Penang – Page 3 – SeaDemon Says

August 22, 2016August 22, 2016

Purging Penang’s Peasants

“You tengoklah sekarang. Kalau you tak ada duit you cuma boleh tengok bukit. Kalau you kaya you boleh tengok laut. Bukan Melayu sahaja yang tak mampu. Cina pun ramai tak mampu!” (You look at it now. If you don’t have money you’d be looking at the hills. If you are rich you can see the sea. It isn’t just the Malays who cannot afford, but many of the Chinese too!)

The above are words said to me by a Penang Chinese during my last visit to Penang.

If you live or have lived in Penang like I did, you would know what the statement above is all about. My earliest memory of Penang is of my trip there in 1974. Several more visits followed and I finally lived there from 1989 until the end of 1991 when I worked at Jalan Azyze.

Penang has always been a melting pot of cultures because unlike the mainland Peninsular Malaysia, Penang (together with Melaka and Singapore) were true crown colonies, ruled by Britain through the Colonial Office in India. The composition has always been majority Chinese, followed by Malays and people of the Indian diaspora.

When I got married there weren’t many quarters for armed forces officers back then and rent rates were just too high for me (I was earning a basic of RM750 per month with RM115 as service allowance). My monthly housing allowance was RM400 while a terrace-house would have cost me RM800 a month. Initially I could only afford to live in a squatter house, which really was a shed attached to the back of a main house in what was Kampung Haji Mahmood in Tanjung Tokong and paid RM150 per month for that. It was literally a eat-where-you-sleep and shit-where-you-bathe house. I stayed there for half a year before moving to an apartment unit at the UDA apartments across the road. What I liked most about Tanjung Tokong were the stalls that lined up the coastal road. I used to hang out at a stall operated by a man named Murad and would fish across the road for Groupers. Yes, you could see the sea then and the proof of that is when the South Asian Tsunami (aka Boxing Day Tsunami) hit Penang in 2004, Tanjung Tokong was one of the places affected.

Post-Tsunami Tanjung Tokong looking towards the UDA apartments (blue roofed) — Post-Tsunami Tanjung Tokong looking towards the UDA apartments where I used to live (blue roofed). On the left is what was Kampung Haji Mahmood

Since then, Kampung Haji Mahmood is only a memory and you can no longer see the sea from the road side. Where fishing boats used to dot the coastline is now filled with apartment buildings where none of the units built can be afforded by the locals. What saddens me most is that Kampung Mahmood, a traditional Malay village and not a squatter village, has been bulldozed to make way for more apartments that the Malays who resided there cannot afford to buy.

Back then, Malay villages used to dot the coastline between Kelawei and Tanjung Bungah. Now, you would be extremely lucky to find even one. Gentrification has forced those who cannot affor to live on the island off to the mainland.

The Seri Tanjung condominiums built on a reclaimed land has blocked the viewoof the sea from Tanjung Tokong

Jalan Tanjung Tokong was what separated the sea from the Malay kampungs

What is probably the last Malay kampung on the northern shores of Penang island, Kampung Mutiara, is also gone. The kampung, which had existed since the 1950s sits on a piece of land that had since come under private ownership. While the landowner is a private individual, Lim Guan Eng as the Chief Minister had promised the people of Kampung Mutiara that he would intervene. Based on this word given by the Chief Minister the legal representatives of Kampung Mutiara should have applied for an equitable estoppel.

Kampung Mutiara in Batu Ferringhi back in January 2016 - already surrounded by high-rise buildings — Kampung Mutiara in Batu Ferringhi back in January 2016 – already surrounded by high-rise buildings

However, in February 2016, the Kampung Mutiara residents lost their appeal at the Appellate Court and were asked vacate the land and pay legal cost amounting to RM5,000 to the landowner, Peter Loke Leng Seak.

The Malay fishing community of Queensbay (formerly known as Pantai Jerejak) will soon be gone

Next to suffer are the fishing communities of Queensbay and Teluk Kumbar. Reclamation works is now in full swing in a nearby area and is already affecting the daily catch. “We used to get RM500 worth of catch daily. Now, we are thankful if we can get RM100. Life has been difficult. We are plagued with debts. What is going to become of us?” said Queensbay fisherman Mohd Rafie Md Said to New Straits Times reporters.

Shahrul Nizal Md Daud, 30, said there were times when he came home empty-handed. “I have a family to feed. I also need to pay for the house and car. “We were given only RM5,000 as compensation. How long can that last us?” Both fishermen said they had no clue as to the purpose of the reclamation, adding that more than 100 fishermen had been given until the end of the month to move out.

