Edisi Penang: Kami nak janji mcm2 suka ati kami laa

mr_oscar

[size=1.2em]Published on April 30, 2013 with No Comments

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Penang- rakyat happy at the expense of businessmen?

[size=1.3em]Penang will be one of the most hotly contested states in the 13th General Elections due to the fact that the island state is one of the more affluent states in Malaysia. In the 2008 General Elections, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) gained the majority of the state seats. Many seats saw the opposition winning over two-thirds of the votes, rather than the usual 50-50 distribution. BN only won 2 of the 13 parliamentary seats and 11 of the 40 state seats. In the  run-up to the 13th General Elections, Penang’s caretaker Chief Minister and  also DAP’s Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng is feeling confident again because he has announced budget surpluses of RM88 million in 2008, RM 77 million in 2009 and RM33 million in 2010.

[size=1.3em]To the financially unsound, Penang is not entirely debt free. It was a water restructuring agreement where the federal government assisted the state government to pay interest-free instalments that has enabled Penang to reduce its debt.

[size=1.3em]When Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng claimed that the Penang state government had sliced RM600 million or 95% off the state’s debt since taking over in 2008, he was craftily deceiving voters into thinking that the Pakatan Rakyat-run government had reduced the state’s debts.

[size=1.3em]But the truth which Guan Eng conveniently forgets to reveal is that, on 2 June 2011, the Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP), a state-owned company had entered into a water restructuring agreement with the federal government via Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB), a company under the Ministry of Finance. The water deal saw Penang’s outstanding loan of RM655.24mil owing to the federal government to be converted into a grant.

[size=1.3em]The RM 600 mil water assets debt transfer comes with a price. The federal government absorbs the debt but the Penang state government has to pay back the debt to federal government RM 30 mil a year for the next 30 years. Hence when Lim Guan Eng said that Penang.were debt free, he was promptly corrected and warned by Ministry of Finance and the Deputy Finance Minister for misrepresenting the facts.  Which he later quickly u-turned and admitted that yes they have to pay back at RM 30 mil a year for the next 30 years.

[size=1.3em]In addition to that, Penang reduced its RM600mil debt to RM29mil by transferring this burden to the federal government from with huge publicity. While the BN-run Perak state government reduced its debt from RM970mil to RM78mil with no self- praise or fanfare.

[size=1.3em]It is also very deceiving of the Opposition to solely blame the federal government when the national debt increases.

[size=1.3em]Penang businessmen have also been voicing out their grievances against the government being a socialist-based government because of the policies practised by the Penang state government as the interest of businessmen are sacrificed merely for the sake of satisfying the working-class (majority of the voters). Businesses are affected as a result of such policies and one example would be that instead of spending state government’s funds for the three-lane expansion near the Batu Uban marine police base in Bayan Lepas, the project was carried out and sponsored by IJM Corporation Bhd. IJM Corporation Bhd. was held at ransom as they were forced to sponsor the expansion lest the Penang state government disfavours them in terms of tenders. In return for sponsoring the expansion of the highway, IJM Corporation Bhd. gets to advertise their signboard on the overhead pedestrian bridges and probably not get in the “blacklist” of the Penang state government. In view of such practices, businessmen in Penang have been avoiding government-linked projects for the time being. This might be one of the major reasons, why foreign investors have been avoiding Penang and explains the 73% drop in Penang’s Foreign Direct Investment. This operating model will surely sacrifice the economic development of the state at the expense of businesses.

[size=1.3em]Another one of Lim Guan Eng’s achievements in the state of Penang is the demolition of Penang’s only pig abattoir in Sungai Acheh in 2009, without any plans of a replacement. If even the pork-lovers’ needs have been neglected in this state, it will throw you off your seat to know that Penang’s DAP-led state government has not made available any affordable housing for Penang-ites and the Chief Minister even remarked that those who cannot afford to live in Penang island should live in the mainland area of Batu Kawan.

It is also a known fact that prior to Penang’s regime change in 2008, DAP’s Lim Guan Eng protested in front of Sungai Nyior toll and promised to abolish the toll once they came into power, which is in line with Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto promise of abolishing tolls. It is pretty uncanny that up till today, Sungai Nyior’s toll is still up and running while Penang plans to build another two tolls in their proposed RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel. So much for promises fulfilled.

[size=1.3em]Penang which once topped the list of a survey studying the industrial development of states in Malaysia, has now dropped to sixth place in the nationwide survey executed by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) for last year.

[size=1.3em]One fine example of foreign investors shying away from the state is when Penang suffered a blow when Bosch Solar Energy Malaysia Sdn Bhd deferred on its plans to build a RM2.2billion solar panels production plant here.

[size=1.3em]The list on the Penang’s state government’s faults could go on and on but the crux of the matter is this, when will Malaysians, Penang-ites in particular, wake up from the lies PR are propagating in order to threaten the peace and stability we all enjoy?

budingyun

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Al-Patih

totally completly fail miserablely....