DAP’s “I Love Penang” Team for the 14th General Election will fight for a Penang loved by all for being clean, green, safe and healthy. Pakatan Harapan is proud of the singular success of the Penang state government in transforming a state, once derided as the dirtiest state in Malaysia before 2008, into one of the cleanest states in Malaysia and one of the cleanest cities in ASEAN.
Penang is also clean, in being praised by Transparency International for conducting open tenders and the yearly Auditor-General Reports for good financial administration. This is shown by yearly budget surpluses, increases in asset reserves by more than 100% to RM1.83 billion and the reduction of our state debts by an astonishing 90% to only RM 62 million, the lowest debts in the country.
DAP “I Love Penang” team will fight to build a Light Railway Transit(LRT) in Penang not just on the island, but also connected to the mainland of Butterworth, Seberang Jaya, Bukit Mertajam and Batu Kawan. Penang needs a public transport system that “moves people, not vehicles” to alleviate traffic congestion. BN fails to mention any LRT for Penang in their General Elcction manifesto.
BN has failed to deliver its promise made 3 times by the Prime Minister to build the LRT. BN should be condemned for trying to sabotage the Penang state government for trying to do what BN failed to deliver, especially building the LRT and other infrastructures projects such as highways and the under-sea tunnel linking Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam for residents in Seberang Perai Utara. Worse BN does not offer any alternative LRT system in their General Election manifesto.
However, BN Federal government’s abuse of power to sabotage our efforts to build a LRT and the under-sea tunnel, will fail if Pakatan Harapan can succeed in capturing Putrajaya on 9 May 2018. That is why it is so important for DAP’s “I Love Penang’ team to not only help Pakatan Harapan retain Penang but also win Putrajaya.
Pakatan Harapan needs to win Putrajaya to abolish the unfair GST tax and toll collections on highways, that earns extraordinary profits to BN concession companies. In response BN has offered to abolish toll for motorcycles on the Penang Bridge and that GST is needed to be retained to pay BR1M of RM1,200, that was suddenly increased to RM2,000 last week.
Should Pakatan win Putrajaya, Pakatan Harapan has no problems of paying BR1M of RM2,000 even though GST is abolished. The country will not go bankrupt without the GST. Getting back all the money stolen from 1MDB and hidden overseas as well as the Penang model of running a clean administration will be able to find the necessary sufficient funds.
Furthemore, all tolls on the Penang first Bridge will be abolished, not just motorcycles. It is wrong for the Penang First Bridge to still collect toll when all the construction and maintenance costs of RM 1.5 billion has been fully recovered by toll collections to-date of RM1.7 billion. Despite blindly earning profits, BN intends to collect toll until 2038!
Let us win for Penang by building a LRT connecting both Penang Island to the mainland and abolishing tolls for all vehicles on the First Penang Bridge.
I Love Penang!