T-shirt worn by the wife of a Queensbay fisherman expresses the helplessness they feel

And in Gertak Sanggul where the Malay fishing community fish for shrimps, there is already a plan to reclaim the waters off Gertak Sanggul all the way to the southern island of Pulau Kendi. Some 1,500 Malay shrimp fishermen will be affected. They have already protested to the State government but their protests have fallen on deaf ears. This video report, again by My Nation, explains the situation.

These waters off Teluk Kumbar where traditional Malay fishermen look for shrimps will soon be reclaimed

Livelihoods and traditional Penang communities will be lost and there would certainly be a migration of those marginalised in Penang DAP’s plan for the gentrification of the State. But what would happen to those who cannot afford to either own a house in Penang or move out?

They become the homeless, the vagrants, the destitute.

When commenting on Tengku Adnan’s move to arrest the homeless and fine soup kitchens two years ago, Lim Guan Eng had this to say:

“I admit that the homeless in the streets is a problem but arresting them is not a solution, just like in Penang, we put them in homes and they escape to live in the streets.”

The truth is far from it. A quick walk around the KOMTAR building where Lim Guan Eng’s office is located, we found the following:

A homeless person sleeps on the grounds of the KOMTAR building, seat of the Penang State Government under Lim Guan Eng

Web news portal My Nation even shared a video made by one Saiful Abdullah on this issue.

And NGOs tackling the issue of the homeless in Penang all say that there is no government shelter that is being provided for the down-and-out.

Penang is already inhabited by those who can afford to live there which translates into more financial support for the DAP government. The gentrification of Penang has helped those marginalised to move out of the island in search for more affordable housing and new jobs. Given that the Chief Minister has been charged in court for corruption and corrupted practices under Section 23 of the Anti-Corruption Act and Section 165 of the Penal Code, yet is still trying to create unnecessary projects in Penang, I don’t think he is interested in helping the Penang people. As in the words of Trevor D Richardson: “People used to make money, but somewhere along the way, it started making us.“

July 25, 2016

Cheap Discount

Mention the name Lim Guan Eng and two words come to mind: cheap and discount. Not only did he buy the bungalow with a cheap discount but he also takes cheap shots, while anything he says to defend himself can easily be discounted.

From the day he was released on bail after being arraigned and charged for being a corrupt official, Guan Eng, or more famously known now as Tokong has been going around for public sympathy and bad-mouthing the Attorney-General that if I were the Chief Justice, I would have issued a Writ of Mandamus to the court handling Tokong’s case to cite him for being in contempt.

Yes, contempt.

Tokong has been charged in court and a court proceeding process commences the moment the accused is arraigned. Unlike in the UK, the power to cite a person for being in contempt in Malaysia is given by statute. Attempting to influence opinions on a case that is still in process is being in contempt.

The Attorney-General has issued a warning to Tokong to stop his attacks on the former. My take on this is that the presiding judge should be firm and issue a warning to Tokong et al.

It is funny how Gobind Singh Deo, the counsel for Tokong, issued a counter-warning to the Attorney-General in support of his client’s behaviour.

I believe Gobind, a DAP office-holder, is just prodding the Attorney-General to see what ticks by making things more personal. It is just a ploy to find a reason to get the Attorney-General to be disqualified from the trial. For those who don’t know, the Attorney-General is a no-nonsense man and is a man with very few words. He is very careful with what he says and the need to say it.

Gobind is trying to say that it is within Tokong’s right to explain himself to the people, and I would like to reiterate that it is in contempt of court. I would like to bring you to an earlier event to show the hypocrisy of the DAP and also Tokong.

There was a time when government-appointed prosecutor Shafee Abdullah went on a roadshow to explain the Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy 2 case. The whole opposition jing-bang went to town to crucify Shafee. This included an opposition-leaning institution that is well-known for issuing statements drunkards would – aptly called the Malaysian Bar. They even wanted to disqualify Shafee from the legal profession.

Let us remember that Shafee conducted his roadshow AFTER the Sodomy 2 trial had concluded and a judgment had been made. In no way was Shafee ever in contempt as firstly he was explaining the case, and secondly he never disputed the judgment made. Tokong on the other hand had gone to town trying to vindicate himself and say that the Najib government is trying all out to oust him. And this is done while the trial is still underway and judgment has not been made.

Interesting that Gobind, as Tokong’s counsel, had asked the Attorney-General to shut up instead of giving proper legal counsel to his client. And for making public statements, I remember what the Malaysian Bar had said about Shafee:

“…holding press conferences, giving media interviews…”

I hope to see a motion by the Malaysian Bar to censure Gobind but I won’t bet on it. But I sure hope Penang Langs would discount Lim Guan Eng from being next term’s Chief Minister of Pulau Pinang.

