Posts Tagged ‘DAP’

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Flying Sikh dumps DAP

June 15th, 2010
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Well, would you believe it! The Sikhs in DAP would be incensed after Malim Nawar (my mother’s hometown actually) assemblyman Keshvinder Singh (a lawyer too) quit from DAP to be independent (i.e. BN friendly and firm supporter of PM Najib, Menteri Besar Zambry, and 1Malaysia). I believe Keshvinder is also the first Indian rep to quit DAP and be independent. Well done!

And for what purpose? For the “kebaikan of the rakyat” of course :-)

According to him:

He also said he was leaving because he was “very disappointed” with the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leadership and the “excessive politicking” that got in the way of him carrying out his duties.

“I found it very hard to work with the Pakatan Rakyat people to serve my constituents,” he said, adding that he could not get any allocation for his constituents.

“I now realise that only Barisan can bring progress and prosperity to the people. I hope this decision will help me serve my constituents better,” he said at a press conference at a hotel here Tuesday.

“I will be going to my constituency soon to explain my decision,” he said, adding that he gave his resignation letter to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng earlier Tuesday.

In Malaysiakini, the following is mentioned:

Keshvinder said he chose to defect now instead of February last year – along with Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang), Mohd Osman Jailu(Changkat Jering) and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) – because he didn’t know how serious the problems were at his constituency then. 

“When I started doing work there (after February 2009) I found that there are severe poverty issues that really need to be solved,” he said.

Keshvinder said he hoped the BN state government will provide financial aid so that he can serve his constituents. 

“The state and national DAP did not assist me in helping the people. I couldn’t do anything for my constituents as an opposition state assemblyperson,” he said, adding that he had been using his own funds thus far.

Good for him, until we find out (or remember) that he was one of the people who claimed there were offers to buy him over last time:

On Feb 5 last year, five Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen, including Keshwinder, had claimed they had been approached by agents to cross over to Barisan Nasional.

Keshwinder had said then that he had been offered RM10mil plus the position of the Perak MIC chief and a place on the state executive council.

So, which is which?

If really for “kebaikan rakyat”, why not just resign and force a by-election? We can literally see money falling down from sky (or podium) whenever there’s by-election. The people can get new school, new road, new surau, new temple, new bridges, etc. Maybe the voters in Malim Nawar should think about this. The amount of goodies they could get from by-election should last them till the next general election.

I’m curious too, in case the PR wins GE13 and Perak state, would he realign himself to be PR-friendly (assuming he stands under BN banner then)?

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Terminating tender without reason clause

March 1st, 2010
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While it may be seen as something which is common or acceptable, the clause (number nine) in PDC’s tender application forms which says contract can be terminated at any time without any reason given upon the order of the Chief Minister or PDC chairman is not appropriate for the CAT policy of the Penang state government. You must walk your talk. At least the reason must be provided, and the contractor must have an avenue to appeal or state his case. Then only fair, right?

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has come under fire for having the power to terminate any contract awarded by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) at any time without giving any reason.

Umno Youth information chief Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the insertion of this clause in the PDC’s tender application forms recently was a “psychological threat” to contractors bidding for projects.

He said clause nine in PDC’s Tender Form A stated that contractors could have their contracts terminated at any time without any reason given upon the order of the Chief Minister or PDC chairman.

“How could anyone have the absolute power to overrule the decision made by the state Tender Board?

“This move is not in line with the Treasury’s tender procedures as observed by the Federal Gove rnment,” he told reporters at the Kepala Batas parliamentary-level Juara Rakyat programme launch in Dewan Bakar Kapor here yesterday.

Lim is PDC chairman as well as chairman of the state Tender Board.

Reezal said four contractors had highlighted the problem to him last week.

He said Lim should explain the reasons for introducing the clause and not brush it aside.

Earlier, state opposition leader Datuk Azhar Ibrahim, lashed out at Lim, saying that he hardly showed his face in Kepala Batas but expected the people to continue supporting him like he was their saviour.

