Just when you think that MCA could not sink any lower, MCA President Dato’ Seri Liow Tiong Lai beats all expectations by jumping on the bandwagon to demonise Lim Kit Siang as a potential Prime Minister.
His statement recycles the same fake news that is being peddled by UMNO and PAS that Lim Kit Siang will become Prime Minister if the Opposition wins the next election. Kit Siang has already said time and time again that he has no intention of becoming Prime Minister, yet the government seems to have run out of ideas to promote itself that it is relying on its tired propaganda of portraying him and the DAP as the only party in the Opposition.
It has long been the weapon of UMNO President, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and his merrymen to threaten the Malays with losing power. During the ruling party's Annual General Meeting earlier this month, Wanita Umno Chief Dato’ Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil warned that voting for Pakatan Harapan would lead to rule by “Emperor Lim”.
It is a weapon to diminish the importance the Malay voters will place on the outrageous scandals and misdeeds which have been carried out against Malaysians. These would include tens of billions of ringgit worth of shennanigans in government ministries and state-owned enterprises like 1MDB, FEDLA, MARA and Tabung Haji. The diversionary lie is also to distract voters from feeling the pain of rising prices, the Goods & Services Tax (GST), weak ringgit and a stagnant economy.
Most uncannily, Liow Tiong Lai’s statement comes right after PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang took a similar position to support UMNO last weekend.
“In fact, for DAP leaders to become the prime minister if the opposition front wins the 14th general election (GE14) goes against the reality in Malaysia, where the concept of an Islamic country means Islam must be in power. This is important. We want to maintain the leadership of Muslims in this country,” Hadi was reported telling Berita Harian in an interview.
Perhaps it should not have come at a surprise that MCA is now so desperate that it felt the need to peddle the same fear mongering rhetoric as PAS. Liow Tiong Lai also said that Lim Kit Siang was clever at sowing racial discord. In echoing the PAS President’s calls, has is Liow now admitting that there should never be a Malaysia for all Malaysians?
The MCA President must have finally realised that it has no hopes of recovering support from the non-Malay community. He is now hoping that by demonstrating subservience to UMNO and PAS, it can receive higher Malay support. This will ensure that MCA might be able to hold on the the handful of remaining seats it possess – such as his own in Bentong where he won with a wafer thin 379-vote majority.
There could not be a greater irony than a political party founded on the need to protect the interest of the Chinese community is now parroting the racially-tainted lies and propaganda espoused by the ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ extremists in UMNO and PAS.
Showing posts with label MCA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MCA. Show all posts
Monday, December 18, 2017
Saturday, December 02, 2017
Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun should look into the mirror before false making accusations of “unrestrained land sale” in Penang
In a statement on Thursday, the MCA Vice-President, Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun accused Penang of being “unrestrained in its sale of land”. She referred to the 2016 Auditor-General’s (AG) report to show that a substantial portion of the state’s income came from the sale of land and land transfer fees.
Chew could not be more wrong in her baseless accusations. In fact, exactly the reverse is true.
Despite the current Pakatan government’s ‘restrained’ sale of land, we have managed to receive income which far exceeds that received under the previous BN government’s policy of ‘unrestrained land sale’. The statistics could not be more blatantly clear.
BN’s rule over Penang saw the sale of 3,661 acres of state land in the 15 years before 2008. Under Pakatan leadership, only 106.1 acres of state land was sold over the past 10 years. If Chew didn’t fail her mathematics, she should have figured that Pakatan has barely sold 3% of what BN sold!
More pertinently, Penang lead by Pakatan received RM1.11 billion for its sale of 106.1 acres whereas the BN state government only raised RM1.06 billion from 3,661 acres of land. In other words, the Penang state government today collected more money despite selling only a tiny fraction of the land sold by BN. This was achieved simply because the Pakatan government carried out open tenders for its sale.
By the very fact that we have successfully sold these land for very substantially higher prices than the BN government, of course it would naturally result in a higher contribution from land revenue to the state coffers, as reported by the AG.
In addition, figures from the BN’s era from 2002 to 2007 AG’s report also showed the sale and transfer of state land was a key contributor to state. Hence, the only difference was Pakatan received much more despite selling much less.
What amazes me however, is the cheek Chew Mei Fun has to actually criticise Penang on the alleged ‘unrestrained land sale’.
