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

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UMNO Sec-Gen Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor should learn that while perception problems are often fixable, facts on the other hand, can’t be faked

UMNO secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said that Barisan Nasional must counter the perception created by the Opposition on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) to win back the state, said.

He claimed the 1MDB issue had been solved, and UMNO now must fix the wrong perception that the Opposition had created.

"The 1MDB issue has been solved. The bad perception was created (by the opposition) to confuse the voters. So, Umno has to step in to clear the confusion," he said after opening the Petaling Jaya Utara UMNO division meeting yesterday morning.

If only UMNO and BN’s problems in Selangor were merely as simple as “perception”.  Indeed, if that was the only problem with 1MDB, it would have been extremely easy to fix.

The challenge for UMNO-BN, if Tengku Adnan hasn’t realised by now, isn’t a mere problem of perception.  It is the problem that their attempts fake facts have gained no traction, especially in Selangor where the thinking electorate do not fall, hook, line and sinker for BN’s lies.

The people of Selangor, what more in Petaling Jaya Utara, can see with their own eyes not how the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and 1MDB is hiding themselves from “sensitive” questions about the RM50 billion monster scandal.

Why else would the Speaker of Parliament reject nearly all questions with regards to 1MDB even as innocuous as seeking to know the current value of 1MDB’s ‘unit’ investments previously held with the now-defunct BSI Bank in Singapore?

Why else would the Prime Minister not answer as to why is it that the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Apandi Ali claimed that the charges laid out in the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) were “politically motivated”?

It also isn’t a question of perception when 1MDB repeatedly failed to fulfil its obligations to repay its agreed instalment to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) amounting to billions of ringgit.

The people of Selangor are not so dumb as to not be able to see the fact 1MDB has suffered billions of ringgit of losses, as a result of a kleptocratic BN administration which will lead to Malaysians footing the RM42 billion 1MDB bill.

They can read between the lines when the Prime Minister failed to deny or explain the US$732 million which were deposited into his personal bank account in Ambank since the US DOJ exposed that the funds originated from 1MDB.  They can also deduce intelligently when his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, failed to explain or deny her acquisition of a US$27.3 million 22-carat pink diamond ring/necklace after the latest allegations by the DOJ.

Hence the biggest problem the BN administration faces isn’t a question of perception.  The biggest 1MDB problem facing BN is the people are staring at the bare indisputable facts which the BN leaders are only trying to sweep under the carpet.

Most importantly, we are confident that the people of Selangor will support the Pakatan Harapan coalition comprising of Bersatu, Amanah, PKR and DAP and reject all other parties who fail to crusade against the single largest case of robbery and kleptocracy in the history of Malaysia.

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There is no need for Senior State Executive Councillor, Teng Chang Khim to resign as to err is only human, and the errors upon discovery are rectified

The DAP Selangor State Committee met in an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss the public concerns over the guidelines and planning restrictions over non-Muslim places of worship.

The DAP Selangor State Committee unanimously agreed that the recommendation that non-Muslim places of worship should not be built within 50m of a home owned by Muslims, as well as several other guidelines are not appropriate for a multi-racial, multi-religious society which encourages mutual respect and tolerance.

It should be noted that such guidelines are the status quo for other BN-led states like Johor and Negeri Sembilan.  

The State Committee heard the explanation provided by Selangor Vice-Chairman and Senior State Executive Councillor, Teng Chang Khim, that despite having requested state government officials to make the necessary changes, the changes were not incorporated into the final version of the guidelines. 

As reported during his press conference in the morning, Teng has apologised for the unintended error and even offered to resign from his position.

The State Committee found that the question of Teng resigning from his government office does not even arise as he has committed no crime.  He has neither stolen money from the state government coffers, nor abused his powers to benefit vested interest parties like developers.

Instead, DAP Selangor would like to commend Teng for stepping forward to take full responsibility over the unintended error and omission, despite the fact that the guidelines manual was approved by the Selangor State Planning Committee.

To err is certainly human, but what is most important is the fact that immediate steps are being taken to ensure that these errors are corrected upon discovery.  No one has yet suffered or been penalised by the guidelines for new non-Muslims places of worship.  

Hence, DAP Selangor state committee supports Teng’s decision to seek the State Executive Council’s (Exco) approval on Wednesday for immediate suspension of the guidelines implementation pending revision.

At the same time, in the light of the gravity and sensitivity of the matter, the Selangor State Committee also resolved to set up a special sub-committee to assist Teng.  This will ensure that no stones are left unturned in the revision process.  The sub-committee will be led by Vice-Chairperson, Hannah Yeoh and four other members, Rajiv Rishyakaran, Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, Yeo Bee Yin and Ng Sze Han.

DAP Selangor would like to reiterate that the constitutional provisions providing for Islam as the religion of the Federation and guaranteeing the freedom of religion would be defended at all cost.  We firmly believe that such provisions can only be achieved with tolerance, respect and acceptance of such freedoms by all Malaysians.

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DAP Selangor menyokong calon Pakatan Harapan dalam PRK Sungai Besar meskipun ia menjadi pertarungan 3-penjuru dengan BN dan PAS

DAP Selangor akan memberikan sokongan penuh kepada calon Pakatan Harapan dalam pilihanraya kecil Sungai Besar bulan depan.

Kami juga berpandangan bahawa Pakatan Harapan mesti meletak calon dalam pertarungan ini meskipun ia menjadi satu pemilihan 3-penjuru dengan Barisan Nasional (BN) dan PAS.

Saya telah mengunjungi kawasan parlimen Sungai Besar dan bersesi dialog dengan akar-umbi cawangan-cawangan DAP di pekan Sungai Besar dan Sekinchan pada hari Ahad yang lalu.

Suara akar-umbi yang mencerminkan kehendak penyokong parti terutamanya di kawasan perbandaran adalah jelas. Mereka tidak akan, dan tidak mahu menyokong parti PAS sebagai wakil pembangkang melawan BN. Malah, ada yang menyebut bahawa kalau terpaksa undi antara BN dan PAS, ada kemungkinan mereka akan memilih BN atas kekecewaan terhadap PAS. Mereka menganggap bahawa PAS telah mengkhianati undi mereka pada pilihanraya yang lalu kerana mereka telah mengkuburkan Pakatan Rakyat.

Apatah lagi, Malaysia kini dilandai satu krisis gergasi yang tidak pernah berlaku dalam sejarah negara. Skandal RM55 bilion 1MDB dan “donation” Dato’ Seri Najib Razak berjumlah RM4.2 bilion yang telah menjadikan Malaysia sebagai bahan jenaka yang cukup memalukan di seluruh dunia.

Isu-isu ini sepatutnya menjadi fokus kepada pilihanraya-pilihanraya kecil di Sungai Besar dan Kuala Kangsar supaya ianya menjadi satu undi keyakinan terhadap pimpinan Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. Akan tetapi, rakyat tiada keyakinan bahawa parti PAS akan menyuarakan bantahan yang cukup nyaring dan pendirian yang cukup teguh terhadap skandal-skandal ini.

Malah, Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang telah berkali-kali menegaskan bahawa beliau tidak berniat untuk menumbangkan Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. Sebaliknya, beliau berkata bahawa Dato’ Seri Najib Razak perlu terus diberikan peluang untuk memimpin negara sebagai Perdana Menteri dan PAS hanya ingin menjadi “penasihat” kepada UMNO-Barisan Nasional.

Oleh sebab itu, adalah wajib supaya Pakatan Harapan diwakili dalam pilihanraya kecil ini supaya penyokong Pakatan Harapan yang begitu ramai dapat memilih parti yang benar-benar menentang kerajaan BN yang rakus dan rasuah.

Akibat keengganan Presiden PAS untuk berunding dengan Dato’ Seri Azmin Ali, cadangan PKR untuk meletakkan calon PKR di Sungai Besar bagi memastikan pertarungan satu-lawan-satu tidak akan terjadi.

Dengan itu, DAP Selangor akan memberikan sokongan seratus-peratus kepada calon Parti Amanah Negara yang mewakili Pakatan Harapan dalam pemilihan tiga-penjuru di Sungai Besar.

Walaupun ada pihak yang bimbang bahawa pemilihan tiga-penjuru berkemungkinan melemahkan undi pembangkang, kami percaya bahawa pengundi yang pintar akan tetap memberikan undi kepada Pakatan Harapan. Ini adalah kerana hanya gabungan politik Pakatan Harapan antara PKR, DAP dan Amanah mampu dan berpeluang untuk menewaskan BN dalam pilihanraya. Manakala PAS, secara tersendiri, tiada kemungkinan langsung untuk menubuhkan kerajaan. Oleh itu, pengundi Sungai Besar tidak akan membazirkan undi kepada parti yang tiada berkemampuan untuk membentuk kerajaan untuk mengganti BN.

Kami yakin bahawa dengan satu kempen yang berfokus dan cergas, Pakatan Harapan akan dapat memikat hati pengundi dan mencapai satu kemenangan pilihanraya kecil bersejarah yang akan menggempar bumi politik Malaysia.

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Pakatan Rakyat's End Will Not, and Ever, Delude Our Principles

Pakatan Rakyat Selangor is in unchartered waters post-PAS Muktamar.

The PAS General Assembly (“Muktamar”) has decided to sever all ties (“putus hubungan”) and stop all political cooperation “kerjasama politik” with DAP. As a result, Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor has undoubtedly entered unchartered waters. The only thing certain under such circumstances is that nothing can or will be the same again.

It is inconceivable for anyone to think or believe that Pakatan Rakyat can continue to exist in its current state given the above unequivocal motion. The Pakatan Rakyat government comprises of three political parties which subscribed to a common policy platform. However, when the common policy platform is breached, compounded by the decision of one party to stop cooperation with another within the coalition, then the coalition naturally collapses.

How does the Government function, when the state executive councillors (Exco) of PAS refuses to cooperate with the Exco from DAP when carrying out their respective duties? Can one even imagine how surreal the state Exco meeting will be, with the PAS Exco ignoring the DAP Excos or pretending that they don’t exist?

The problems do not just exist within the Executive Council, but with all levels of the Selangor Government. Will PAS local councillors for example, pay no heed to all comments, suggestions and proposals by DAP local councillors when carrying out their responsibilities at the local government level?

What’s more, such refusal to cooperate will be egged on by PAS leaders such as Nasruddin Hassan Tantawi, the top vote-getter amongst the 18 newly elected central committee members. After all, he urged the Party faithfuls to fight DAP with his now-famous war cry, “We may be dressed in jubah (robes) and turbans, but you must remember that underneath this jubah, there are elbows and knees that can be used (against DAP).”

Hence it will never be “business as usual” again. The question which remains, and is still unanswered is what form of political realignment will take place to allow a new coalition government to remain in power in Selangor.

As my colleague, Johor state chairman and MP for Kluang, Liew Chin Tong has alluded to, there is now a vacuum in the anti-establishment, moderate and progressive Malay political space after PAS swerved hard to the far-right. He said,

"In the weeks and months to come, the search for new paths by the progressives and all other Malay moderate opinion leaders to fill the vacuum would see major political realignments in Malaysian politics."

The ability for this gap to be filled, whether by the DAP and/or PKR, or by the rise of new factions or parties, will determine the future of the new coalition for Selangor.

The failure of this gap to be filled, which will allow a tenable coalition which subscribes firmly to the “Common Policy Platform” endorsed by the Rakyat in the last general election, may lead to a collapse of the Selangor state government and for elections to be called.

As of today, no final decision have been made by DAP Selangor. In the coming days, we will engage and discuss with DAP Central Executive Committee and abide by any decision which is made at the national level. Unlike leaders of several other political parties we know of, Malaysians can be assured that DAP leaders in Selangor will not be hypocrites and betray our principles to remain in power at all cost.

Tony Pua

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Datuk Paul Low Fears PAC Abused for Political Mileage

Datuk Paul Low’s trivialisation and politicisation of the Public Accounts Committee chairmanship confirms his BN partisanship and stains his reputation for transparency and accountability

The Pakatan Rakyat state government has made an offer for the Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) opposition leader to chair the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to create a first world assembly, in the interest of check and balance, transparency and accountability.  The unconditional offer has been rejected by the Selangor opposition leader, Datuk Mohd Shamsuddin Lias.

I have written to implore the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to instruct Selangor BN to accept the post to prove that he is serious about his transformation programme to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world” and his pledge to ensure transparency and accountability.

I have made the call on the Datuk Seri Najib Razak to do so, regardless of whether he will offer the Parliament’s PAC chairmanship to Pakatan Rakyat, although he should if he is serious about a first-world parliament.

However, the new Minister in the Prime Minister’s department, Datuk Paul Low has been quick to the draw to dismiss the idea as unnecessary and unimportant.  He told the Malay Mail that because “Malaysia, unlike other Commonwealth countries, may not have the political maturity to have an opposition member chair its parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC).”

The Minister seemingly without any political affiliation now claims that “such positions could be abused for political mileage”.

He said that “it depends on political maturity. To what extent can politicians give constructive criticism? Overseas, the opposition joins constructive and bipartisan discussions, so maybe they can do it there.”  Low said that in Malaysia the opposition would have to note that the seat was meant to be used for constructive criticism and not just to condemn the government.

Datuk Paul Low’s negative response only proves that he has completely shedded his impartial non-governmental organisation (NGO) skin and has fully embraced BN partisanship.  It appears that the former Transparency International President for the Malaysian chapter is now be more worried  about the government being condemned for its abuses and scandals, than about uncovering the wrongs of the abuses and scandals.

Datuk Paul Low is indeed correct to note that “overseas, the opposition joins constructive and bipartisan discussions”.  But that is because in their parliaments, dozens of bipartisan select committees are set up to discuss the drafting of laws in the country.  Here in Malaysia, the BN government will not set up of any such committee to deny the involvement of opposition politicians in the law-making process.  BN treats the Parliament like a rubber stamp where whatever amendments sought by the other side of the fence, regardless of whether it is constructive or otherwise, gets rejected by the tyranny of the majority.

The Selangor Pakatan Rakyat Government, by Datuk Paul Low’s own definition, obviously has greater political maturity compared to the BN Federal Government.  The state government welcomes criticism, positive or negative, constructive or political, from the BN opposition to improve itself further.  After all, if the state government is completely transparent and accountable, the PAC chairman will have no issue or basis to “condemn the government”.
Datuk Paul Low further provided the flimsy excuse that “it was not imperative that an opposition member chair the parliamentary PAC, which already consisted of those from both sides of the political divide and with the chairman serving just as a facilitator”.

His excuse not only trivialises the position of the PAC chairman who gets the say to set the agenda, the excuse doesn’t make any sense.  If indeed the chairman is just a facilitator, then why not give it to the Opposition, why shouldn’t BN accept the role in Selangor?