July 22, 2016

Comprehension Needed

Malaysians hardly read. Nor do they have the brain capacity to either process information or store information. This is why Malaysians have a very short attention span, memory retaining problem and are also gullible.

Example 1

When Malaysians read they have this superb speed-reading capability that they have used during their schooldays especially during last minute slogging sessions days before the SPM examinations. They will pick up key words, process these words in a crude manner that would make sense to only them and that forms their understanding.

So when the Attorney-General of the US Loretta Lynch conducted the press conference on the misappropriation of 1MDB sovereign funds, Malaysians pick up certain keywords, and they are:

Riza Aziz
Stepson
1MDB
Stolen
People of Malaysia
Malaysian Official 1

Simpletons put these six words together and they have a conjuncture that says “Malaysian Official 1 and stepson Riza Aziz together with 1MDB stole from the people of Malaysia.”

I would have termed them as nincompoops or morons but for the purpose of this article I’d like to make them sound like a bunch of professional morons – hence the use of the term simpletons.

The DoJ are applying for the seizure of assets “associated with an international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated” from 1MDB.

This is about people who took money from funds meant for 1MDB to profiteer and for their personal consumption.

There are four people named in this civil forfeiture lawsuit and they are Riza Aziz who is the stepson of Najib Razak, Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, and Abu Dhabi government officials Khadem al-Qubaisi and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny.

The four named above would now have to respond to the complaints filed in the lawsuit (show cause if you must, for the simpletons) to say to the DoJ that they purchased assets through legal means. This lawsuit can take up to seven years before it would come to a conclusion.

My point here is, dear simpletons, Najib Razak whom you have linked Malaysian Official 1 to be, is not named in this lawsuit. He is not a party to this process. Neither are 1MDB Official 1, 1MDB Official 2, and 1MDB Official 3.

Neither is anything missing or seized from 1MDB as 1MDB is also NOT a party to this civil lawsuit. In a larger scheme of things, it is 1MDB that is the victim of misappropriation and not a collusion partner to the four mentioned above.

(Note for Simpletons: please read this paragraph 50 times). As Malaysians also have problems retaining memory, it is important to remember that the criminal investigation by the Royal Malaysian Police into the administration and governance of the 1MDB based on the PAC report is still ongoing. This is the same PAC report that has cleared Najib Razak from any wrongdoing and was signed in absolute agreement by its members which includes DAP lawbreaker Tony Pua. To add to that, Najib Razak is not being subjected to any investigation as announced not only in Malaysia and the US, but also in Singapore and Switzerland and a couple other countries. (Simpletons now go back to the beginning of this paragraph).

Oh! Talk about having short memory:

Example 2

Fatigue, mood swings, absent-mindedness all come with that dreadful word MENOPAUSE. It also comes with age. So if you are 64 and menopausal absent-mindedness probably comes as a double-whammy. That is why I can forgive Wan Azizah for her episodes of absent-mindedness.

She forgot that Najib Razak is not under any form of investigation or lawsuit, yet calls for Najib Razak to go on leave. Her absent-mindedness has made her forgot about one person whom have abused his position (much like her husband did prior to 1998) for personal gains and has actually been charged in a court of law! Did Wan Azizah call for this person to go on leave?

So, Wan Azizah is menopausal. But what has Tony Pua got to say for himself?

I don’t hear any call from Tony Pua asking Lim Guan Eng after the latter was charged in court. He can’t claim to be menopausal as he was born in Batu Pahat 44 years ago as was Guan Eng’s father, Lim Kit Siang. Furthermore, Tony is a man.

Or maybe not.

Lim Guan Eng had personally benefitted from the purchase of the bungalow on Jalan Pinhorn at a much lower price than its actual value. Using his position to interfere or influence the price of the bungalow. If he sells this bungalow tomorrow, then he would big making a huge some of money, thanks to his position as the Chief Minister of Penang that he has thus far been very reluctant to let go.

We are also still waiting for the documents pertaining to the proposed third Penang bridge that the Works Ministry has asked for. Let us also not forget about the RM305 million paid for a feasibility study for a RM6.3 billion tunnel linking Georgetown and Butterworth! RM305 million could have gotten the marginalised Chinese, Indian and Malay people of Penang 7,625 low cost affordable homes that would house at least 45,750 marginalised Penangites if they are priced at RM40,000 per unit!