As exposed earlier, even when Chew was the Member of Parliament for my current constituency, her party MCA acquired an acre of prime land from the then BN state government for a measly RM1 per square feet (psf) in 2007. Today, the land is worth as much as RM400psf. Despite her refusal to take responsibility for the transaction, she admitted to being fully aware of it. And this is just one of the hundreds and perhaps thousands of land which MCA has benefited from BN state governments across the country.
So the question for Chew is, what moral standing does she have to chide the Penang state government over land sale conducted via open tenders, when her own party has effectively abused its position in power to profit themselves and betray the trust the voters had placed in them?
Chew could not be more wrong in her baseless accusations. In fact, exactly the reverse is true.
Despite the current Pakatan government’s ‘restrained’ sale of land, we have managed to receive income which far exceeds that received under the previous BN government’s policy of ‘unrestrained land sale’. The statistics could not be more blatantly clear.
BN’s rule over Penang saw the sale of 3,661 acres of state land in the 15 years before 2008. Under Pakatan leadership, only 106.1 acres of state land was sold over the past 10 years. If Chew didn’t fail her mathematics, she should have figured that Pakatan has barely sold 3% of what BN sold!
More pertinently, Penang lead by Pakatan received RM1.11 billion for its sale of 106.1 acres whereas the BN state government only raised RM1.06 billion from 3,661 acres of land. In other words, the Penang state government today collected more money despite selling only a tiny fraction of the land sold by BN. This was achieved simply because the Pakatan government carried out open tenders for its sale.
By the very fact that we have successfully sold these land for very substantially higher prices than the BN government, of course it would naturally result in a higher contribution from land revenue to the state coffers, as reported by the AG.
In addition, figures from the BN’s era from 2002 to 2007 AG’s report also showed the sale and transfer of state land was a key contributor to state. Hence, the only difference was Pakatan received much more despite selling much less.
What amazes me however, is the cheek Chew Mei Fun has to actually criticise Penang on the alleged ‘unrestrained land sale’.
As exposed earlier, even when Chew was the Member of Parliament for my current constituency, her party MCA acquired an acre of prime land from the then BN state government for a measly RM1 per square feet (psf) in 2007. Today, the land is worth as much as RM400psf. Despite her refusal to take responsibility for the transaction, she admitted to being fully aware of it. And this is just one of the hundreds and perhaps thousands of land which MCA has benefited from BN state governments across the country.
So the question for Chew is, what moral standing does she have to chide the Penang state government over land sale conducted via open tenders, when her own party has effectively abused its position in power to profit themselves and betray the trust the voters had placed in them?
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is free to commence legal action against either one or both of us over comments made regarding MCA's land grab in Petaling Jaya
The MCA Vice-President and former Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU), Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun has today, threatened to sue Yeo Bee Yin, state assemblywoman for Damansara Utama and/or Tony Pua, the current Member of Parliament for PJU.
The is with regards to remarks we have made about her position and role in a land grab scandal in Petaling Jaya between 2006 to 2008 which was discovered recently. This was a 1-acre piece of land which was awarded to MCA for RM1 per square feet or RM52,000 in total. A market price estimate of the land value based on approximately RM400 per square feet would add up to RM17.5 million.
We have established the following facts:
1. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun was the Member of Parliament for PJU during the period concerned.
2. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is MCA Vice-President today. She was also the MCA Wanita deputy chairperson during the period concerned.
3. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is fully aware of the land application and transaction where the BN state government then granted the ownership of the land to MCA.
4. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is fully aware of the location of the land as she was at one point in time initiating or encouraging a dragonfruits farming project there.
5. The land was formerly occupied by squatters before they were evicted by the then BN state government.
6. The land deal has profited MCA immensely at the expense of the state government and the people of Selangor.
7. The land is currently zoned as a “water body” [“Badan Air (Sungai)] in the Petaling Jaya Local Plan (RTPJ) and MCA has applied to convert the “water body” into a “commercial and services” zone.
8. This is not the first land grab scandal in Selangor by MCA, but the first discovered in Petaling Jaya.
Therefore, we questioned:
1. What is the role played by Datin Paduka Chew, whether directly or indirectly to support the land grab?
2. Did Datin Paduka Chew object to or at any point of time attempted to stop the land application by MCA given that she was fully aware of the transaction? Or did she close one eye and placed the interest of MCA above that of her voters?
3. Does Datin Paduka Chew, as a very senior MCA party leader believe that the land grab by MCA is an ethical exercise and not a breach of trust of the people who have voted for her and her party then?
