Speech by Parliamentary Oppositon Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP Tanjong 3 Ceramah at Jalan Patani Dewan Masyarakat on Friday, April 22, 1994 at 9 pm
DAP will sack MPPP President, Datuk Tan Gim Hwa and all MPPP Councillors when it captures the Penang State Government in next general elections
The DAP will sack the MPPP President, Dtuk Tan Gim Hwa and all MPPP Councillors when it captures the Penang State Government in the next general elections.
The MPPP Councillors as presently constituted do not represent the interests of the people or ratepayers of the Penang island, but the component parties of the Barisan Nasional, and this is why there is virtually no public accountability over the MPPP decisions and actions.
The Hotel Metropole demolition scandal is now a classic example of the high-handed, arbitrary and unaccountable manner in which MPPP conducts its affairs.
Up to now, the MPPP cannot give a satisfactory explanation as to why Hotel Metropole was surreptiously removed from the original list of heritage buildings along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah and put in a lower category of heritage classification in List Two two months before the ‘lighting’ demolition of Hotel Metropole on Christmas Day last year, and the exact role of Tan Gim Hwa and Gerakan leaders in the whole Hotel Metropole demolition scandal.
The sacking of Tan Gim Hwa and the present batch of MPPP councilors will be the first step to ‘democratise’ the MPPP to make it truly responsive, responsible and accountable to the ratepayers on the island.
The Election Commission’s new proposals for the redelineation of the 33 State Assembly constituencies in Penang should be presented to the Penang State Assembly for adoption
On Monday, Parliament will debate the Election Commission’s report on the redelineation of Parliamentary constituencies in a motion to be moved by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed.
The Election Commission’s proposals are not confined to redelineation of parliamentary constituencies, but also include redelineation of state assembly constituencies.
Just as the Election Commission’s report on redelineation of parliamentary constituencies have to be submitted to Parliament for approval, its proposals for redelineation of the 33 state assembly constituencies in Penang should also be presented to the Penang State Assembly for approval.
Although there us no constitutional provision requiring State Assembly approval for the Election Commission’s redelineation of state assembly constituencies, the Penang Chief Minister, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon should uphold this important state right and should at least table a motion in the next State Assembly to debate the Election Commission’s redelineation of electoral constituencies.
Tsu Koon should grow out of his fear of State Assembly meetings and hold more regular Penang State Assembly meetings.
Dr. Koh Tsu Koon should also grow out of his fearof State Assembly meetings and hold more regular Penang State Assembly meetings.
Other state governments on everage hold three state assembly meetings a year, but Tsu Koon would only hold two Assembly meetings a year and would cut this down to once a year if he is not prevented by the Penang State Constitution.
If the RM30 billion Bank Negara forex losses had not been incurred, and had been distributed among the people of Penang, everyone including a new-born babe would get RM30,000 each
The Barisan Nasional component parties, whether UMNO Gerakan or MCA, are doing their utmost to play down the enormity of the RM30 billion losses incurred by Bank Negara since 1992 as a result of speculation in the forward foreign exchange markets.
They seem to forget that the RM30 billion losses are not losses incurred by the former Bank Negara, Tan Sri Jaffar Hussein or by the Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, personally, but are losses which must be borne by the people of Malaysia.
If the RM30 billion Bank Negara forex losses had not been incurred, and they had been distributed among the people of Penang state, everyone including a new-born babe would get RM30,000 each!
Of it the RM30 billion had been channeled to low-cost housing, which is the biggest failure of the Barisan Nasional Government in Penang state, 1.2 million low-cost houses at RM25,000 could be built!