State Umno secretary Azhar Ibrahim told NST that Penang Umno will recommend to the Federal Government to stop all proposed mega projects in the state, include those planned under the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER), the second Penang Bridge, the light monorail transit system, the Penang Outer Ring Road, the Penang Sentral and the RapidPenang bus service.
"Since the people have clearly rejected development and made their choice for a change, we will recommend to the federal government to cancel all such projects. Don’t blame us for this," he said after a state liaison committee meeting yesterday.
This is precisely the kind of attitude and political arrogance which caused the people to reject Umno in the recently concluded general election. I expected Umno leaders to sober up and respect the verdict with magnanimity. Instead, a small fly like Azhar Ibrahim has issued yet another threat.
In a dialogue with a number of European ambassadors at the French Embassy, I responded to a question on whether Abdullah Badawi should step aside as a prime minister and told the HEs that Malaysian people will ensure Abdullah is rightfully returned as the prime minister since his coalition won the election with a decisive simple majority. Politically, Malaysians have shown a level of maturity never seen before and we are ready to join the ranks of developed countries.
Any undemocratic means to seize power from Abdullah Badawi (including a loose coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim) cannot be encouraged. Politicians must respect the nation's democratic process which gave them the mandate to rule for the next 5 years.
Similarly, Penang Umno does not have the legitimacy and moral ground to tell the federal government to act hostile towards the 5 opposition controlled states. For the sake of the country, federal and state governments must find a solution to establish a cordial working relationship to ensure the nation's future is not jeopardize.
Any move by Penang Umno to disrupt peaceful transition of power in the state is unconstitutional and dangerous. The people, your new bosses, are watching.
I applaud Dr Koh Tsu Koon's stand on this matter.
4 comments:
Thank you for this cogent piece. Finally, a voice of reason.
Quite childish I must say in throwing tantrums.
How about all Penangites are not allow to pay federal income tax or EPF tax?Penang Umno-putra need to include that recommedation too!
Umno-putra want to punish Penangites for voting opposition, this is Democracy, people have every right to vote any party they want, people power has spoken out loud and clear to BN , don't play with fire of freedom, umnoputra, threatening Penangites is not the way to be an effective opposition .
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