So let us not digress from the main attention here which is the corrupted State Government of Pulau Pinang that is led by its Corrupted Minister Mr Lim Guan Eng who has been charged in court!

Najib Razak? Najib Razak has not done anything wrong as far as at least four nations are concerned and should just go about his business of developing the country as usual.

July 2, 2016

Mulut Puaka

DAP’s Tony Pua is known to many as Tony Puaka as he has the uncanny ability to blurt out stupid and insensible statements. He is known to be a loudmouth who opens his mouth before his brain cells, if any brain at all, could function. In the older days he would be described as “mulut pantat ayam” referring to a certain rear orifice of a hen that is always open.

Tony would have a statement for everything and anything that would boost his ratings in DAP. As a member of the PAC he contradicted the PAC’a findings on 1MDB, the very same findings that he is a signatory of. Tony, being the mulut puaka that he is, also belittled other religions by making very insensitive statements:

His mouth is also a testament to his racist being. Feeling superior as a staunch Christian, he also ridicules other Chinese who are not Christians. This is depicted in a DAP-leaning blog:

The good thing about wanting to project himself as the righteous staunch Christian is that he finally made sense in March 2016 when he said that there is no need for Lim Guan Eng to step down as the Chief Minister of Penang as the latter was only being investigated for corruption. He however added that Lim should step down if charged:

If you think I made this up, you can watch this video of him saying it.

Being a staunch and righteous Christian Tony Pua should not lie and now insist on Lim Guan Eng to go on leave. Don’t use stupid excuses such as “this is different as the charges are politically motivated” because it was not any of the Barisan Nasional component parties that asked Lim Guan Eng to make deals with Phang Li Koon, and it certainly wasn’t any of the Barisan Nasional component parties that made Lim Guan Eng pen his signature on those documents. Yet, when Najib was being investigated you made no qualms about asking him to step down until he clears his name.

How now, Tony? Are you or are you not going to keep to your words and insist on Lim Guan Eng stepping down until the trial process has been exhausted? Or are you, being the PUAKA that you are, going to drop Christianity and Christian values to protect a man, charged for corruption and abuse of power, for political reasons?

Or are you going to do another Rafizi?

June 30, 2016

Rashid Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Melayu Pertama?

Masihkah anda ingat skandal-skandal yang pernah membelenggu UMNO akibat salahlaku dua orang penjawat awam UMNO pada tahun 1990an dan awal 2000? Sekiranya anda terlalu muda untuk mengingati peristiwa-peristiwa tersebut, mari kita imbas semula kejadian-kejadian tersebut.

Kejadian pertama pada tahun 1997 melibatkan Menteri Besar Selangor ketika itu iaitu Tan Sri Muhammad bin Mohd Taib. Muhammad yang sebelum itu mempunyai satu lagi skandal iaitu berkahwin lari bersama Tengku Zahariah binti Tengku Abdul Aziz Shah di Takbai, Selatan Thailand pada tahun 1993, telah ditahan di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Brisbane, Australia kerana cuba membawa keluar wang berjumlah RM2.4 juta tanpa membuat deklarasi kepada pihak berkuasa Australia.

Apabila didakwa di mahkamah di Brisbane, Muhammad dengan segera melepaskan jawatan beliau sebagai Menteri Besar negeri Selangor.

Muhammad diganti oleh Abu Hassan Omar yang ketika itu merupakan seorang Ahli Parlimen. Satu pilihanraya kecil serentak terpaksa diadakan di Parlimen Kuala Selangor dan DUN Permatang untuk membolehkan Abu Hassan bertukar kerusi dengan Jamaluddin Adnan. Namun Abu Hassan tidak lama menjawat jawatan sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor kerana didakwa terbabit dengan suatu skandal seka dan beliau pula melepaskan jawatan pada tahun 2000.

Maka, saya berpendapat adalah baiknya Saudara Lim Guan Eng juga meletakkan jawatan beliau sebagai Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang kerana telahpun didakwa atas kesalahan salahguna kuasa dan rasuah pada 30hb Jun 2016. Pertamanya, ianya tidak akan menyebabkan dakwaan terhadapnya terpalit dan memburukkan lagi nama parti beliau, DAP.

Kedua, sekiranya beliau tidak meletakkan jawatan ianya boleh membenarkan beliau masih mempengerusikan mesyuarat-mesyuarat yang melibatkan hal ehwal jawatankuasa kelulusan projek negeri Pulau Pinang. Sudah tentu ini akan merupakan percanggahan kepentingan bukan sahaja bagi pihak beliau, malahan juga buat Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang.

