Penang Island City Councillor Lim Mah Hui should stop playing politics and continue to challenge the Chief Minister of Penang to sack him because he dares to voice dissenting views from the Penang state government. If dissenting views would justify the sacking of Lim Mah Hui from his councilor post, Penang Institute Director and Penang Transport Council member, he would have been sacked many years ago and not continue to remain in his appointed posts till today.
The issue that Lim Mah Hui needs to address is that he wants to play the hero by daring to voice dissenting views but that he tries to cover up the facts that he secretly wrote a letter of complaint to UNESCO without informing the Penang state government, which he is a part of, by virtue of his appointment by the state government.
Why is Lim Mah Hui so afraid to inform the state government that he has complained to UNESCO, putting the George Town UNESCO World Heritage site at risk by complaining about the siting of the transport hub in Sia Boey? Sia Boey is part of the transport hub for the RM 27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan, to build public transport such as LRT to resolve traffic congestion.
By failing to inform the Penang government that he is complaining to UNESCO, even though the Penang state government has been open with him in terms of disclosure of information, is tantamount to improper conduct, unprofessional behavior and completely unethical. The state government wishes to work with all parties to address concerns relating to the Transport Master Plan ( TMP). But for Lim Mah Hui to conduct a pre-emptive strike against the TMP and the proposed transport hub without informing the state government, is a stab at the back, when the state government has taken him in confidence by giving him full disclosure of all necessary information.
The Penang state government regrets that the Penang Forum condones the behavior of Lim Mah Hui improper conduct of Lim Mah Hui in writing the letter without informing the state government, and instead continue to attack the proposed Transport Hub in Sia Boey even before the final archaeological assessment has been completed. The state government believes that the Transport Hub and Sia Boey can co-exist. The preemptive strike by Lim Mah Hui by complaining to UNESCO may jeopardize the entire TMP by giving the Federal Government reasons for the TMP to be rejected for putting the UNESCO World Heritage site at risk.
The TMP is essential to provide public transport as solution to traffic congestion. And the Penang state government cannot understand why the Penang Forum made reference to the Boustead building issues which was reduced from 12 storey to 5 storey at the cost of RM 20 million paid by MBPP, when this approval was not made by the present Pakatan government, but by the previous Barisan government. And yet somehow the Penang state government is being blamed for the various mistakes and errors of the previous Barisan National government.
The Penang state government has no intention to sack Lim Mah Hui for expressing his dissenting views. However the people would have to judge whether his conducts of stabbing the government behind the back by going to UNESCO without our knowledge, despite the state government being open and transparent with him is proper, professional and ethical conduct.