Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is in the throes of alienation.It happened to most politicians that have no grassroots support and Lim Guan Eng hasn't got any in Penang.He is the classic carpetbegger that won his seat not on his own popularity but that of his party.As the political romance wears out he is now seen as an outsider meddling in the affairs of Penang.
This is just the beginning of more serious things to come.He,not unlike his father, is seen as communalistic, chauvinistic and lack altruism, in another word his self-aggrandisement hampered him from being fair in the administration of the state.
The High Chapparal debacle in Penang was one of his withering ways of doing things.On spur of the moment, he encouraged the villagers to demonstrate and not to budge because he said the problem was created by the previous government.When help was not coming from him the villagers backed by Hindraf turned the table and accused him of not living up to his election promises.
Lim, knowing fully well there was nothing he could do to fulfill his promise to ease the tension, benign neglect the villagers and kept on harping on the faults of BN government to save his own skin. Below are some of the statements he made at the height of the crisis.
"Hindraf Must Wake Up And Realise That Kampung Buah Pala Is Still Standing Today Because The Penang Pakatan Rakyat State Government Had Successfully Prevented Them From Being Evicted In The Middle Of Last Year."
"Koh Tsu Koon Owes The Public A Full Explanation Why He Sold The Kampung Buah Pala At A Cheap Price Of Only RM10 Per Square Feet In 2007 And Without consulting the residents".
"The Penang State Government Should Not Be Unfairly Victimised And Targeted By Hindraf For Helping The Kampung Buah Pala Residents".
"It is BN, Gerakan, MIC, UMNO & MCA that are the main culprits for causing, abandoning and even selling out Kampung Buah Pala residents" he says.
That's how Lim runs the state, taking no responsibility when the chips are down.Blame everyone else except himself.
Penangites will see more of his arrogant ways of administering the state.The Chinese leaders in Penang are waking up to Lim's kind of politics and they are not getting happier by the way he runs their state.The alienation of Lim would intensify.
The villagers, mostly Malaysian Indians, knew the land was given away during BN time.They were not interested in that.They wanted to know what happened to the election promise that made them voted for DAP and other Pakatan's coalition partners in the hope that their problems would be taken care of by the party they voted in as government.They were angry because they felt cheated.Again, the BN particularly UMNO was blamed for the villagers turning against Lim and the state government.
In October 2009 Lim admitted turning down FDI worth US$3 billion because he could not guarantee the investors 1000 engineers they needed to employ.That's Mr Lim Guan Eng for you.Maybe, he should also blame the BN for his incompetence.
Lim rise to the top echelon in DAP was through currying favour and cronyism.DAP is like a personal fiefdom of the Lims.Father,son,wife and daughter-in-law have all been or still is in very powerful positions in the party.Except for Tengku Aziz and few others most Malays see DAP as a chauvinistic Chinese party.
Lim's tenure as Penang's CM is losing its lustre and not only grievances were openly aired by PKR's Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Mohd Hashim and PKR's Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng, even former DAP strongman in Penang Them Weng Fatt claimed Lim sidelined veteran leaders in Penang.
Lim's chief of staff Ooi Chuan Aun dismissed claims of his boss feuding with assemblymen and grassroots leaders here.If four to five people expressed the same dissatisfaction how could these people be wrong and Lim is right.Both Zahrian and Tan have called for Lim's ouster.More hard-hitting is the irascible Zulkifli Nordin, a thorn in Pakatan's neck, calling for DAP to be kicked out of Pakatan Rakyat.
At the moment, Penangites wouldn't be able to get rid of Lim.With DAP strong presence and stranglehold on the state assembly Lim is not likely to lose his job.DAP holds 19 out of 40 seats in the assembly.
With his position highly secured Penangites would have to live with his ways of doing things.
16 comments:
its best to let the corrupt UMNO run the state again. at least, there is no chauvanistic CM. Oh, he is real spineless, giving away state lands to UMNO cronies. Amen. Msia is great under UMNO.
