BN should stop their lies that Penang under Pakatan Harapan has seen our hills been cleared and become “botak” when Penang is the only state in Malaysia over the last 10 years from 2006-2015, where not a single square inch of permanent forest reserves has been cut. In contrast, Pahang cut down the largest permanent forest reserves in Malaysia at 161,379 hectares, followed by Kelantan 157,919 hectares and Perak 74,032 hectares. Figures from the National Forestry Department shows that even the smallest state in Malaysia, Perlis cut down 167 hectares (see table).
Only Penang did not touch a single square inch of forest reserves. Illegal clearing of private land without permit from the local authorities have been taken action and stopped. If BN were to succeed in taking back power in Penang, it is clear that they would reduce our forest reserves, as they have done in other states over the last 10 years. Clearly making our hills and forests “botak” is BN and BN’s new ally, PAS in Kelantan.
If BN were to take power, it is not only our hills and forests that will be made “botak”. Our finances may also be “botak” and we many not be able to enjoy the strong financial performance and annual budget surpluses over the last 8 years from 2008-2015. Penang recorded accumulated budget surpluses of RM574 million from 2008-2015, which is more than the RM373 million of budget surpluses recorded over 50 years under BN’s rule from 1957-2007. Pakatan performed better in only 8 years than BN did in 50 years!
These surpluses enabled the Pakatan government to give out more than RM412 million in cash contribution directly to 1.6 million Penangites to senior citizens, disabled and single mothers (RM100), newly-born babies(RM200), university students(RM1,000), trishaw pullers(RM1,200) taxi-drivers and school-bus drivers(RM600). The hard-core poor households are assured a universal basic income of RM790 every month, this year all property owners are given a 6% discount of our assessment rates whilst full exemption is given to low-cost, low-medium cost and kampung houses.
BN reclaiming back Penang will mean all these monetary contributions will dry up. Furthermore, our yearly institutional allocation to vernacular and religious schools will also end. Do we want a return to bad old days of BN when vernacular schools do not receive a fixed or certain allocation yearly? Or BN’s style of paying 2016 allocations one year later in 2017? The people will not want our schools to suffer from neglect and discrimination, just as the people do not want to see the old dirty Penang under BN before 2008, until the Pakatan state government cleaned up the state.
Remember that under BN, Penang was never praised as clean, green, safe and healthy. Neither was Penang ever listed by CNN when BN was in power, at No. 2 on their list of 17 of the best places to visit in the world. The Penang state government have faith that the people will choose a people-centric government that is proven as clean and competent over a crony government that is only interested in abuse of power and financial mismanagement.