Malaysians had hoped that Datuk Paul Low will set new standards for transparency and accountability in the new Najib Cabinet.  Instead, as shown in the previous issues on the set up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and the declaration of assets by Cabinet Ministers, not only will no new standards be set, Datuk Paul Low has disappointingly become  the apologist for the BN administration to justifyt its opacity and abuses.

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BN Selangor Rejects PAC Chairmanship: An Abdication of Duty

For the second term running, Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblymen are again abdicating from their duties to the rakyat to act as an effective opposition to check and balance the Pakatan Rakyat state government.

For this new term, the unconditional offer to chair the powerful Public Account Committee (PAC) has been offered to the state Opposition Leader, Datuk Mohd Shamsuddin Lias.  However the latter has indicated that he will not take up the position giving the ridiculous excuse that the offer was “politically motivated”.

BN has also rejected the PAC chairmanship offer in 2008, after initially accepting it then.  However, after being firmly entrenched to the state opposition with fewer numbers for the second term, it is time for them to accept their role and perform their functions dutifully.

There is no point in the BN opposition making all sorts of wild allegations against the state government when the Pakatan Rakyat are giving the PAC chairmanship to BN on a silver platter.  As the chairman of the PAC, he will be able to set the agenda for the PAC meetings, review alleged misconduct and controversies, secure all relevant documents and interview any officer involved including State Executive Councillors.

Hence we find it completely inexplicable that BN is rejecting the position for the second time, unless the rejection is “politically motivated”.  BN is rejecting the position because it does not want to endorse the practice of transparency and accountability.

Despite the slew of rhetoric and slogans in the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) to increase transparency and accountability, the BN government led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak has consistently refused to accept the first world parliamentary best practice of an opposition leader leading the PAC.

Hence even though the unconditional offer of the PAC chairmanship is to promote first world legislative assemblies, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has instructed that the position not be accepted because it will make him look bad in the Parliament.

It appears that Datuk Seri Najib Razak will not be able to live down the fact that a Pakatan Rakyat government accepts a BN PAC Chairman, while he is unable to practise what he preach in the Parliament.  The Prime Minister obviously fears a Pakatan-led PAC in Parliament which will be more pro-active and meticulous in uncovering various abuses, scandals and corruption in the BN government.

We call upon the Ministers in-charge of GTP, Datuk Idris Jala and Datuk Paul Low to play their part to push the Government to not only accept the PAC chairmanship in Selangor, but also to offer the Parliament’s PAC chairmanship to Pakatan Rakyat.  Datuk Seri Najib Razak must realise that he lost the trust of 51% of the rakyat in the last general election due to a poor record in transparency and accountability.  By offering the PAC chairmanship to Pakatan Rakyat, he will be able to prove that he is indeed walking the talk about fighting corruption and abuse of power.

However, regardless of whether the Parliament’s PAC chairmanship position is offered to Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Najib Razak must at the very least instruct Datuk Mohd Shamsuddin Lias to accept the Selangor state assembly’s PAC chairmanship, to act its role as a responsible opposition in ensuring transparency and accountability.

There is no more valid excuses that Selangorians can accept in the rejection of the role.  In fact, the failure of accepting the role will only permanently cement BN as the opposition in Selangor for the 14th General Election.  The rakyat will be able to tell that Pakatan Rakyat governments practice what we preach, while the BN Governments led by the Prime Minister is only good with the song and dance, with no earnest effort in making real transformation.

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Tan Sri Rozali Ismail Deserves RM33.4 million Pay-off?

Was the Puncak Niaga Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group joking when they claimed its Executive Chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail fully deserved the RM33.4 million in fees despite the company’s losses in recent years?

I nearly fell off my chair when I read in the news reports that the Puncak Niaga (PNHB) Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group (MSWG) chairperson, Muhammad Imran Abdullah claimed that its Executive Chairman, Tan Sri Rozali Ismail fully deserved his RM33.4 million payout.

He told reporters that "it was tabled at the PNHB's annual general meeting, we approved it” and added that “we are only concerned with our dividends and returns”, without elaborating further.

This group, which was interestingly formed coincidentally only 1 week ago, did not seem to notice that Puncak Niaga is under serious financial stress and has not performed well over the last 5 years.

On paper, PNHB recorded a net profit of RM233 million for the financial year 2012.  However, it should be highlighted that PNHB achieved profitability only because it recognised a RM1,024 million “water tariff compensation” from the Selangor State Government.

This compensation is never agreed to by the state government because PNHB and its subsidiary, SYABAS has failed to fulfil its obligations under the water concession agreement.  The failure includes but is not limited to SYABAS’s failure to repair and replace aging pipes, and consequently to reduce the percentage of non-revenue water in Selangor.  In fact, the “compensation” is being disputed in court and hence should not be recognised as “revenue” for PNHB in the first place.

Without the compensation payment, PNHB would have made massive losses of up to RM791 million.

For the previous financial year 2011, PNHB made net losses of RM83 million, despite recognising RM458 million in “water tariff compensation”.  Hence the total losses without the “compensation” would have been as high as RM541 million.  The above figures are found in the PNHB Annual Report 2012, on pages 150 and 198 respectively.

http://www.puncakniaga.com.my/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=9JfmWsBvRVE%3d&tabid=127#zoom=100&scrollbar=0

Going back further, PNSB made losses of RM92 million (2010) after recognising “water tariff compensation” of RM419 million (2010).  The above figures are summarised in the Table 1 below.


Table 1: Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd Profits & Water Tariff Compensation 2008-2012

2012 2011 2010
Net Profit/Loss after Tax 232,680,075 (83,130,994) (91,589,556)
Water Tariff Compensation 1,023,940,987 458,150,923 418,717,266
Estimated Net Loss without Compensation (791,260,912) (541,281,917) (510,306,822)



Therefore, without recognising the disputed and highly controversial “water tariff compensation” from the Selangor state government, the losses in PNHB in 2012 would have been RM250 million worse than in 2011.

As such, PNSB has been making consistent losses in recent year and only managed to eke out a profit in 2012 purely because of a massive increase of recognised “water tariff compensation” from less than RM500 million in prior years to a massive RM1,024 million in 2012.

Given such underlying performance in the company, does the MSWG really believe that Tan Sri Rozali Ismail fully deserves the RM33.4 million payoff?  In fact under normal MSWG circumstances, they should logically be calling for the company’s top management to be axed, and not in this case, lucratively rewarded!

Or is the MSWG which was only hastily formed last week meant to serve the interest of PNHB’s largest shareholder, and its executive chairman in the light of an impending takeover of PNHB by the Selangor government?

The RM33.4 million payout to Tan Sri Rozali Ismail is a serious issue because it involves Puncak Niaga and its subsidiary, Syabas, which have been awarded monopolistic concessions by the Barisan Nasional governments to operate water treatment plants and to distribute water in the state of Selangor.  Water is an essential basic utility for every single Malaysian and we are completely flabbergasted that these concessions have been abused to outrageously enrich inidividuals who are cronies of the BN regime.

Therefore Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) must investigate this payout immediately and take all necessary actions to protect the interest of Malaysians.  In fact, the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water must immediately stop all extraordinary and non-operational payouts in the water concessionaires pending the restructuring exercise, particularly if these companies still owe billions of ringgit to the Federal Government.

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RM33.4 million Golden Parachute for Tan Sri Rozali Ismail?

