10 X-files for the year 2004

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10 X-files for the year 2004

Media Statement
by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew

(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): Of late, many have asked me about the performance of the new Abdullah Badawi administration. They want to know whether the new Prime Minister has actually made a difference. I sense that the euphoria of having a new Mr Nice to take over from the abrasive former supremo seems to have gone with the wind.

These are some of the X-files (unresolved matters) ever since ‘he who listens to nothing but the truths’ took over the country’s top job to illustrate my view about the present Abdullah administration:

1. RM1.5 billion world largest incinerator in Broga, Selangor. The Broga/ Beranang/Semenyih people have pleaded many times with the Federal and State governments not to proceed with the cancer-causing project, on
grounds such as air and water contamination, sensitive and precious water catchments area and steep hill slopes. The case was brought to practically every Cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister. But all have fallen on deaf ears. The state government has no hesitation to apply the infamous Land Acquisition Act to force local landowners to give way to the contract holder Ebara Corporation. Does he really care to listen to the rakyat?

2. Villagers displaced by SILK highway concessionaire without reasonable compensation in Sg Chua, Kajang. Close to a hundred families were forced to give way to the new highway. Many land titles were not renewed in order for the displaced landowners to claim their rightful compensations. This was obviously on fault of the villagers for they have applied for the extension long before the project was given to Sunway. The case was brought directly to the Prime Minister when more twenty houses were unlawfully broken and demolished by the land office and Sunway. He who love and care for the people knows that many of the villagers were only promised to get no more than RM25, 000, which is not even sufficient to buy a low-cost flat in Selangor. Why didn’t he do something about it?

3. SJKC Damansara was ordered to shut down by the Ministry of Education since 2001. Every community needs its own school. There is an acute shortage of SJKCs in Petaling Jaya when SJKC Damansara was ordered
to close down on unfounded reasons given by the local MP Chew Mei Fun (MCA). Some 50 students from the village were forced to continue their studies at the local Ruan Leong Temple. More than 150,000 signatures from all races were collected within two months in 2001. But the voice of people means nothing to the former prime minister. But how about the ‘ prime minister for all?’ Has he received any of the 8,000 ‘Sila dengar hasrat kami’ (Plese listen to our voice) postcards sent out by the supporters of SJKC Damansara?

4. Ulu Yam Farmers face eviction order from Selangor State investment arm. After growing vegetables for some 30 years in Ulu Yam, more than 30 farmers were told to leave their vegetables farms simply because a state subsidiary Permodalan Negeri Kerajaan Selangor wants to build houses on their farms. These farmers have turned some 600 acres of waste land into beautiful vegetable farms, producing more than 40% of the total vegetables consumption for residents living around the Klang Valley. But in the eyes of MCA State Exco member Ch’ng Toh Eng and Selangor Mentri Besar, they were illegal farmers farming on illegal lands. The farmers are now waiting
for Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting to act. Failing which, may be the Finance Minister who once described agriculture as the third engine of growth in his 2005 Budget would not keeping mum any further. He should summon the MB for a good explanation.

5. 2-4-3 Formula threatens the characteristics of Chinese primary schools and eventually the fundamentals of the entire Chinese primary education. Teaching Mathematics and Science subjects in English to the Standard One students in Chinese, Tamil and Malay primary schools destined to fail as such approach were proven futile in many other countries. Besides, the 2-4-3 Formula will inevitably remove the characteristics of Chinese primary schools and eventually Chinese primary education will become a thing of the past in this country, as the Chinese Language will be left as a single subject for all Chinese primary schools. All other subjects would eventually be taught in either English or Malay. Unless one can agree with the shameless MCA leaders who claim that a Chinese school left with a single Chinese Language subject can still be called a Chinese school. In the eyes of these spineless MCA leaders, even a national secondary school left with only a Chinese name could be called a Chinese secondary school.

6. MRR2, Matrade Building, Pandan Hospitals and the whole question about the responsibility of Samy Vellu as Works Minister and the role of Project Management Consultants (PMC). The Prime Minister once summoned the
Works Minister to his office at the peak of the controversies. It appears to me that the PM is the only person that accepts Datuk Seri Samy Vellu’s explanation. Even Samy claims that projects supervised by the PMCs (under
the Ministry of Finance) have been costing much more than those under his ministry. Malaysian taxpayers ended up paying heavily for the blunders made by various ministries. The rakyat have to pay millions for the repairs of flyovers, computer labs, hospitals and schools. What happens to the real culprits? Many have told me that nothing will happen to Samy Vellu because he will DRAG other BN politicians along if he was forced to a corner. Could the Prime Minister prove them wrong?

7. Lopsided contractual 10% toll hike granted to PLUS every three years. Traffic volumes increased more than 6 times over the forecasted figure. PLUS is making more than RM800 million in 2004. UEM (an UMNO company) controls more than 46% of the total shares, and several government agencies holding some 20% shares. The MPs from both the divide have voice their frustrations and objections. But the UMNO President cum Prime Minister went ahead to allow the toll increase without making any efforts to review the lopsided contracts signed with the highway concessionaire. Does he understand the social cost we Malaysians have to bear, where thousands of parents working in urban centres would be forced to cut down the frequency of‘balik kampung’ (back to hometown) and many children will be deprived of seeing their parents during the weekends? And how about the inflation caused by the vicious cycle?

8. National Service a national disservice? The National Service project costs Malaysian taxpayers more than RM500 million a year. Our young adults were forced to undergo various training and boring lectures for months in the jungles, army camps or campuses. They were fed 5 times a day and even need not raise a finger to wash their uniforms. But the government claims that the young adults were trained to be more independent. Scandals break up every now and then. Even lives were sacrificed. But the national disservice continues because it appears to service the pockets of some well-connected businessmen and officials. We could have used the RM500 million on other projects more beneficial to our young children. It’s even more than enough to pay PLUS to avoid the burden
of 10% toll hike. When will the bleeding stop under the Pak Lah’s administration?

9. Klang Port Authority pays RM1 billion to buy 1,000 acres of swampy land for project outside its statutory functions. How the PKA could involve in business and project outside its statutory functions? How could it paid a price 44% more than the market value to buy 1,000 acres of land in Pulau Indah? Its Chairman claims that he has no knowledge of the deal which was inked more than two years ago. Can the former and present Transport Ministers continue to keep silence on the RM1 billion deals? Can the Prime Minister also keeping quite, as if there’s nothing wrong about the deal?

10. The survival of Proton. Proton is the pet project of the former prime minister. It has become an unwanted baby of the present premier. He wanted to sell or at the least strike a merger with a bigger player but such a move was rejected by his former boss out-rightly. Can Proton survive without a merger in 2005? Who would still buy a Proton when the price of other cars make in other ASEAN countries, Japan and Korea cost almost the same as the national car? How could the Finance Minister just slap the excise duties onto other ASEAN make, and thinking that Proton will survive by doing such a trick? When Proton finally collapses, Malaysian taxpayers will once again force to bear the losses. Not the Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers. And certainly not the 200+ Yang Berhormats voted in with handsome majority.

(6/1/2005)

* Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, DAP International Secretary and NGO bureau chief