4. If Datin Paduka Chew still have any conscience left in her, would she agree with us that the land be returned to the state government so that it can remain as a “water body”, acting as a buffer to prevent flooding along Sg Kayu Ara in Kg Chempaka? Or at the very least, would she agree that it is only proper for a political party pay the full premium for the land which was alienated by the state government?
We find absolutely nothing defamatory in the above questions and facts, which were expressed in the purported defamatory video published by Yeo on her Facebook and our joint press conferences over the issue. Hence there is absolutely no reason for the video to be taken down.
Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is free to sue Yeo and/or Pua as that is her prerogative. However, our genuine advice to the former Deputy Minister is, if she is concerned about her political reputation being damaged, she will be much better off winning the hearts and minds of the people by declaring that all parcels of land alienated by state governments all over the country to MCA be returned to the respective state governments, failing which the premium for the parcels of land be paid in full.
Tony Pua & Yeo Bee Yin
The is with regards to remarks we have made about her position and role in a land grab scandal in Petaling Jaya between 2006 to 2008 which was discovered recently. This was a 1-acre piece of land which was awarded to MCA for RM1 per square feet or RM52,000 in total. A market price estimate of the land value based on approximately RM400 per square feet would add up to RM17.5 million.
We have established the following facts:
1. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun was the Member of Parliament for PJU during the period concerned.
2. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is MCA Vice-President today. She was also the MCA Wanita deputy chairperson during the period concerned.
3. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is fully aware of the land application and transaction where the BN state government then granted the ownership of the land to MCA.
4. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is fully aware of the location of the land as she was at one point in time initiating or encouraging a dragonfruits farming project there.
5. The land was formerly occupied by squatters before they were evicted by the then BN state government.
6. The land deal has profited MCA immensely at the expense of the state government and the people of Selangor.
7. The land is currently zoned as a “water body” [“Badan Air (Sungai)] in the Petaling Jaya Local Plan (RTPJ) and MCA has applied to convert the “water body” into a “commercial and services” zone.
8. This is not the first land grab scandal in Selangor by MCA, but the first discovered in Petaling Jaya.
Therefore, we questioned:
1. What is the role played by Datin Paduka Chew, whether directly or indirectly to support the land grab?
2. Did Datin Paduka Chew object to or at any point of time attempted to stop the land application by MCA given that she was fully aware of the transaction? Or did she close one eye and placed the interest of MCA above that of her voters?
3. Does Datin Paduka Chew, as a very senior MCA party leader believe that the land grab by MCA is an ethical exercise and not a breach of trust of the people who have voted for her and her party then?
4. If Datin Paduka Chew still have any conscience left in her, would she agree with us that the land be returned to the state government so that it can remain as a “water body”, acting as a buffer to prevent flooding along Sg Kayu Ara in Kg Chempaka? Or at the very least, would she agree that it is only proper for a political party pay the full premium for the land which was alienated by the state government?
We find absolutely nothing defamatory in the above questions and facts, which were expressed in the purported defamatory video published by Yeo on her Facebook and our joint press conferences over the issue. Hence there is absolutely no reason for the video to be taken down.
Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun is free to sue Yeo and/or Pua as that is her prerogative. However, our genuine advice to the former Deputy Minister is, if she is concerned about her political reputation being damaged, she will be much better off winning the hearts and minds of the people by declaring that all parcels of land alienated by state governments all over the country to MCA be returned to the respective state governments, failing which the premium for the parcels of land be paid in full.
Tony Pua & Yeo Bee Yin
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s attempts to justify increase in ECRL price from RM29 bil. to RM55 bil. raises many more questions than answers
Finally, after more than a week of denying that the proposed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) would cost a whopping RM55 billion, the hapless Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai finally conceded that the project would indeed cost RM55 billion or RM91.7 million per kilometer.
This admission came after slamming me on 8 November last week in The Star that I was making assumptions of the cost of the ECRL when it was still not finalised yet. “We have to go into negotiation on every kilometre so where did he get the cost?” he had then asked.
The Transport Minister’s admission in Parliament yesterday came after the Pakatan Harapan law-makers exposed the existence of an extensive feasibility study by HSS Engineers Bhd which had estimated that the cost of the 545km project to be only RM29 billion or RM53.2 million per kilometer.
He then tried to defend the staggering increase in cost by arguing that:
The project has been extended from 545km to 600km to include the Gombak-Port Klang link – a fact which we have never disputed.
The HSS feasibility study is based on RM3.2 to the US Dollar in 2009-2010.