Is the outrageous RM33.4 million payout to Tan Sri Rozali Ismail a pre-emptive golden handshake in anticipation of the Selangor state takeover of water concessionaires in the state?

Right-thinking Malaysians are completely outraged by the shocking RM33.4 million remuneration package for the executive chairman of Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd and its subsidiary, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selanagor, Tan Sri Rozali Ismail.

Malaysians are outraged because Tan Sri Rozali’s companies have been awarded monopolistic concessions by the Barisan Nasional governments to operate water treatment plants and to distribute water in the state of Selangor.  Water is an essential basic utility for every single Malaysian and we are completely flabbergasted that these concessions have been abused to outrageously enrich inidividuals who are cronies of the BN regime.

As a comparison, the remuneration package of the Chief Executive Officer of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), the country’s biggest utility is only RM7 million. For the financial year 2012, TNB recorded a revenue of RM35.85 billion compared to only RM2.5 billion of Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd.

What makes the RM33.4 million award to Tan Sri Rozali Ismail is the fact that Puncak Niaga is heavily laden with billions of ringgit of debt, and had to be bailed out by the Government repeatedly in the last few years.

Because Puncak Niaga and Syabas was unable to repay their RM1.3 billion and RM2.9 billion respectively and these debts were “taken over” by the Federal Government in 2011 in order to prevent these companies from defaulting.  Based on the 2012 Puncak Niaga financial statement, the Group has RM937 million in near-term loans and borrowings, and RM4,719 million in non-current loans and borrowings.

What is more, Puncak Niaga carries in its books a RM304 million debt to the Government due to soft loans given the its group of companies to carry out its concession obligations in the state of Selangor.  This does not include the fact that the Federal Government has also provided grants amounting to RM726 million to Syabas, including the latest RM120 million granted in January this year.

For the Selangor residents, the excessive remuneration package for Tan Sri Rozali is rubbing salt on the people’s wounds as Syabas has failed to consistently provide quality water supply and services to its consumers particularly over the past 2 years.  This year, Syabas has admitted that it has received a staggering 4,186 complaint calls daily since the start of the year as a result of constant water disruption, usually relating to poor pipe and reservoir maintenance.

We would like to question the company and the Federal Government if this RM33.4 million payout is a pre-emptive “golden handshake” payment to the Executive Chairman of Puncak Niaga in anticipation of the impending Selangor state government’s take over of water concessionaires in the state.

Since the last general election where the people of Selangor voted overwhelmingly in favour of Pakatan Rakyat despite BN using “water” as its key campaign message, it appears that the Federal Government may concede to the wishes of the people to return to water management rights to the state government.  The Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has announced in the Selangor State Assembly earlier this week that he has received a letter from the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the latter has finally agreeed for the state to take over water concessionaires, although details are still lacking at this point of time.

We call upon Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) to investigate this payout immediately and take all necessary actions to protect the interest of Malaysians.  In fact, the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water must immediately stop all extraordinary and non-operational payouts in the water concessionaires pending the restructuring exercise, particularly if these companies still owe billions of ringgit to the Federal Government.

At the same time, the Selangor State Government must deduct all inapppropriate and “unapproved” expenses, such as this RM33.4 million “durian runtuh” for Tan Sri Rozali Ismail by these concessionaires from the proposed acquisition cost of these companies.  Cronies of Barisan Nasional must not profit unfairly beyond what they have already earned to date, at the expense of the rakyat, especially under Pakatan Rakyat’s watch.

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Himpunan Kesyukuran Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat akan teruskan bantahan terhadap PRU13 yang tidak bersih dan adil. Pada masa yang sama, kami juga ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada pengundi-pengundi kerana telah memberikan sokongan yang cukup hebat kepada Pakatan Rakyat di Wilayah Persekutuan dan Selangor.

Di Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan, Pakatan Rakyat bukan sahaja berjaya mempertahankan kuasa di negeri Selangor, kami telah meningkatkan jumlah kerusi dan juga majoriti yang diperolehi oleh calon-calon kami.

DAP Wilayah Persekutuan dan Selangor akan menganjurkan satu Himpunan Kesyukuran Pakatan Rakyat dengan butir-butir seperti berikut:

Tarikh: 23hb Mei 2013 (Khamis)
Masa: 7 malam
Tempat: Padang Timur, Petaling Jaya (hadapan Amcorp Mall)

Penceramah termasuklah Lim Kit Siang, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Khalid Samad, Zaid Ibrahim, Tamrin Ghafar, Teresa Kok, Teng Chang Khim, Tony Pua dan lain-lain.

Kami juga ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Pihak Polis Diraja Malaysia kerana telah memberikan kerjasama untuk menjalankan Himpunan Kesyukuran Pakatan Rakyat pada 23hb Mei (Khamis) 7 malam di Padang Timur secara lancar.

Pihak polis akan membantu mengawal trafik dan telah mencadangkan supaya para hadirin menggunakan tempat letak kereta yang sedia ada yang ditunjukkan dalam peta di bawah.

Untuk mengurangkan kesesakan jalanraya lagi, kami menggalakkan para hadirin menggunakan sistem LRT Taman Jaya.

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Selangor Voters Snubs Najib's Water "Promise"

In the interest of Selangorians, Datuk Seri Najib Razak must now instruct the new Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Maximus Ongkili to immediately press for the return of the water concessions to the Selangor state government

The battle for Selangor in the last General Election was fought on one crucial platform – the control of water in the state.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who personally headed the BN machinery in Selangor campaigned vigourously in the state for the people to return BN into government to “solve Selangor’s water crisis”.

Pakatan Rakyat, led by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim offered his vision for water services in Selangor where the control is returned to the state government, the rights to water to her people.  Pakatan Rakyat has argued vehemently that essential services such as the provision of water should not be conceded to private companies which the sole interest of maximising profits.

We can see the consequences reflected in Subang Jaya today where the residents have been suffering for the 4th day now without water supply due to Syabas incompetence and lack of maintenance.  In the water concession agreement, the obligation of maintaining the treated water reservoirs, as well as replacing broken and old pipes lay completely with SYABAS.  Their failure to fulfil their obligations have caused repeated water shortages all over the Klang Valley over the past few months.

Despite the massive onslaught by BN led by the Prime Minister himself, the outcome of the 13th GE in Selangor has proven Najib’s utter and complete failure in making any in roads in the state.  Not only did Najib not manage to recapture Selangor, BN lost additional 8 seats, allowing Pakatan Rakyat to capture 44 seats and leaving BN with only 12.  In terms of popular support, Pakatan Rakyat Selangor enjoyed a 4% increase in popular votes from 55.4% in 2008 to 59.4% in 2013 confirming that we have won over our doubters in 2008 with our policies and administration.

Datuk Seri Najib’s defeat meant that the people of Selangor has spoken, and that they have no confidence in the BN federal government in resolving the water crisis.  It is also an outright rejection of the mega-project proposed by BN, the Langat 2 water treatment plant which is expected to cost in excess of RM8 billion, inclusive of the Pahang-Selangor tunnel as well as land acquisition costs.

Instead, the rakyat have insisted in no uncertain terms, that the privatised water concessions be returned to the state government.  The people of Selangor have also agreed with the state government that there are other much more effective, efficient and cheaper measures which can be taken to increase the water supply in Selangor. They can also see that the current water crisis is caused by or is manufactured by the BN Government.

Given the urgency of the water crisis in Selangor, and the appointment of a new Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, we call upon the Prime Minister to instruct Dr Ongkili to exercise the powers vested in him under the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) 2006 to enforce the return of the water concessions to the state government.