When contacted, Penang Malay Contractors Association chairman Datuk Mohamed Fadzill Hassan said he has not received any complaint from his 500-odd members about the clause.

I don’t know anything about this. If there is indeed such a clause, it is not fair because Lim cannot terminate contracts just like that without giving reasons.

“Where is the transparency? The affected party can take him to court,” he said.

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I didn’t realise allocation finishing???

February 2nd, 2010
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What kind of representative is this la? Need to go for financial management course before standing for re-election. Not knowing the status and details of allocations is a pathetic excuse. Leaving this to aides to run the office is fine, but that doesn’t absolve you of anything. Its your responsibility and your head on the block.

Selangor state executive councillor Ronnie Liu admitted he did not realise he had used almost all of his RM600,000 annual allocation for 2009 in the first six months.

He was in fact surprised when informed by the Special Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) of the Selangor State Assembly that 99% of his allocation had been used between January and June.

Liu, the state Local Government Committee chairman, said he only knew that a large portion of the allocation had been spent when his personal assistant told him “wang cepat habis” (the money was running out fast).

Liu was hauled before a Selcat inquiry yesterday at the state secretariat building here to explain excessive expenditures of annual allocations.

“The situation in and around my constituency is unique. There are many active associations, temples and churches.

“They request for my financial help. There is a lot of pressure on my part,” said the Pandamaran state assemblyman.

When Selcat panel member Saari Sungib asked Liu what did he do to source for money after June when his allocation dried up, the exco member replied he pledged funds to organisations by using loans and next year’s allocation.

He had pledged about RM120,000 until the end of last year.

Saari then asked him: “Aren’t you a politician who promises too much?” Liu replied: “These are promises I can keep. The money will not be given out immediately. The recipients understand this.”

Another Selcat panel member Mohamed Azmin Ali asked why the allocation disbursed via cheques to 43 organisations had named individuals as recipients, and Liu said: “That is a good question.

“I do not know why such a mechanism was used. I will direct my three personal assistants to change the names of the recipients to the associations.” [this is recipe for disaster. MACC will be gleefully investigate this!]

Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Sri Muda assemblyman Shuhaimi Shafiei were the other two leaders who have used more than 70% of their allocations from January to June 2009.

Nik Nazmi had used up 88% of his funds while Shuhaimi had spent 72%.

Later at a press conference, Selcat chairman Teng Chang Khim commended Nik Nazmi and Shuhaimi, describing them as “superb” in answering questions posed by the panel members.

“Nik Nazmi adhered to the guidelines by using 30% of his allocation for small projects and is very familiar with his account.

“Shuhaimi explained that his area encountered three floods in December 2008 and January the following year,” he said.

NST has more juicy details:

Pandamaran assemblyman Ronnie Liu pleaded ignorance and blamed his personal assistant for his financial predicament on the last day of the Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) hearing yesterday.Liu, who was the first Pakatan Rakyat representative called as a witness before Selcat, spent 99.01 per cent of his RM618,042.34 constituency allocation last year in six months (from January to June). [who is elected rep, Ronnie or his assistant?]

He said he did not realise that he had spent almost all his constituency allocation by June as he was not in charge of the accounts and was never informed by his personal assistant Tee Boon Hock that it had almost run out of money.

“My personal assistant was in charge of the accounts and because he is also a local councillor, he did not have the time to tell me.

“He just said, ‘YB, the money is finishing fast’. I was surprised when I was told by Selcat that 99 per cent of my constituency allocation had been spent.”

He was one of the first Pakatan representatives who disclosed to the public that most Barisan Nasional assemblymen in Selangor had spent their annual constituency allocations within the first three months in 2008.

Liu, who is state executive councillor in charge of local government and research, claimed most of his allocation went to schools, non-governmental and religious associations, adding that he was under pressure to contribute.

Selcat chairman Teng Chang Khim said Liu could not make such a claim as only 40 of the 168 applications for contributions were from schools and organisations.

Liu, however, disagreed. Teng then ordered him to read out loud each of the organisation which received funds from him.

It turned out that 43 of 168 contributions were made to associations and religious bodies and this amounted to 25 per cent of the allocations.