There is a new alignment resulting in an increase in tunnel length from 30km to 50km, which also results in additional viaducts.
Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s appears to be desperately making up responses to questions as they arise, as his answers raises far too many more questions on the highly questionable RM55 billion project.
The HSS feasibility study which cost the Government RM8.7 million was carried out over a 6-year period, starting in December 2009 and completing only in December 2015 before concluding on the cost of RM29 billion.
Is the Transport Minister telling us that HSS consultants, who have completed many mega-infrastructure projects in the country, are so stupid as to use the 2009-2010 exchange rates to calculate the cost of the project, even though they finalised the report only in December 2015 when the exchange rate was already RM4 to the Dollar by then?
Since the comprehensive HSS report had to take 6 years to complete and was finalised only in December 2015, how did the Government decide to suddenly alter the alignment within 6 months or so? Was a new engineering consultant actually appointed to carry out a new study which could be completed in such a time-frame?
I would agree with Dato’ Seri Liow that if there is an increase in tunnel length through the Titiwangsa range from 30km to 50km, it would certainly increase the cost of construction. However, it begs the question, why take a 50km tunnel route across Titiwangsa range if indeed HSS recommended the much shorter 30km route?
The Transport Minister had told the Parliament that “we have nothing to hide. We are a responsible, accountable and transparent government.”
If he really has nothing to hide, Datuk Seri Liow should immediately order that both the HSS feasibility study and the subsequent study which changed the scope of the HSS study be released to the public.
That way, if what Datuk Seri Liow said is right, then the Pakatan Harapan critics would have no choice but to shut up immediately. Otherwise, the Transport Minister, who is also the MCA President has no right to accuse us of trying to “gain political mileage” when what we clearly want to ensure is not another project where tens of billions of ringgit are embezzled by the powers that be. Instead it would be Datuk Seri Liow who is playing politics to cover up for another multi-billion ringgit mega-scandal.
This admission came after slamming me on 8 November last week in The Star that I was making assumptions of the cost of the ECRL when it was still not finalised yet. “We have to go into negotiation on every kilometre so where did he get the cost?” he had then asked.
The Transport Minister’s admission in Parliament yesterday came after the Pakatan Harapan law-makers exposed the existence of an extensive feasibility study by HSS Engineers Bhd which had estimated that the cost of the 545km project to be only RM29 billion or RM53.2 million per kilometer.
He then tried to defend the staggering increase in cost by arguing that:
The project has been extended from 545km to 600km to include the Gombak-Port Klang link – a fact which we have never disputed.
The HSS feasibility study is based on RM3.2 to the US Dollar in 2009-2010.
There is a new alignment resulting in an increase in tunnel length from 30km to 50km, which also results in additional viaducts.
Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s appears to be desperately making up responses to questions as they arise, as his answers raises far too many more questions on the highly questionable RM55 billion project.
The HSS feasibility study which cost the Government RM8.7 million was carried out over a 6-year period, starting in December 2009 and completing only in December 2015 before concluding on the cost of RM29 billion.
Is the Transport Minister telling us that HSS consultants, who have completed many mega-infrastructure projects in the country, are so stupid as to use the 2009-2010 exchange rates to calculate the cost of the project, even though they finalised the report only in December 2015 when the exchange rate was already RM4 to the Dollar by then?
Since the comprehensive HSS report had to take 6 years to complete and was finalised only in December 2015, how did the Government decide to suddenly alter the alignment within 6 months or so? Was a new engineering consultant actually appointed to carry out a new study which could be completed in such a time-frame?
I would agree with Dato’ Seri Liow that if there is an increase in tunnel length through the Titiwangsa range from 30km to 50km, it would certainly increase the cost of construction. However, it begs the question, why take a 50km tunnel route across Titiwangsa range if indeed HSS recommended the much shorter 30km route?
The Transport Minister had told the Parliament that “we have nothing to hide. We are a responsible, accountable and transparent government.”
If he really has nothing to hide, Datuk Seri Liow should immediately order that both the HSS feasibility study and the subsequent study which changed the scope of the HSS study be released to the public.
That way, if what Datuk Seri Liow said is right, then the Pakatan Harapan critics would have no choice but to shut up immediately. Otherwise, the Transport Minister, who is also the MCA President has no right to accuse us of trying to “gain political mileage” when what we clearly want to ensure is not another project where tens of billions of ringgit are embezzled by the powers that be. Instead it would be Datuk Seri Liow who is playing politics to cover up for another multi-billion ringgit mega-scandal.
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