In fact WSIA 2006 empowers the Minister to make decisions in national interest which cannot be challenged in the court of law.
The determination of what amounts to national interest issues arising from the coming into operation of this Act shall be made by the Minister and such determination shall be final and binding upon all persons and shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or questioned in any court.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak must accept the will of the people of Selangor to have the water concession returned to the state government.  The failure to do so will mean that the Prime Minister is once again snubbing the needs and demands of the people, making a plain joke of his “people first” slogan.

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Selangor Win: Clear Endorsement for Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat’s overwhelming win in Selangor proves the people’s ringing endorsement of our 5 year term in power

Datuk Seri Najib Razak had made the capture of Selangor state his prime objective in the 13th General Elections (GE).  In fact, he made the infamous clarion call last year to “take Selangor back at all cost” and even appointed himself as the Director of Elections for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the state, the first time a sitting Prime Minister is appointed to lead a state election machinery.

Despite the massive onslaught by BN, the outcome of the 13th GE in Selangor has proven Najib’s utter and complete failure in making any in roads in the state.  Not only did Najib not manage to recapture Selangor, BN lost additional 8 seats, allowing Pakatan Rakyat to capture 44 seats and leaving BN with only 12.

If not for the self-inflicted damage of a 3-corner fight between PAS and PKR in Kota Damansara, as well as another involving PSM and PKR in Semenyih, Pakatan Rakyat would have comfortably captured an additional 2 state seats, leaving BN with only 10.  In both these seats, the combined PKR-PAS and PKR-PSM votes overwhelm the votes obtained by BN by 5,783 and 1,423 votes respectively.

The resounding victory by Pakatan Rakyat is a ringing endorsement by the people of Selangor to our 5 years’ in power since 2008 where the state government has rolled out massive amounts of people-centric programmes via “Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor” as well as proving our competence in a clean and transparent state administration.

Strong increase in Malay support

What is the sweetest bit of our victory in Selangor is the massive increase in Malay support for the coalition, which has allowed us to significantly increase our seats in the semi-rural belt of Selangor.  PAS has successfully captured the Malay majority seats (% Malays in brackets) of Sabak (79%), Morib (59%), Paya Jeras (57%), Dusun Tua (53%), Tj Sepat (52%) and Taman Templar (51%).  This achievement was inspite of the relentless attacks by UMNO over the issues of race, religion and royalty on Pakatan Rakyat in the Malay heartlands.

DAP received multi-racial support

Similarly, for DAP, it would not have been possible for us to capture the seats we lost in 2008, Kuala Kubu Baru and Sg Pelek without increased support from both the Malays and Indians.  In these 2 seats, the Malay and Indian population comprises of 33% and 21%, 45% and 21% respectively.  The increased in support from the Malay and Indian community has allowed DAP to win both seats with majorities of 1,702 (2008: -448) and 1,972 (2008: -1,572) respectively.

Even in Telok Datuk, where Malays and Indians form 29% and 20% respectively, where DAP candidate won by only a marginal 698 votes, we have successfully increased our majority to 5,391 votes marking a significant increase in both Malay and Indian support.

Large increase in popular support for Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor

In terms of popular support, Pakatan Rakyat Selangor enjoyed a 4% increase in popular votes from 55.4% in 2008 to 59.4% in 2013 confirming that we have won over our doubters in 2008 with our policies and administration.  This result also cements permanence of Pakatan Rakyat Selangor as a highly credible political coalition, and not a “one-hit-wonder”.

Selangorians are discerning

The only blot in Pakatan Rakyat’s Selangor results was the loss of Bukit Melawati by 806 votes, reversing the 297 votes win in 2008 by PKR.  Under such marginal circumstances, the coalition’s past performance in the constituency may have affected the outcome of the vote.

However, this outcome and the narrow losses in several other state and parliamentary seats in Selangor proves that continued clean and transparent policies, and their effective implementation will enable us to win even more seats in the future.

Conclusion

The thumping endorsement from the rakyat for the Pakatan Rakyat state government is a clear cut thumbing of the nose at Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s leadership of the country and the state.  It is also a rejection by the people of Selangor of all races and religion, of BN’s divisive politics of race, religion and royalty.

While Pakatan Rakyat campaigned on a platform based on our track record and our administrative credentials in contrast to BN, BN’s only target of attack was the attempt to sow discord between races and religions.

The contrast in campaign messages and styles can be perfectly encapsulated by the victory of a moderate Khalid Samad of PAS thrashing BN’s Zulkifli Nordin, Perkasa Vice-President who is universally condemned as a racist and bigot.  In fact, we believed that Zulkifli’s candidature has played a crucial role in ensuring Pakatan Rakyat’s victories in Selangor with much larger majorities.

The challenge for Pakatan Rakyat Selangor in the coming 5 years will be to enable Malaysians outside of Selangor, especially in BN bastions to recognise our achievements and to realise that a vote for Pakatan Rakyat will be a step forward for them, and for their children in the next General Election.

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UMNO Leaders Passes The Buck Over Land Grab

It is so hopelessly hilarious to see how UMNO Selangor leaders scrambling to disclaim responsibility and knowledge over their role in the state land grab scandal.

We have on Tuesday exposed a 87,188 square feet of land which was given to UMNO Subang at dirt cheap nominal prices in Ara Damansara in 2004.  This piece of land has since been developed into a 200-unit Suria Damansra Condomium launched in 2006.  This condominium is worth an estimated RM90 million based on today’s prices.

UMNO and MCA state assemblymen, Abdul Shukor Idrus and Wong Koon Mun had explained during the last state assembly sitting that the land they received on the cheap were used for the community, such as kindergartens or public community halls.

We had called on them to explain where exactly is the kindergarten and the community halls in this 87,188 sq ft of land.  This is the first of the 24 parcels of land which we will expose as a clear cut case of abuse of power and corruption by the Barisan Nasional government during their reign from 2000 to 2008.

Having been caught with their pants down, UMNO leaders are now fumbling to deny their complicity in the land-grab, and blame other UMNO leaders.

When contacted by the press, Subang Umno division chief Muhammad Bushro Mat Johor, said there is no such land in possession of Subang Umno.  “No, there is not even a single piece of land listed in Subang Umno’s asset list since I became the division chief,” he said.  However when pressed with evidence, the Paya Jaras assemblyperson pointed that any query on the land is best directed to the previous division chief.

However, the previous division chief, Datuk Mokhtar Dahlan when queried, then passed the buck to Kelana Jaya Umno acting chief Yahya Bujang.  He claimed that although it was Subang UMO which received the land, “the land was handed over to Kelana Jaya Umno after a constituency re-delineation exercise in 2004.”

Unfortunately, and coincidentally, Yahya Bujang is out of the country and is hence unable to respond immediately to the allegations.  Datuk Mokhtar Dahlan had disclosed however, that the land was originally intended for the construction of UMNO Subang’s Division Headquarters.  It is a clear admission that BN had abused its powers to benefit the interest of its component parties.

At the same time, the Opposition Leader in Selangor Datuk Satim Diman pleaded ignorance when queried and responded that said the matter should be referred instead to Umno Selangor secretary Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed.

Mohd Zin, then with great finesse , responded that he “needs some time and will respond in due time after his researcher gathers more information on the allegation.”

The passing the buck game cannot be any more comical than the above.  UMNO knows that they’ve been caught red-handed putting their hands into cookie jar, and no one wants to accept responsibility for robbing the people’s land for their own profit.

