Pahang voters must punish BN for breaking its promises

Pahang must punish BN for breaking its promises of building an independent Chinese school in Kuantan, protecting the people’s health in the Lynas Rare Earth Plant in Kuantan and the use of cyanide by the Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd(RAGM) in Bukit Koman before the general elections.

In Johor the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) project is causing grave problems to the villagers, including an old Chinese cemetery. In Pahang, the problem is even more acute as a result of a powerful BN that has become arrogant and refuse to listen to the people.

The arrogance of BN is such that BN can promise to permit for an independent Chinese school to be built and then in the permit instead is for a national secondary school that does not mention using Mandarin as a medium of instruction. Clearly BN is so confident of winning Pahang again that it can openly lie and mislead Pahang voters.

The voters have given their support in vain for their MCA elected representatives who are Cabinet Ministers in their areas. Being a Cabinet Minister does not give one the right to betray their voters’ interests and break their promises for the benefit of the few at the expense of ordinary people of Pahang.

What is the use of having a Minister that spends more time travelling overseas than resolving the problems in her constituency? What is the point of having a Health Minister that supports the establishment of Lynas rare earth plant and the RAGM that harms our health.

BN has failed to protect the people’s health by allowing RAGM to continue in Raub despite the toxic harm caused by cyanide and also issued a 2 year temporary operating license(TOL) for the Lynas rare earth plant. The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had still not got any commitment from Lynas which country would Lynas ship the Water Leach Purification (WLP) wastes from its rare earths processing plant in Gebeng, Kuantan. Without any country being mentioned as willing to receive such wastes, such a commitment from Lynas is rendered irrelevant and meaningless. With so many environmentally hazardous industries being approved in Pahang, there are genuine fears that one of the 2 nuclear reactors proposed by BN may even be built in Pahang.

The time has come to elect a people-centric government that listens to the people, do the people’s work and gives hope to the people. DAP would listen to the people by ensuring that PR close down both the Lynas rare earth plant in Kuantan and the RAGM in Raub, stop the building of nuclear reactors, approve the Chinese independent school in Kuantan and give yearly allocation to all schools as in Penang and Selangor.

DAP would do the people’s work by adopting a people-centric land policy that gives automatic renewal of land leases that expire with a 90% discount of land premium. Landowners in estates, traditional kampungs and new villages would be able to renew their lease by only paying 10% as done in Penang.

DAP would ensure that PR gives hope to the people of a clean government that fights corruption by adopting CAT governance of competency, accountability and transparency. CAT governance can end the decade long Budget deficits in Pahang and reduce its debts. In Penang, our anti-corruption policies have allowed Penang to record not only budget surpluses but also reduced our debt by 95% from RM630 million at 3.8.2008 to RM30 million at 31.12.2011.

Lim Guan Eng DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan