Should Khir Toyo proceed with his plan to call Selangor the first "Fully Developed State" on August 27 this year after being questioned by so many quarters?

_______________________________________
Media Statement
by Ronniu Liew Thian Khiew
____________________________________________

(Petaling Jaya, Friday): Khir Toyo will be called a "thick-skinned MB"  if he goes ahead to call Selangor a fully developed state on August 27, 2005.

Yesterday, he has told in a press conference that he will proceed with the plan despite of criticisms and questions raised by various organizations and personalities. He has accused those who have disagreed with him as belittling the effort of Selangor to become a fully developed state.

DAP's Sec-Gen Lim Guan Eng has described Khir Toyo's move as politic of deceit. Others who have expressed their concerns include former Transparency International Malaysian Chapter Chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz, Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia Chairman Dr Zaina, Yayasan Strategic Sosial's Dr Denison Jayasooria.

They have questioned the methodology and benchmarks adopted by Khir Toyo, who was seen to be obsessed in wanting to brand Selangor as a fully developed state. They also felt that Khir Toyo has not done it with integrity, transparency and respect.  

The Swiss-based IMD World Competitiveness Centre and the National Productivity Corporation (NPC) have earlier disassociated with the claim made by Khir Toyo through official statements issued by Senior Economist Suzanne Rosselet McCauley and Detuty Director-General Dr Abdul Wahab Muhamad respectively.

Khir has strangely ignored the statement issued by IMD World Competitiveness Centre. He continued to claim that Selangor state has fulfilled the standards set by the Geneva-based organization. He has, however, claimed that the NPC has no rights to endorse such exercise.

In my statement issued yesterday, I have suggested Khir Toyo to postpone announcing Selangor as a fully developed state, as the state is unlikely to achieve its target for Zero Squatters Program by 2005.

Even Khir himself has admitted yesterday that the state is still facing various problems such as dirty pipe water, poor public transport system and social problems.

He has however chosen not to mention the poor state of environment like dirty rivers, destruction of green lungs and useful farmland, overcrowded Chinese schools, poor infrastructure for Tamil schools, poor management of municipalities and local councils, and the building of cancer- causing incinerators in the state.

Khir Toyo must not risk the integrity of the state to satisfy his own political agenda. He should be aware that by calling Selangor a fully developed state alone would not attract investors to the state.

 

(01/7/2005)

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