The biggest disappointment for all Malaysians, and particularly Selangorians, is the fact that the Prime Minister has remained steadfastly silent on the above issue, despite his insistence that UMNO has “transformed”.  Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is also the Selangor UMNO Chief must get his house in order by explaining the land grab scandal and accepting responsility for UMNO’s sins.  He must make amends for UMNO’s corrupt policies of the past be returning all such ill-gained profits to the state government for the benefit of the rakyat.

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Official Invite to Datuk Chua Tee Yong to Visit BN Land Grab Sites

Datuk Chua Tee Yong has proven himself to be obsessed with “land scandals” especially in Selangor.

The independent audit by the international reputable auditing firm, KPMG as well as the Selangor state government White Paper tabled at the latest state assembly sitting proving beyond doubt that the Government under the leadership of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has collected back every single sen of the RM392 million debt oustanding from Talam Corporation.  These debts were incurred during the reign of Barisan Nasional (BN) and was never collected while BN wa in power.

Despite the above, Datuk Chua is remarkably persistent in his jihad to find the elusive needle in the haystack to prove his RM1 billion non-existent land scandal in Selangor under Pakatan Rakyat.

Given his insatiable quest for “land scandals” in Selangor and the obvious need to lead the ineffective Selangor MCA leadership, I would like to offer the perfect opportunity to Datuk Chua to uncover the real land scandals in Selangor.

I would like to invite Datuk Chua Tee Yong, the MCA “land scandals” and accounting expert, to jointly visit the 24 parcels of state land which which were given to Barisan Nasional component parties – UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan – between 2000 and 2008.  These pieces of land were transferred to BN parties for nominal sums despite being worth in excess of RM200 million.

Selangor Barisan Nasional component parties have been quick to defend the land-grab despite the obvious corruption, abuse of power and conflict of interests involved.  Selangor UMNO Information Chief Abdul Shukor Idrus, who is also the state assemblyman for Kuang who argued that “what’s wrong with giving the land to UMNO” as reward for the “contributions by UMNO in fighting for indepedence and developing this country”.

MCA Selangor Secretary and ADUN for Kuala Kubu Baru, Datuk Wong Koon Mun agreed with is UMNO colleague, claiming that there’s nothing wrong with alienating land to MCA, by comparing the political party to “temples and schools” which were also given land on the cheap.  Wong even added that the sites served as de facto centres for community life, including as community hall and even as schools and kindergartens, in lieu of purpose-built buildings.

The joint bi-partisan visits to the 24 sites will confirm if the land given to UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan were indeed utilised for the “community” or were they a clear cut abuse of power to profit the party and its cronies.

During the site visit with DAP state assembly persons, Ng Suee Lim and Hannah Yeoh to a 87,188 square feet piece of land in Ara Damansara given to UMNO Bahagian Subang yesterday, we found no kindergarten or community hall for use by local residents.  Instead we found a 200-unit condominium – Suria Damansara Condominium worth more than RM500 million when it was first launched in 2006.

The purpose of the site visits will be:

1. To confirm if these sites were indeed used for the community, or were they like the UMNO land above, sold or developed commercially for profit.

2. Where profit was made – 23 out of the 24 pieces of land were commercial land – to determine how much profit did UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan made from these land, as a result of getting them dirt cheap from the BN state government

It is critical for Datuk Chua to agree to the joint site visits to prove that there is no element of corruption and abuse of power by BN in the award of these land to themselves, and more important there was zero element of profit resulting from the above transactions.

And if the bi-partisan visits are able to prove that UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan have profited hundreds of millions of ringgit from these “land scandals”, then as the shining light within MCA fighting for justice for Selangorians and integrity in Government, Datuk Chua must declare that all the unethically obtained profits must be returned to the Selangor state government for the benefit of her citizens.

If not, then it will be unfortunate that Datuk Chua will prove himself as another dye-in-the-wool hypocrite from MCA and Barisan Nasional, who seeks only to protect his own interest and that of his party, at the expense of the ordinary man-on-the-street.

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UMNO Is Shameless Despite Being Caught for Land Grab

It has been a week since DAP State Assemblyman for Sekinchan, Ng Swee Lim exposed that Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties secured at least 24 pieces of valuable land from the state government while they were in power between 2000 to 2008.  These pieces of land which are mostly in commercial areas, amounting to 34.5 acres were “sold” to UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan for a pitiful RM1 per square feet.  These pieces of land are estimated to be worth as much as RM200 million.

Selangor Barisan Nasional component parties have been quick to defend the land-grab despite the obvious corruption, abuse of power and conflict of interests involved.  Selangor UMNO Information Chief Abdul Shukor Idrus, who is also the state assemblyman for Kuang who argued that “what’s wrong with giving the land to UMNO” as reward for the “contributions by UMNO in fighting for indepedence and developing this country”.

MCA Selangor Secretary and ADUN for Kuala Kubu Baru, Datuk Wong Koon Mun agreed with is UMNO colleague, claiming that there’s nothing wrong with alienating land to MCA, by comparing the political party to “temples and schools” which were also given land on the cheap.  He also insinuated that such land grab is justified by the effort of the party to register Chinese Malaysians to obtain their citizenship and “fighting for their rights”.

Such responses are the clearest proof that BN leaders not only do not understand what is corruption and abuse of power,  they are completely shameless even after being caught red-handed by the authorities.  Ordinary Malaysians know that political parties have no right to benefit themselves, at the expense of the rakyat when they are in power, or it will be a clear breach of trust.

Wong had the cheek to say that all the properties “…belong to the party. All MCA land in the new villages belong to party headquarters, not personal. Nothing wrong (with that).”

However, the Prime Minister who is also the UMNO Selangor Chief, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had continued to plead to Malaysians to give BN a chance because “…BN is not a party that is inflexible. We are ready to change.”

“Change can happen in our country and we have proven that not necessarily we change government, but we can bring big change with the same government,” Najib said at the Barisan 1 Malaysia gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on Saturday 24 November 2012.

Najib had asked Malaysians, “why fix it when it is not broken?”

The very fact that BN leaders continue to defend their corrupt actions of the past proves that BN is not only “broken” but is umable to “change”.  What is worse is, the Prime Minister himself has refused to comment on the above corrupt practice, much less condemn his Selangor state assemblymen for their complete lack of integrity, despite arguing that “we can bring big change with the same government”.

Hence if the BN gets re-elected as the state government of Selangor as Najib predicted, then Malaysians will be assured that state government assets will continue to be raped and pillaged by UMNO, MCA, Gerakan and MIC under his leadership, at the expense of the ordinary man on the street.

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Najib Must State Stand On BN Land Grab

It did not come as a shock to anybody when DAP State Assemblyman for Sekinchan, Ng Swee Lim exposed on Tuesday that Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties secured at least 24 pieces of valuable land from the state government while they were in power between 2000 to 2008.  These pieces of land which are mostly in commercial areas, amounting to 34.5 acres were “sold” to UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan for a pitiful RM1 per square feet.

What is perhaps more surprising is that such information was somehow kept under wraps for such a long time after they lost their hold on power.

But what is most shocking is the response by Selangor UMNO Information Chief Abdul Shukor Idrus, who is also the state assemblyman for Kuang who argued that “what’s wrong with giving the land to UMNO” as reward for the “contributions by UMNO in fighting for indepedence and developing this country”.

