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Koh should dissolve Penang state assembly to defend his dignity as the head of government in Penang

 


Media Statement

by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew



(Petaling Jaya, Friday): Penang CM Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon should seriously consider dissolving the Penang state assembly now that the Prime Minister was not happy with his performance and his own peers in the BN ruling coalition (UMNO) have condemned him for marginalising the Malays in Penang.

Earlier, many Penangites have complained about the bad shape of Penang ( poor public transport system, rubbish everywhere, rivers polluted, factories moving away and FDI were not coming in, etc ) under his administration.

The way he handled the PORR ( Penang Outer Ring Road) issue has also came under heavy criticism from local NGOs and members of the public.

The Penang I know used to be a beautiful and scenic island, with nice trees and gorgeous buildings at every corner. Not anymore under Koh.

Koh was talking about keeping Balik Pulau as it is for eco-tourism. But what has he done for eco-tourism in Balik Pulau?

Khairy Jamaluddin and the Penang UMNO Youth have accused Koh for neglecting the Malays. In actual fact, Koh has neglected the interest of the entire Penang people, not just the Malays.

For instance, Koh has done very little for the Chinese and Tamil schools in the state.

He also did not do much in preserving the heritage unique to Penang.

He really should not be keeping cool as reported by the Sun today. He should seriously consider about dissolving the state assembly immediately and let the Penang people to decide who should be leading Penang and to chart a new course for the state.

For Koh has led Penang for too long and he has seemed to have ran out of ideas.The DAP Secretary General Sdr Lim Guan Eng has criticised the manner in which Koh has been treated as a head of government in Penang ( the banners, the call for resignation, etc) by UMNO. But that should not be construed as support for Koh as widely claimed by various newspapers today.

Koh and Gerakan should insist for a public apology from the Tanjung UMNO. Keeping quite over such rude incidents could only be construed as cowardice in politics.

And Koh should not be afraid of meeting the Penang UMNO Youth leaders. To quote the need for a cooling-off period between him and UMNO Youth is not a good excuse.

Also yesterday,Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hiushammmuddin Hussein has wanted Koh to meet the Penang Umno Youth to thrash out the concerns raised by the UMNO Youth.

Take a look at what Hisham has said yesterday...

"Personally, I think this is not about the banners or the chief minister quitting or the rotation of the chief minister. The issue is there is something wrong in Penang.

At a PC in the Parliament House recently, the DAP SG Lim Guan Eng commented that the move by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in directing the setting up of an agency to uplift and resolve the problems faced by the Malay community in the state does not bode well for Koh.

"Tsu Koon will only be known as a puppet chief minister," said Lim, adding that Koh should have more backbone when dealing with various issues and affairs in the state.

(08/09/2006)


* Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, DAP CEC Member and Chief of NGO Bureau

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