Moreover, none of the allocations was spent on small projects and of the 168 che-ques issued, 167 were to Tee. [this is not a good news!]

Liu was also grilled by the panel on his “pledges” to give money to associations after his allocations ran out and his decision to borrow money to hold functions. [borrowing money is also not good sign]

By the end of last year, Liu had pledged an additional RM120,000, which was to be paid with this year’s allocation.

Teng said: “What circular or guideline did you use to make such a decision?

“If the state assembly was to be dissolved tomorrow, how would you pay for it?”

I think Ronnie Liu is in deep, deep trouble.

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DAP under fire

December 28th, 2009
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And rightly so. Since the idea of local council election was dropped from the Common Policy Framework in favor of a more general statement, DAP is getting a lot of heat. I’m not clear why PAS would oppose the idea of election for local council. After all, by having such elections, the rakyat can directly choose the councilors who will cover many of the basic issues like facilities, environment, cleanliness etc.  The people won’t be tempted to fall for slogans or rhetorics as a non-performing councilor and local council will directly affect the residents.

This step backward will hit DAP hard as they are unable to fulfill their election promises, and also one of their main principles – democracy.

Local council elections must be approved. Council seats should not be used as prize for political parties. In fact, it would be ideal if candidates for local councils are not members of any political parties, since they deal with local council.

Anyway, its dark days ahead for DAP.

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Kedah DAP to pull out from state government

July 2nd, 2009
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This may be signs of things to come. In Penang, its PKR. In Selangor, its PAS. In Perak, its all three of them.

In Kedah, the DAP has one representative in the state assembly. The state DAP has decided to pull out, subject to HQ feedback. Reason given – “undelivered promises” by the Kedah government, and not giving equal treatment to all Kedahans.

State DAP chairman Thomas Su Keong Siong, said the decision to demolish the 30-year-old abattoir was the last straw.

“We are pulling out of the state government as we find we can no longer work with other PR assemblymen,” he told reporters here two hours after the abattoir, located near a densely-populated rsidential area, was demolished by Alor Star city council workers.

The demolition, which started about 3pm, proceeded smoothly for about two hours despite the presence of a small group of DAP members, including Su, who held placards protesting the move.

Su, who is also state assemblyman for Pasir Pinji in Perak, said the state government had failed to handle the issue properly.

He said he had met state Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Phahrolrazi Zawawi on Tuesday to ask if the state executive council had agreed to the state DAP’s request to delay the demolition.

“He told me he would raise the matter with Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak. Today, I received an SMS from the state executive councillor (Phahrolrazi) that the matter had not been discussed at the weekly state executive council meeting today,” he said.

Su, who was careful not to mention Azizan’s name throughout the press conference, said he had also learnt that the city council was planning to demolish a multi-purpose hall at a Hindu temple in Jalan Pegawai and a Chinese temple in Jalan Tanjung Bendahara here.

He said other issues that substantiated the DAP’s claims about the state Pas included the state government’s policy of a 50 per cent housing quota for Bumiputeras and the delay in approving a building plan submitted by the Kedah Buddhist Association.

The problem came to a boil after an illegal pig abattoir was demolished by Alor Setar City Council two days ago. The demolition of the slaughterhouse was another reason which had prompted the state DAP to quit the pact.

“Although the slaughterhouse was operating on land belonging to the Alor Setar City Council, the state government has the power to postpone the demolition. This will give more time for the Kedah Pig Traders and Slaughterer Association which operates the slaughterhouse to find a new site,” he said.

Mayor Datuk Khazali Din was quoted as saying recently that the abattoir had been erected illegally on the site for the past 30 years.

The council had ordered the association to vacate the place several times since 1995 with the latest in May this year.

Kedah MB says its DAP’s fault because didn’t do anything to solve the problem in the last one month (Kedah DAP had failed to deliver on an alternative site for the facility after asking for a month’s grace) , while Kedah PKR admits that its shoulders part of the blame for not acting fast to solve the problem. However, PKR supports the demolishment.

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