Press Conference Statement by Dap Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 4.7.82 at 2pm
Taman Aman parkland scandal a test of the ‘trustworthiness’ of Barisan Nasional Government – DAP calls on Selangor Mentri Besar Ahmad Razalie to withdraw alienation and/ or the six ‘big shots’ to surrender back the parkland for community use
I am shocked by the Taman Aman parkland scandal where one and a half acres of parkland was subdivided and awarded to six ‘big shots’, namely the Selangor State Secretary’s wife, Datin Zaiton Ahmad, the State Legal Adviser, Datuk Abdul Malek Mohamed Salleh, the Director of the Selangor Public Works Department, Mr. P. Srinivasan, the Deputy Registrar of Titles, Encik Zainal Abidin Nordin, the former secretary to the State Assembly, Encik Muslim Haji Adnan and the former private secretary to Datuk Hormat, Puan Isha Bee Hussein, for their individual gain.
This is a clear example of what the Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, spoke against at the MIC 30th General Assembly on Saturday that there was no threat more dangerous to a clean, efficient and trustworthy system of government than the so-called ‘big shots’ who used their position for their own ends. The Prime Minister had said that any system of government could be destroyed by people who abused it and who insisted on priority for themselves, without giving second thoughts to the problems that might affect others.
What made the Taman Aman parkland scandal doubly reprehensible is the cynical manner the approval by the State Exco was effected, at a time when the State Exco as a caretaker government had morally no legal right to make the approval.
The State Assembly had been dissolved on March 29 and Nomination Day held on April 7, but the State Exco still met on April 8 to approve the alienation of the Taman Aman parkland to six ‘big shots’.
The incident, therefore, involved two instances of violation of public interest for private ends, and the 2M Government must strike down such blatant abuses of power and public responsibility if the 2M-motto of ‘clean, efficient and trustworthy’ government is to have public credibility.
What is even more shocking is that such ‘untrustworthy’ actions were being taken at a time when the ruling parties were campaigning on a platform of ‘clean and trustworthy’ government.
The present Mentri Besar of Selangor, Ahmad Razalie, was a member of the former Selangor State Exco, and I understand, had chaired the April 8 meeting. He should give the people of Petaling Jaya and Malaysia a full account of the Taman Aman parkland scandal. Other members of the former Selangor State Exco, including Datuk Lee Kim Sai of MCA and Datuk V. Kandan of MIC, owe the people a full explanation why they were a party to such a scandalous abuse of public trust and power.
The Taman Aman parkland scandal must not be allowed to go on. It is in fact attest of the ‘trustworthiness’ of the 2M Government.
The DAP calls on the Selangor Mentri Besar to withdraw the alienation of the parkland to the six ‘big shots’ and/ or the six big ‘big shots’ announce their surrender and return of the parkland for Petaling Jaya community use.
The DAP will be sending a delegation, headed by the Selangor DAP State Assemblyman for Klang Bandar, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw and the Selangor DAP State Secretary and Petaling Parliamentary Candidate, Sdr. P. Patto, to see the Selangor Mentri Besar, Ahmad Razalie, to protest in the strongest possible manner against the ‘breach of trust’ of the Selangor State Government to the people of Petaling Jaya.
In fact, if Ahmad Razalie had chaired the Selangor Exco meeting on April 8 which approve the Taman Aman parkland for the six ‘big shots’, then he should be removed as Selangor Mentri Besar as completely out of tune with the concepts of a ‘clean, efficient and trustworthy’ government – unless he could immediately undo the great wrong he has done to the Petaling Jaya community and the people and state of Selangor.
DAP calls for immediate Cabinet action to increase and widen the Socso benefits for workers
The Consumers’ Association of Penang must be commended for its in-depth study into the SOCSO, which had strayed from its original course to provide adequate social security for workers, to become a financing institution of government development schemes.
It is indeed scandalous that the Invalidity Pension Scheme had collected $60 million from workers and employers’ contributions from 1974 to 1978 and paid out only $3,867 to 12 workers; while the Employment Injury Insurance Scheme had collected $84.4 million between 1971 to 1978 and paid out $23.2 million.
In individual terms, workers are reduced to paltry payments of monthly payment which could hardly keep their body and soul together.
The SOCSO, conceived as an institution to help protect the workers against social insecurity, has turned into a monstrous institution exploiting the workers instead.
The SOCSO must increase and widen the benefits which workers could derive from the scheme if the SOCSO is to serve its purpose, and the DAP calls on the Cabinet to take immediate action to increase and widen SOCSO benefits for workers, and to cut down all red tape which make it such a frustrating experience for workers to apply for receive SOCSO benefits.