PM Najib and UMNO to take the right steps towards reform. 

First, please ensure that Dr M no longer interferes with the national politics. 

Second, cut off the nexus between Perkasa and UMNO. 

Third, revamp the entire Utusan editorial board and editorial direction. 

Fourth, restructure the whole EC and start to map out the right process to restore electoral credibility including considering the proportionate representation proposal which is more democratic. 

Fifth, start the journey of real reform by cutting off the nexus between political parties and the media. 

Sixth, set up a bipartisan committee together with esteemed retired judges and really non-partisan credible individuals to address the 13th GE petitions and complaints. 

Give an assurance that the Election Court will be fully impartial and whatever the court rules shall be accepted by all.

Post GE Observation - Penang

I was reflecting on the post-GE political situation in Penang. There are some observations and advice to all:

1) Do not attempt to corrupt. The ruling party will abet the people to take it. The people will take it, enjoy your free food and curse you for doing so. They shout corruption, you shout charity.

2) Penang people are the best actors in the world. They will shake your hands during these free dinners, smile and give encouraging words but go online to really give you a piece of their mind.

3) BN should really stop insulting the people of Penang with BR1M. They had voted overwhelming against you because you gave them RM500 a year. The people will take your money, claimed that you had insulted them and the ruling party will take credit for it. So, BN should learn the lesson and stop all BR1M to Penang next year.

4) People went out to vote because it is the GE. This is something they need to do but they do not think you should really contest as a candidate from the Corrupted, Racist and Dirty coalition. They can already get a two party system from the three parties in the ruling coalition. They can do their own check-and-balance. Sometimes, they can contest against one another too. BN non-UMNO candidates should really CLOSE down all their service centres in Penang

5) BN candidates should learn a new reality as an opposition. There is no need to serve for 5 years and try get elected. With the current political situation, even if you spend 50 years of community work, you will still be called a prostitute and a lap dog during the campaign. Even your neighbour will vote against you. So, if Penang needs an opposition 2 weeks can kautim them already.

6) If you are smart, you should start to copy right these slogans: Tetap UBAH!, Sekali Lagi Lah! Kita Kena Rompak 2013! Tiap Tiap Kali Lah! UBAH 2.0! and as many variations you can think of. It will make you a small fortune!

7) The results? You should go straight to the majority. Duh! Which non-UMNO candidates stand a chance? Even a crooked undersea tunnel will be seen as an icon of Penang. Penang Tetap Boleh!

My Reflections on the Penang Undersea Tunnel & 13th GE

It was not an easy decision or task to campaign against the Penang undersea tunnel. The decision to push the Penang undersea tunnel forward as a campaign issue in Pulau Tikus was to achieve these objectives:

1. We hope to achieve a greater public awareness of the project and other high rise development projects in the area. On this part, I hope we have managed to draw greater public awareness to these projects. But we have failed to impress the voters and residents on the need to get the DAP state government to release the Local Development Plan before the elections. Personally, I do not think the state government will release the plan before approving a few more high rises in Pulau Tikus and other parts of Penang.
2. We wanted to discourage the state government especially the CM from making irrational decisions and act impulsively on the undersea tunnel. We wanted him to listen to all expert advice and feedback before embarking on it. He did not appear to be willing to listen and had insisted that he had the support of the people to go ahead. On this part, we have failed to convince him to change him mind and to accept a more holistic approach. We do not not know if he is going to conduct the necessary studies before going ahead with the project or not. There are signs of reclamation of land starting at the E&O Straits Quay.
3. We supported the BN candidate for Pulau Tikus, Ms Rowena Yam, because we believe that NGOs will have to work with a local assemblyman who is sympathetic to the cause and will do her best to ensure that all procedures and guidelines are met before construction works start for the undersea tunnel. Sadly, the residents and voters do not see it this way. A lot of them are too caught up with other issues to be concerned about check-and-balance and the need for public scrutiny. You already know the verdict. Again, we have failed to get the right candidate elected into the state assembly. 

The people of Penang has given Lim Guan Eng a bigger majority. His administration is successfully returned with an additional seat and a super  majority. We believe he is going to take his mandate as a solid approval for the undersea tunnel project.

I leave it to the people of Penang. You will have to stand up for your own interests and rights now. On the Penang undersea tunnel, we have given you enough information and questions you need to ask the state government.

The rest is really up to you since you have decided. From now on, you are on your own. 