Anonymous,
You are entitled to your opinion.
Penangnites is wrongly spelled , it should be Penangites .
Like to copy your post for my blog .Thanks
oh ho ho.... hantu laut, you have been v mischievous.
i was curious about your claim that LGE had "turned down" RM3 billion in investment. so I googled it and found out that you only told half the story and left out vital info (or told lies?) abt the real situation.
Excerpt from LGE's blog ( http://limguaneng.com/index.php/2009/11/11/the-human-resources-minister-datuk-dr-s-subramaniam-should-not-be-in-denial-mode/ ) :
"Lim also said that Penang lost a USD 3 billion foreign investment when he could not guarantee 1,000 E&E engineers required by the company. The Parliament Hansard on that day clearly proves that Lim had said 1,000 E&E engineers and not just 1,000 engineers as claimed by irresponsible BN leaders who wanted to attack Lim with lies.
For Dr Subramaniam to deny this shortage of E&E engineers in Malaysia by claiming that there were 18,000 engineers registered with its JobsMalaysia portal shows that he had not done his homework and does not appear to know his portfolio. Dr Subramaniam should realise that 18,000 engineers does not mean 18,000 E&E engineers but also include civil, mechanical, materials and other engineering discipline."
the people making human resource policy and education policy is not LGE or penang state govt but Federal Government.
can Penang State Gov magically pluck 1000 E & E engineers from the sky in less than 2 years of ruling the state?
ingat cari engineer macam petik buah ke?
do u like a State with transparancy and open tender system?
or do u prefer to cronynism and corruption?
or do you really know the true picture behind all those thing that u mentioned?
justice4otk,
Corrected.Many thanks
My pleasure, please do.
HL,
Yes, let's get rid of this Chinaman. The people got rid of Spineless Kho in 2008 (looks like they did UMNO a favour) so now UMNO get rids of LGE & wa-lah...UMNO & it's "squeaky clean" gang will be in the driver's seat!
Face it, a Chinaman as MB?! Man you can't have the Pendatang taking such posts in Msia. How dare they! Nasir Safar was right, get rid of these Beggars & Prostitutes!
Not until all the Indian & Chinese (& then mop up all the in-betweens & the real Bumis...i.e. the Orang Asli) are expelled from Msia can this country truly go forward!
Long live UMNO!
Anon 11:05am you said "can Penang State Gov magically pluck 1000 E & E engineers from the sky in less than 2 years of ruling the state?
ingat cari engineer macam petik buah ke?" Memang betul apa yang anda kata and also no country in this world including the USA, Germany could immediately get ready 1000 E& E Engineers on the spot. Please read on to see how inept DAP CM Lim Guan Eng was:
"FDI: A 'mother of all blunders'
2009/12/14
ROLAND KHOO, Penang
AS a senior manager working in Penang's high-tech industry, I am upset at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's decision to turn down foreign-direct investment (FDI) worth RM10.2 billion.
I agree with Calvin San-karan's comments and find his analysis to be spot on ("Turning down RM10b was irresponsible" -- NST, Nov 30).
Lim's inexplicable action has been a hot topic among my colleagues and others in the industry over the last few weeks.
Almost without exception, the professionals who I know feel this is a disappointing move by the state government and it is a reflection of its inexperience and poor management skills.
It is inconceivable that the previous administration under Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon would have allowed such an opportunity to slip away without exhausting all avenues.
The Big Four Auditors are here at jobstreet.com. Register and let them select you.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang called the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco as the "Mother of All Scandals". In the same vein, his son's decision could be termed as the "Mother of All Blunders".
In fact, while the PKFZ investment can be recovered and turned around, this FDI issue has a long-term impact on Penang.
As stated by Calvin, Lim has caused irreparable damage to the state's image as a choice destination for investors.
The news has travelled far and wide.
