Jimmy Leow

The Barisan Nasional leaders must come out with a common stand whether they want the state authority to take enforcement action against the illegal hawkers.

The state authority does not want to be caught in a situation where the Gerakan leaders want us to take action whilst UMNO leaders condemn the action against the illegal hawkers.

We always found that the UMNO and Gerakan leaders’ stand is not consistent over a lot of issues, including the action taken against the illegal hawkers and illegal structures.

The state authority will not be misled by certain Gerakan leaders who always portraying themselves as hero in their community but failed to get UMNO’s endorsement over their political stand.

I suspect Dr. Kiew Hen Chong made public of this issue again by calling a press conference yesterday just because a few Gerakan leaders owned their luxury bungalows in D’Residence, a newly-completed million ringgit housing project. Dr. Kiew and Dr. Teng Hock Nan should made public know the number of units owned by Gerakan leaders in D’Residence.

They are not sincere in championing the people’s cause but trying to protect their own cronies’ interest to the extent blaming the state government for taking rightful action against illegal hawkers, as what happened in Kek Lok Si when enforcement team torn down an illegal stall erected on the state land and obstructing another legal stall which erected on a piece of private land from operating.

Gerakan leaders always play along their racial lines and conflicting among their leaders as well as with UMNO leaders. Penang state government will not be easily misled by these Gerakan leaders but will continue to take necessary action against illegal hawkers, including providing them alternative location for hawking.

NG WEI AIK

March 14, 2010

Teng Hock Nan Still Trying To Evade Answering Why The Penang State Government RM100 Senior Citizens Appreciation Award is an act of bribery and corruption

I have said repeatedly that the senior citizens’ appreciation program is a symbolic gift from the Penang PR state government to all senior citizens who exceeds 60 years old regardless of race, gender, religion and political affiliation. The annual RM100 senior appreciation award is not only meant for those who born in Penang but also for those who have lived in Penang all their lives. It is open to  all as long as the applicant can prove with their voter registration that they are actually living in Penang. For this reason, Penang Chief Minister has announced that the state governmnet will even pay Penang Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr. Teng Hock Nan and Penang Umno secretary and state opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim as they are also eligible for it.

It is fine if Teng Hock Nan does not want to apply as he does not need the money but to accuse us of trying to bribe the senior citizens receiving the money by dragging  Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and Lim Hock Seng into the issue is grossly unreasonable and irresponsible. This goes to show that Teng Hock Nan has failed to see the difference between right and wrong.

Giving money to one ownself is corruption, it is not corruption when giving money to the people. That is why Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is willing to be arrested by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for giving out RM 100 to senior citizens at the launching ceremony in Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang on Sunday 11 am 21.3.2010. We will not bow to threats from BN and Gerakan but proceed with this programme.

If any by-elections are looming, then Teng Hock Nan can accuse the state government of trying to bribe the people with the handout for senior citizens but there is none now in Penang!  How can giving out RM 100 appreciation award every year to senior citizens be considered corruption when it is given out regardless of whether there are elections or not?

As Penang Gerakan chairman, Teng Hock Nan should retract his statement and apologise to all the senior citizens. Any refusal to do so that Gerakan and Barisan Nasional does not have the public interest at heart but is willing to politicise and sabotage the state government’s senior citizens’ appreciation award with wild allegations that this is corruption.

Phee Boon Poh