Article by Chris Lee Chun Kit (MBPP Councillor) on the Terence Netto’s commentary on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on the 28th of November 2017
Here’s the real encore!
Terence Netto had a field day in his article criticising Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (https://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/403348) recently. His linking of many unrelated events together with the issue regarding PKR Kebun Bunga Assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng seems to be constructed in a way to paint a rather biased picture of the CM especially in the wake of one of the worst natural disasters to hit Penang in recent history. Anyway, while the right to criticise is the inalienable right of all Malaysians, the right to clarify and respond is also an equally inalienable right.
The author needs to get his facts right, no one is stopping the Kebun Bunga Assemblyman’s office nor his JKKKs from helping the victims of the November 5th floods. As mentioned, the internal administrative procedures are the only differences for Cheah in terms of the final approvals of the RM 700 one-off monetary aid. Though many people were quick to speculate on the issue, the focus on the administration’s minds are on the victims of the November 5th floods and finding the quickest ways for the aid to reach the people of Kebun Bunga without any potential delays. Times of disasters are definitely not the time to have any potential personal differences get in the way of aiding the people.
When the CM, the Pulau Tikus Assemblywoman Yap Soo Huey and myself visited Hong Seng Estate which is under the Kebun Bunga State Constituency last Saturday the 25th of November, the negative reactions of the villagers towards their elected assemblyman were very evident and can even be viewed on the Buletin Mutiara facebook page. These negative reactions were definitely not planted like what Barisan Nasional officials often like to do as these were genuine residents of the village who were badly affected by the floods. The procedures were decided even before the visit to ensure that the genuine victims could be correctly pointed out as fast as possible. The visit merely acknowledged and reinforced the perception that urgent attention needed to be paid towards the Kebun Bunga Constituency. Fast reaction is a must!
No politician can ever control how the electorate would react to incidences but Pakatan Harapan being a coalition that wants to be an alternative to the failed Barisan Nasional government system for the overall survival of Malaysia, we have to respond to their grouses and unhappiness quickly and as efficiently as possible. As if the unhappiness reaches a boiling point, it will not just be their Assemblyman that the people will be taking out their frustrations upon, but the entire Pakatan Harapan Penang State Government. The administration has a huge responsibility to carry in the aftermath of November the 5th.
Now with the 14th General Elections looming over the horizon, we are within the final lap before the finish line. The BN are ever waiting for political opportunity to break the Pakatan Harapan coalition once and for all to ensure that no opposition coalition will ever come close enough to unseat them ever again. We need to be as strong as ever to face the onslaught that will be coming our way in less than six months time. That includes fighting and keeping all the existing seats that the coalition had won in the previous elections from the BN.
Every seat counts and the administration as a whole needs to ensure that every single constituency is serviced to their absolute best, especially in times of disasters. So to the author of the previous article, here are my observations and I would like to ask that you stop all the speculations and concentrate on what we can do to ensure that Malaysia will not go back to the dark ages of absolute Barisan Nasional rule. Failure is no longer an option for us now.
Chris Lee Chun Kit is a City Councillor at the City Council of Penang Island (MBPP) representing the DAP