His response to Ng during the sitting as recorded in the Hansard was “…Kalau dipandangkan jasa UMNO menuntut kemerdekaan dan akhirnya Sekinchan (Ng) boleh jadi lawa macam ni, kalau tak kerana UMNO menuntut kemerdekaan dan memajukan negari ini, saya ingat Sekinchan (Ng) pakai baju daun sekarang ini… apa halnya kalau diberi kepada UMNO”

Abdul Shukor attempted to control the fallout with a press conference yesterday (Wednesday), only to dig a deeper hole for UMNO and himself.  He tried to justify that “UMNO is rakyat” and hence there’s absolutely nothing wrong in giving state land to an “organisation that represents 400,000 people”.

The above proves that despite all attempts at “transforming” UMNO and Barisan Nasional to be “people first”, and all the rhetoric on accountability and integrity under the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s Government Transformation Programme, UMNO leaders still regard the tax-payers’ monies as their own.  After all “UMNO is rakyat” and hence there is nothing wrong with UMNO robbing what belongs to the rakyat.

UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders clearly has no moral sense of right and wrong, and are completely uneducated in the ability to differentiate between what belongs to the government/people as opposed to what belongs to the political parties.

The response by UMNO leaders tells Selangorians that if UMNO were to be elected back into power in the coming general election, then they will continue to rape the state by carving out valuable pieces of state land to be alienated to UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan at dirt cheap prices.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as the Selangor UMNO Chief who had declared that Selangor must be “returned” to BN “at all costs” must state his stand on the land grab by the coalition he leads.  Does the Prime Minister also condone the land grab exercises and agree with his Selangor UMNO Information Chief?  Or does Datuk Seri Najib hold the “transformed” belief that such blatant land grab by BN is corrupt, an abuse of power and a serious breach of the people’s trust?

If Datuk Seri Najib wants Malaysians to believe that BN has really “transformed” and can be trusted, then he must declare that such land grab exercises by BN component parties must not only be banned, all land that has previously been alienated to them on the cheap, must be returned to the state.

Otherwise, Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be exposed as a “transformation” fraud – where it talks about integrity, transparency and accountability on the one hand but continues to allow his party and coalition to rob the rakyat blind on the other.

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Donald Lim Talks Rubbish on Selangor Affordable Housing

On Tuesday 23 October 2012, Datuk Donald Lim claimed in parliament that the Selangor state government has not built a single unit of low-cost or medium cost housing during its four years of administration.

He said "Di Selangor sudah lebih empat tahun, sebiji rumah pun tidak dibina untuk rakyat Selangor sama ada kos rendah atau sederhana. Memang ini... " (Hansard 23/10/12)

After being "corrected" in Parliament, Datuk Donald Lim attempted to change his allegations in Parliament with a press conference yesterday.

This time, he alleged that of the 23,637 units of affordable homes planned for Selangor, only 287 have been built. He said that is barely 1% of the total number and hence it is as good as zero built.  He stated that this information is disclosed in the reply by the Selangor State Executive Council to the state assembly sitting in April this year.

We have checked the official response by the State Exco. It is true that "only" 287 units of low-cost units have been completed while 826 are under construction.

However, Datuk Donald Lim appears to have conveniently read only half the response by the state government.  The same reply to the Dewan also stated that 5,526 units of low-medium and medium cost housing have been completed!  The Minister had claimed that there were none built at all!

So out of the total of 23,637 low and medium cost homes planned by the state government, 5,813 has already been completed. This is a commendable 25% completion within a few years of administration. As a civil engineer himself, sure Datuk Lim would know that planning, approving and constructing houses isn't like ordering a plate of char koay teow, where you will be served in 10 minutes.

The 25% is a far cry from the 1% alleged by the Deputy Finance Minister and definitely not "zero" as misled by him in Parliament.

Today, we have made a site visit to Seksyen 3, Bandar Baru Bangi within the Serdang constituency with Bangi ADUN Shafie bin Abu Bakar on one of the soon-to-be-completed 124 units of affordable homes (picture attached). We have made an open invitation to the Selangor MCA Chief to visit the site or any other sites in Selangor since he claimed that he is completely clueless about low-cost and affordable housing projects in Selangor.

The Selangor Government is also building 135 units of affordable homes at Sungai Long (within Serdang constituency) to be completed before the end of the year. Other affordable projects in the state include one in Seksyen U10, Shah Alam, where 536 units will be built.  As an initial step, the state has set the price for affordable houses (800-1,000 sq feet) for middle-income earners at between RM85,000 and RM120,000.  Selangor residents with households between RM2,500 and RM5,000 can apply for it.  Those interested may purchase the application form at Level 5 of SUK Building, Shah Alam at the price of RM5.

We would also like to remind the Minister of 2 further issues. Firstly, the statistics above only covers projects directly under the state government and the subsidiaries it own.  It does not include the thousands of units built by the private sector as mandated by the state government.

Secondly, we would like to emphasize in no uncertain terms that the responsibility to build affordable housing is that of the Federal Government under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, headed by Datuk Lim's colleague, Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung.  It is because the Federal Government has failed to fulfil its obligations that the state governments of Selangor and Penang are forced to step in to build affordable homes to ease the burden of the rakyat.

Datuk Donald Lim should hence get his own house in order first before attempting to discredit the Selangor Government under Pakatan Rakyat. He should also stop digging a deeper hole for himself by conceding that he has made a blunder in Parliament and withdraw his irresponsible remark that the Selangor government has not built a single unit of low or medium cost housing in the state.

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Donald Lim Lied That Selangor Did Not Build Low-Cost Homes

Pakatan flays MCA deputy minister for ‘lying’ about Selangor low-cost housing
By Clara Chooi, Assistant News Editor 
October 23, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — An MCA deputy minister found himself the target of criticism from angry Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers in Parliament today when he declared that the Selangor government has not built a single low-cost home in the state since it took over in 2008.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim made the claim when praising the federal administration for being considerate of the needs of the country’s lower-income group.

Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) immediately stood up to demand that Lim correct his statement, accusing the Selangor MCA chairman of lying to the House.

Other PR MPs rapped on their tables to support Pua, with several standing to record their disapproval of Lim’s remarks.

But Lim ignored the protests and told Pua to sit down, even calling the DAP publicity secretary and other PR lawmakers “uneducated”.

When the House resumed committee stage debates on Budget 2013, Pua rose from his seat again to cite Standing Order 36(12) against Lim for allegedly misleading the House with an incorrect statement.

Standing Order 36(12) stipulates: “Any member who imputes statements that mislead the House is deemed to be in contempt of the House and the member may be referred to the Committee of Privileges for the offence.”

“I refer to the deputy minister’s answer to the House where he said that Selangor never built any low-cost housing for Selangor folk.

“I request that he correct this statement because Selangor has built 23,637 low-cost housing units, including reviving 9,176 units of homes from abandoned housing projects,” he told the House, to loud table thumps from his fellow PR MPs.

But Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee refused to entertain Pua’s request, saying that he does not agree that Lim had violated the Standing Orders.

Interjecting, Khalid Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) said that Lim had not only violated the Standing Orders but had deliberately issued a statement to mislead the Dewan Rakyat.

He pointed out that as a deputy minister, Lim would have full access to information to ensure that all his replies in the House are accurate.

“This is the reality. I urge the Speaker to giver serious consideration to this issue so that we can make sure that all future replies in the House are issued responsibly,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference late, Pua pointed out that apart from Selangor, the PR-led government in Penang has also built some 12,000 low-cost homes and allocated RM500 million for the construction of another 18,000 units.