It has created the impression that Penang has a severe shortage of engineers and that the state government is unwilling to find such talent to secure high-tech FDI.
We can assume that many potential investors will steer clear of Penang in the future and head to other states or even foreign countries.
Lim is not just guilty of poor decision making and incompetence but also trying to mislead Penangites by saying that Penang could not guarantee the engineers and he did not want the state to be sued in case it could not find the resources.
There is no country in the world, including the most advanced ones -- such as the United States, Japan, Korea and Germany, that can guarantee 1, 000 experienced electrical and electronic engineers on the spot.
Nor does an investor need all these engineers at once as it takes time to have the plant built and engineers trained before venturing into mass production, research and development.
Many of us in Penang are envious of Johor, Sarawak and even Selangor which have secured FDI in high-tech sectors while Penang has been lagging behind over the last 18 months.
This decision by the DAP-led state government has come as a massive blow for the state and Penangites.
Instead of promoting brain gain, this decision will hasten the brain drain further as demoralised Penangites head out to other states or overseas in search for better employment."
Bro HL, Some people politely say Guan Eng was irresponsible, I think it is inadvertent economic sabotage by an inexperienced CM who indulge too much in politicking and blaming the BN for anything wrong.
Lim Guan Eng must have a valid reason why he rejected such a huge investment.It is easier said than done to just accept any investment that come pouring into the country without having to really study in details the implications that come with it.Surely EPU and other related bodies must have given their views and advice on this matter before Lim Guan Eng made a decision.Give Lim Guan Eng that benifit of the doubt and after all nobody is perfect.Let me remind you guys that BN has ruled this country for the past 50 years and the amount of money lost within that period is beyond our imagination.Lim Guan Eng if at all made a mistake this time around it is not a loss to anybody.He was being careful and we should appreciate that.
His daddy has been covering his arse in the Party for such a long time. Too bad he is unable to do the same now. Daddy is mighty quiet when it comes to Penang.
Have you noticed, not a single senior or national DAP leader has so far come out in support of the 'irresponsible little boy'.
There is so much of bitterness within DAP it will explode soon. Its calm before a storm. Get ready, the circus it coming to town soon.
svmbanu
Mohd Ali, a Chief Minister of a industrialised state like Penang cannot be a small boy who can be given the benefit of the doubt. No excuse, he has to perform as a Chief Minister of ALL Penangites 100% from day one, otherwise he has no business being a Chief Minister. I would say Koh Tsu Koon did a better job in bringing FDIs into Penang and convincing investors to stay as long as possible compared to Lim Guan Eng, who, like you, only roll out the already dead flogged donkey about BN corruptionlah and BN no goodlah and never once acknowledging how well the state was run by BN.
No matter how bad you think the BN Government was it would never dismantle Malay illegal stalls while keeping Chinese illegal stalls intact like what Guan Eng DAP Government is doing now. If you give Guan Eng another 5 years, with his chauvinist tendencies, Penang, instead of being multiracial melting pot will become multi racist boiling pot soon.TQ.
Oh yes Mohd Ali, Lim Guan Eng thinks he had a good reason to reject the RM10billion investment...he does not want to be sued if he cannot get the 1000 E & E Engineers on time. That reason by the way is a load of baloney and crab. He did not bother to talk to the local industry leaders and senior Engineers in Penang who could have given him much positive input. He did not OK. Typical of Lim who even his PKR partners described as "dictator, chauvinist and communist minded".
Eddy + Roland Khoo, you two are so clever. You think you can find 1000 E & E engineers who want to accept new jobs in Penang just by doing a search on Jobstreet?
Wakakakakakaka...
eddy,
get your facts right about demolishing malay stalls and letting other stalls alone.
you are playing with fire. go get the facts from the municipal councils and apologise if you are wrong. else, it just proves that you are just a bloody racist from UMNO but using the name of eddy to camouflage your true identity.
Done - Many thanks
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