Bring Out the Best in Lim Guan Eng: You Can Spoil Him or Help Him Build a Legacy We Can Be Proud Of

I have been reading about how some bizmen in Penang are going against Lim Guan Eng. It is sad that it had turned out to be so vindictive.


LGE is both an asset and a risk for his party. I still remember he told me on the night his party won the GE and he was anointed the CM that he will focus on building up the state's process and institutions so that the next govt that comes in will not be able to reverse them. This is for the purpose of check and balance. I told him I was happy that the state govt was in good hand now. 

He could have done great things for Penang with his popularity and mandate. He could get people to take the public transport by just showing an example and promoting it. He could get the people to support his transformation plans if he had the vision. 

The first term of LGE is a lost period and a mediocre one by his standard and popularity. He shouldn't have misled the people on the public transport and the undersea tunnel. He should have managed the Bayan Mutiara land sale differently and draw up a Master Plan for the new George Town that is modern and knowledge focused. But he had chosen to sell it to a developer friend.

He will win another 5 years but we must help to bring out the best in him. He needs to listen better and he has to be challenged in the state assembly to push the limit and to bring out the best in him and his team. If we do not send 2 non-UMNO representatives in the state assembly, we might spoil and not help LGE.

He is a friend but I would prefer him to be a better CM than a good friend. He is surely angry with me on my tunnel protest. But I am helping to ensure that he has a choice to avoid the history from judging him cruelly or celebrate him as an inclusive visionary. It will become a white elephant and we do not want to name the white elephant; the Tun Lim Guan Eng Tunnel!

Please vote for Ms Rowena Yam (Pulau Tikus) and Dr Thor Teong Gee (Sungai Pinang). They will give him a run for his money and keep him alert.

Some Thoughts For the GE 13 & World Press Freedom Day

For your consumption & consideration:

1) It is not true that you should vote blindly for a party. Voting for a party without evaluating your candidates is going to deprive you and other voters the best choice.

2) It is not true that a party is bad. There is no such thing as a bad party, only bad and unscrupulous politicians. They should be rejected. Once you elect better candidates, they will be at the forefront of change.

3) It is time for all race based and religious based parties to change or be changed. No political party or politician should manipulate race and religion for their own political expediency.

4) For a better check-and-balance, please do not allow any coalition obtain two-thirds majority at state assemblies and the parliament. No party is able to do its own check-and-balance. You need a strong opposition.

5) Reject political and cyber bullies. Today is World Press Freedom Day. We must use our access to the Internet and free media to convey the voices of the people and fight injustices and bullies.

6) Canvass and vote for whoever you want but you must remember that the one u supported or rejected could be your neighbour. We are all Malaysians and we must show enough restraint. We vote for a better governance and not just to replace the political regime.

ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY!

CM Lim Guan Eng Should Seek a Clearer View for His Tunnel Vision

I refer to The Sun's exclusive interview with CM Lim Guan Eng on his vision for Penang. I am particularly very interested in his view on the highway and undersea tunnel. Here's his response to the question on the project:

Sun: Penang PR is basing its election campaign on the three highway and undersea tunnel projects which have received mixed response. How do you think the electorate will react to these mega projects?

LGE: "This is just one of our pro-active measures to resolve traffic congestion. Before we took over, 60,000 vehicles per day were using the Penang Bridge, but now the volume has increased to 80,000.

The federal government wants to sabotage us by not providing public transport ... they want to choke us to death with traffic congestion. Do we sit down to wait to die? I refuse to wait to die. I want to be proactive. We need to look for alternatives, need some road improvements, not only the tunnel but also three highways, (are) all done without paying cash.

The Tanjung Pinang land deal can help resolve the traffic problems and get us the highways we won't normally get.

There is no choice for us because the previous administration had signed away the rights to build bridges. We cannot build bridges, but they forgot about the tunnel, so we have no choice but to use the loophole."

I hope LGE could rethink his decision and seek a clearer view for his tunnel vision. I would like to point out some of the discrepancies from his response:

1. If he wants to take a proactive measure to solve traffic congestion, he should be focusing on moving people and not vehicles. Although the traffic volume has increased on the first bridge, the growth is expected to be mitigated when the second bridge is fully operational by August this year. Together with the first bridge, second bridge and the ferry service, it should be adequate to accommodate the volume for many years to come.
2. It is a fallacy to claim that the federal government is sabotaging Penang by refusing to provide the public transport. Rapid Penang, owned by a federal agency Prasarana, operates around 240 buses throughout Penang. At present, the bus operator is only charging on average RM1.40 per head compared to the operational cost of RM1.80 per head. It needs RM600 a day to run a bus. At present, the bus operator is losing approximately RM12 million a year on the back of RM43 million revenue. The losses are being absorbed by the federal government. If it is true that the federal government is sabotaging Penang, it should have closed down the Rapid Penang since 2008 once the Dap captured the state government. Why should the federal government continue to subsidize the public bus system in Penang?
3. It is pointless for LGE to keep blaming the bus operator and the federal government. I know his motive is to extract the maximum anger of the people against the federal government. But we must call a spade a spade and be fair to the Rapid Penang team led by Jamali Soaidin, the COO. Jamali is an Ampang boy who is a trained infrastructure engineer. 
4. In order to create a good public transport system, the bus operator, the state government and the local councils need to work together. The operator has to depend on the local councils to help upgrading the roads to allow for better access for its 10 meter buses. It needs the cooperation of the state government and the local councils to help allocate land for them to build transport hubs and substations. In fact, the Rapid Penang has taken over the initiative to build more bus stands to accommodate the commuters' demand. From my dialogue with the Rapid Penang, I must praise Chow Kon Yeow for his support and good rapport with the bus operator. His team has been very efficient and quick in approving applications to add more bus stands and other facilities. 
5. Lim Guan Eng has criticized the bus operator for refusing to accept the state's RM10 million to provide free buses during peak hours. Does he know that 70% of the bus operator's revenue comes from peak hours e.g. passengers attending schools, going to work, returning from school and after work. Offering free buses during the peak hours would have cost the operator RM30.1 million in revenue. Does LGE understand this predicament? As a commercial company, it still need to pay bonuses to staff and offer an attractive pay package to its drivers. The operator has been facing difficulty in recruiting and retaining drivers despite paying more than RM2,000 in gross pay plus medical benefit for the whole family. 
6. Even if the state government wants to run its own bus services, it has to answer a few questions. Bus commuters have peaked at 87,000 on any single day. Without the necessary policy intervention from the state government, how can these operators find more passengers to use fill up their buses? It needs a holistic approach to help migrate private vehicles' users to the public transport. How can this be done if Lim Guan Eng has rejected taking the Singapore approach, as proposed by the Transport Master Plan, to impose peak hours fee on private vehicles entering the city or using the highways? How can these buses meet their SLA of 7 minutes waiting time if the local councils are not doing their job to fine and tow vehicles that are parking indiscriminately along narrow secondary roads and major roads in the city? Building more roads and tunnels without a comprehensive strategy is an action in futility. 
7. It is misleading to claim that these projects do not involve any cash. Logically, no commercial company will accept any project without the possibility of making a profit. What is the market value for the 110 acres of land in Tanjung Pinang? What is its current and future valuation? Land is gold. In a place like Penang, it keeps going up in value. Whatever we are paying today using land means we are paying for the project plus interest! (land appreciation). Moreover, the cash is going to be paid by the people through the 30-year concession for the developers to collect toll equivalent to the second bridge toll rates.
8. Finally, a government should not just build an undersea tunnel because it can't build a bridge. I really hope LGE is saying this in a jest and to run down the BN during the campaign period. The decision to build an undersea tunnel must be properly thought out and it must be justified with real needs. Proper studies as DEIA, Traffic Impact Assessment, Feasibility Study and Cost-Benefit Analysis must be carried out. We should learn from other PPP experiences world-wide where undersea tunnel projects had to go into receivership because the operators could not sustain them. The main question we must ask is why do we need an undersea tunnel? There are too much as stake for Lim to make his decision on the basis of 'sabotage' and 'uncooperative' federal government. 
9. There are many things for his government to do if he does not want to be a "do-nothing' government. First, he can try to sit down with the bus operator, the Traffic Council and the local councils to explore ways to improve the bus service around the state. He should release the Local Development Plan to ensure that high rise developments are approved within the city planning guidelines. We cannot just build high rises without major infrastructure improvements. Unfortunately, a large part of Penang island especially George Town was built before the war. Its roads are narrow. He can explore other public transport and mobility solutions to help reducing carbon dioxide and pollution by reducing the number of private vehicles. He can start to think about ways and means to rehabilitate our beaches and seafronts. There are many things that his government can do but building the undersea tunnel should be the last thing on his list. 
10. Again, if his administration is serious I am sure many of us would be willing to collaborate and help the state government to think out of the box to solve the traffic congestion issues. I have the commitment of Jamili and his Rapid Penang team to help out if LGE can stop politicizing this issue and place the blame on them.

What say you Mr Lim Guan Eng?