Claiming that this is the largest allocation in the country, Pua stressed that the responsibility of providing low-cost homes to the poor lies with the federal government and not the state.

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Chua Tee Yong Doubts KPMG Too?

Datuk Chua Tee Yong is proving himself to be the worst MCA Minister, first with his bogus RM1 billion Talam Debt Bailout claim and now, insinuating incompetence and fraud by in the audit by independent auditors KPMG by referring to the US Enron scandal.

On 3 July 2012, Datuk Chua Tee Yong commenced a series of malicious allegations against the Selangor state government led by Pakatan Rakyat with concocted claims that Selangor abused RM1 billion to bailout Talam Corporation by purchasing the latter’s properties at high prices, allowing the latter to recover from financial distress.  This has included the fictitious claim that Talam’s shares were lifted from suspension on Bursa Malaysia as a result of Selangor’s actions.

We have already proven that Talam was never suspended on Bursa Malaysia, and the company completed its financial regularization plan, which was approved by Securities Commission in 2009, well before any agreements was signed with the current Selangor state government.

Despite the embarrassment of making false allegations, as well as the detailed explanations given with regards to the fact that no money was ever paid to Talam Corporation by the state government and the non-existence of any RM1 billion abuse of any kind, MCA prodigy has been relentless in touring Selangor’s hills and lakes to continue the accusations that the state government either “over-paid” or made unsound investment decisions which disadvantaged the state, and benefited Talam.

The state government led by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has taken the simple step of appointing independent international auditors KPMG to conduct a due diligence on the Talam deal immediately to ensure that the Malaysian public not only gets to hear from the state government, they have a open and transparent mechanism to evaluate the state’s competence.

The independent auditors have completed their due diligence study and were given access to every document requested to conduct the investigations.

KPMG has confirmed in its report that “the Selangor State Government entered into two debt settlement agreements with Talam in order to recover an amount of RM392 million of debts owed by Talam…” where “the debt settlement was in the form of settlement assets, comprising 9 plots of land, 2 properties and 60% shares in a subsidiary of Talam and cash/debt assignment.

Most importantly, the auditors concluded that “the settlement agreements entered into with Talam were purely a debt settlement arrangement” which means there is only collection from Talam, and no payment to Talam to purchase any properties from the latter as repeatedly accused by Datuk Chua and his merry men.

In fact, after reviewing all documents on the transactions, including valuation reports conducted by both the Federal government agencies as well as private property valuers, KPMG was happy to concluded that “the Selangor State Government made a sound commercial decision”.  KPMG further added that “the gross consideration is sufficient… to recover the Talam debts, with no debt waiver by Menteri Besar Incorporated”.

There can be no stronger endorsement on the decisions made by the state government under the Talam debt settlement agreement to prove not only that they were above board, they were also made in the interest of the state.  There was no “haircut” undertaken by Selangor in the recovery exercise.

Instead of hiding from sheer embarrassment, Datuk Chua Tee Yong has decided to humiliate himself further by stating in his tweet yesterday, “(an) audit report depends on the scope of the work. Enron and a lot of (other) cases show that (an) audit and its results are limited to the documents available," he said in a tweet.”

Datuk Chua Tee Yong is fast proving himself to be the least competent of the many incompetent MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers in the Cabinet.  After clamouring for independent reports, Datuk Chua is now insinuating that he knows more, or has in his possession more documents than was supplied to KPMG in the latter’s audit.  He is now clearly insinuating that KPMG is not competent in its audit exercise and has taken part in audit fraud by comparing the Talam audit to the mega Enron audit scandal in the United States.

Datuk Chua is shameless in making such accusations especially since he himself claims to be a qualified Australia-certified Chartered Accountant.

If he has any further evidence to the contrary, we have set up a forum or debate in his constituency of Labis this coming weekend on 9th September 7.30pm for him to prove himself in front of his own constituents.

The state government has now officially appointed us, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, William Leong and Tony Pua to be the official spokespersons for the government on this issue.  There is no longer basis for Datuk Chua to give excuses that we do not represent the state and hence are unfit to “debate” him.

If Datuk Chua is not even willing to defend himself in front of his own voters who put him in office, then he should just forever hold his peace on the Talam issue and start focusing on more pressing issues in the Ministry of Agriculture such as recovering the RM250 million outstanding from National Feedlot Corporation.

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Federal Government Support for Selangor Water Restructuring Mere Lip Service?

It was announced on Wednesday evening by the Special Cabinet Committee chaired by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that “the Selangor government can implement water supply restructuring scheme as long as it adheres to the Water Services Industry Act 2006, as well as all water concession agreements and laws in force.”

The statement also stated that “the committee has no plan to interfere with the state government's efforts to take over equity in the concession companies since it is a commercial transaction between the two parties that should be implemented on willing buyer-willing seller basis.”

While we will give the above statement of “support” the initial benefit of doubt, we call upon the Special Cabinet Committee to state concrete steps which the Federal Government will take, as an equal party to the water concession agreements as well as the rights of the water industry in Malaysia to ensure that the state can be successful.

In fact, the mere statement by the Federal Government that the restructuring transaction should be carried out “on willing buyer-willing seller basis” is already an interference to the concession agreement.

The concession agreements with the water concessionaires in Selangor – SYABAS, Syarikat Pengeluaran Air Sungai Selangor (SPLASH) and Konsortium ABASS contains clauses which specifically allows the state government to “expropriate” the concessions using a pre-determined and pre-agreed formula.

The only hurdle to the Selangor government exercising the mutually agreed clauses in the concession agreements is the consent of the Federal Government.  If Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is sincere in wanting the state government to take over the water industry, then we call upon the Cabinet to grant the consent to the expropriation exercise based on the pre-agreed compensation formula will be the fastest and easiest method to resolve the stalemate  in Selangor.

If the Federal Government is not willing to grant a consent for the expropriation exercise, despite it being part of the concession agreements, then surely the Federal Government must agree to an international arbitration exercise to determine a fair valuation for the acquisition of these water companies by Selangor government.  Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has mooted the proposal to submit to an international arbitration panel to determine the fair price for the acquisition of the four water companies in Selangor since 2010 but this proposal has been obstinately rejected by the Federal Government.

Similarly, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has written letters to the Federal Government seeking the latter’s consent to terminate the concession agreement due to various breaches by SYABAS.  However, the Federal Government had refused to accede to the state’s request, and has instead insisted during various restructuring negotiations for  SYABAS or Puncak Niaga to lead the revamped water industry.

Instead of helping the state government in pressuring the return of the water concessions, the Federal Government did the exact opposite by bailing out these heavily indebted water companies.  The Federal Government has “taken over” RM6.5 billion of the water debts to prevent the water companies from going into default insolvency.  The bailout exercise of these water companies at the most crucial moment destroyed any incentive for these water companies to come to a restructuring agreement with the Selangor Government.

The above responses or the lack of response by the Federal Government to the State Government’s intent of taking back control of the water industry as per the spirit of the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA 2006) exposes the bad faith on the part of the Federal Government.  They would either prefer SYABAS/Puncak Niaga to continue to lead the water industry in Selangor, or for the Selangor Government to pay through the nose to acquire these companies.

By taking the hands-off position and paying just lip service, there will be absolutely no reason for SYABAS and the other concessionaires to come to the table. Hence to demonstrate the Federal Government’s sincerity and good faith over this matter, it must announce its full support, particularly to accept the proposed international arbitration panel to decide on a fair price for the acquisition of the water concessionaires.

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