(Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Sunday): It has been the 5th year that Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo becomes the Mentri Besar of Selangor and on this 27th August 2005, the state government led by Khir will officially announce Selangor to be the first developed state in Malaysia, which is a unprecedented announcement in the history of Malaysia.

Khir has prided himself with the achievements he claimed that have contributed to the “developed state status” of Selangor but he has equally and utterly failed to look into the various scandals which not only affect his good name but also tarnish the good name of Selangor since he becomes the Mentri Besar 5 years ago.

Along his 5-year leadership in Selangor, Selangorans have never failed to witness scandals emerging from his office; either they are exposed by the media or whistle-blowers. The fact is: Khir’s credilibility is under doubt as there is no longer trust and accountability in his leadership.

And Selangor will continue to suffer under his leadership, if his dictatorship and authoritative rule in Selangor is not balanced and checked by an equally and competitively strong opposition, in particular a stronger representation of DAP in the State Assembly Hall.

The reason why we gathered here is to explore what DAP Selangor needs to do next. The suspension of Sdr YB Teng Chang Khim from the State Assembly Hall, coupled with the double-penalizations on him in which Sdr Teng will automatically be suspended for 6 month, and another one year if he does not apologize, is neither a personal matter nor a matter of dignity of our own party; but it also alarms us about the continuous erosion of democratic spaces in Selangor.

The Central Working Committee had decided to launch a nation wide campaign to show support, solidarity and sympathy to Sdr Teng Chang Khim. At the same time, after some discussions with the State Committee Members, the State Committee will also spearhead the campaign in Selangor. For the following months, DAP Selangor Committee, with aids from branches leadership, will organize series of campaigns and solidarity dinners in the whole of Selangor to show support, solidarity and sympathy to Sdr Teng.

Not too soon after today, the Selangor State Government under Khir will unprecedentedly announce that Selangor is the first developed state in Malaysia. This is indeed a very bold but extremely mind-boggling statement and decision whereby Selangor is claimed to be a developed state to the extent that:

• Selangor is more developed than New Zealand,

• Selangor has better university education than Singapore; and

• Selangor is less corrupt and cleaner than Belgium.

These shocking results were revealed in a meeting held on 4^th July 2005 between Selangor EPU chief and Deputy State Secretary Datuk Dr Abdul Munit Kasmin with Sdr Lim Guan Eng, accompanied by Sdr Teng Chang Khim, Sdr Ng Suee Lin, Sdr Lau Weng San and me myself. 

Any genuine people will ask the following questions:

How developed is Selangor compared to New Zealand? New Zealand is the biggest dairy products exporter in the world, but Khir has to “hijack” all the exports from KLIA and Port Klang in order to justify his claim that Selangor is a “developed state”.

How better are universities in Selangor compared to universities in Singapore whereby the National University of Singapore’s placing in the Times Magazine survey outdo any Malaysian universities in terms of ranking.

Most ridiculous of all is the claim that Selangor is cleaner than Belgium. Transparency International placed Belgium as No. 17 in the World Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) whereas Malaysia is No. 39. With various large scale scandals still remained unanswered and unsolved, Selangor is definitely not one of the least corrupt states in Malaysia.

Therefore, whether Selangor is a developed state or not, this is for sure something that remained arguable to all of us here. What is meant to be flabbergasting is that Khir has always promised the celebration of 'Selangor - the Developed State 2005' will not be using taxpayers' money but the state government is accused of writing letters to companies to seek sponsor supplement in a vernacular newspaper.

The head of the collecting agent is Mohd Jabar Ahmad Kembali, the general manager of Selangor State Investment Centre (URL: www.ssic.com.my). According to the Internet, SSIC is placed under the jurisdiction of Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad (PNSB). Khir Toyo is the de facto boss.

What does Khir try to imply? Is he saying that donations from the people and private sector are not public fundings? And this unfortunately has implied that accountability and transparency are deploring fast in the current administration in Selangor. And it is most saddening to learn from Khir that low cost houses in Selangor can even be regarded as “Condominium”, just because he wants to encourage people to move into low cost houses built by the state government. When low cost houses can become “condominium” overnight, there is no reason to feel shocked when Khir can call Selangor a “developed state” based on inaccurate data and survey.

Instead of seeking the real solutions in resolving problems caused or faced by his own government, he seems to be more interested in finger-pointing.

With this, Khir’s leadership has not only reduced Selangor into a hub of corruption and malpractices, but also a state of liars and hypocrites where noble values like trustfulness and truth-speaking failed to be the central value of his administration.

And the next most important question is: What do we DAP Selangor need to do? With only 2 state assemblymen in the State Assembly Hall, now reduced to only one if Sdr Teng were to be suspended until 2007, what can we do in order to correct the wrong-doings? What is our position in portraying a genuine alternative to carry out check-and-balances? We should have come out in a more unified team to have a face-off with this hegemony administration but have we done it so far? If we haven’t then what are the obstacles? Are these obstacles of internal or external one? How do we overcome this?

These are the questions we need to answer not only for us but also for the voters, and we hope to work out the answers from today’s seminar. I truthfully urge all participants here to fully participate in all the brain-storming sessions today, as well as throwing away all the past personal conflicts and misunderstandings, speak from your heart on any genuine solutions that can strengthen our position in Selangor.

(07/8/2005)

* Ong Chee Keng, DAP Assistant Treasurer and DAP Selangor Chairman