Ketiga, jika kita imbau kembali peristiwa Tan Sri Muhammad di Brisbane, Lim Guan Eng ada membuat kenyataan berikut kepada para pemberita asing:

Maka eloklah beliau lepaskan jawatan Ketua Menteri kerana ia membawa malu yang amat sangat kepada negara. Dan seperti kata beliau sendiri, “Ianya tidak memberi petunjuk baik mengenai tahap kawalan rasuah di Malaysia.”

Mungkin sudah sampai masanya Timbalan Ketua Menteri 1, YB Dato Haji Mohd Rashid bin Hasnon, mengambil alih pucuk pimpinan negeri. Saya amat yakin DAP, sebagai sebuah parti pelbagai bangsa, bersetuju dengan saranan saya ini.

April 28, 2016April 28, 2016

Sarawak Memilih

Sarawak memilih lagi.
Kali tok, sifat tamak DAP dapat kita lihat bila sidak nya dengan sengaja sik peduli dengan rakan sidak dari PKR. Di sia sidak PKR bertanding, di sia juaklah sidak DAP tok bertanding juak. Pabila apa yang di maok sidak sik dipenuhi, lalulah DAP nyumpah seranah rakan sidak ya, lalu nak main ngembak sentimen hal perkauman dan ugama. Toklah yang membuktikan bahawa Pakatan Harapan Rakyat tok sebenarnya cuma topeng ajak untuk sidak DAP bagi mancapai kuasa memerintah.

DAP bukanlah suatu parti yang memperjuangkan nasib semua rakyat seperti apa yang dipadah sidak. Sidak DAP tok parti rasis yang memperjuangkan nasib sigek kaum ajak. Sebagai contoh, kerusi DUN Pending dimenangi hanya kerna DAP dengan terang nyebut sidak adalah parti untuk suara satu kaum ajak.

Ternyatalah Sarawak yang sejak dolok lagik negeri yang harmoni, kinektok dah diperkenalkan dengan hasutan perkauman yang di embak sidak DAP tok, sebuah parti yang bukan nya asal dari Sarawak. Budaya pecah belah dan perkauman tok wajib kita tolak.

Di Pulau Pinang, bukan ajak kaum Bumiputera, kaum-kaum lain yang sik berkemampuan terpaksa pindah keluar dari sia sebab harga rumah dan hartanah yang melampau. Rakyat miskin memang sik ada peluang bersuara langsung. Malah, wakil rakyat Pakatan Harapan di Pulau Pinang yang maok memperjuangkan suara rakyat miskin pun sik diberik peluang meluah masalah rakyat.

Bayangkan ajak kalau Pakatan Harapan berkuasa di Sarawak tok. Parti bukan Sarawak seperti DAP akan berkuasa. Suara golongan Bumiputera Sarawak serta mereka yang miskin sik kira kaum, akan ditindas.
Sarawak akan memilih. Apabila Sarawak memilih pada 7 haribulan kelak, tentukan Sarawak memilih dengan tepat. Tolak parti dari Semenanjung nun seperti DAP yang tamakkan kuasa ajak dan akan membawa perpecahan .
Keluarga kamek urang urang Sarawak tok bukan seperti DAP. Kamek urang di sitok ada ahli keluarga yang Kristian, Islam, Buddha dan lain-lain, yang mewakili rupa wajah perpaduan negeri Sarawak tok. Bayangkan kalau kamek urang tok bergaduh, berkelaiee adik-beradik dan keluarga berpecah-belah hanya kerana oleh hasutan parti sidak DAP!
Tolak DAP! Tolak Pakatan Harapan! Kekalkan perpaduan keluarga Sarawak!

April 27, 2016

Taking Voters On A Free Ride

It seems giving things away for free is DAP’s way of making fools out if some voters.

Among the things promised to Sarawakians is to provide free transportation to school.

This reminds me of the same thing DAP promised to Penangites in 2011:

Penangites were delighted. Penang became the first state to provide free transportation for workers on both sides of the Penang Channel. Every single pro-Pakatan blog showered Lim Guan Eng’s administration with praises. DAP won Penang for a second term in 2013.

A mere four years later, came the crunch:

Now that the poorer Penangites no longer occupy the island because of rising costs of living, Lim Guan Eng could do as he pleases, just as he did with the land at Taman Manggis allocated for housing the poor. The BEST FIZ service he gave to voters to win the 2013 elections…well, fizzled. You can read more about it HERE.

It would be interesting to see how DAP plans to give free transportation say for example in this remote village in Sarawak I visited earlier this month:

The distance from the farthest village to the school is about seven kilometers. Perhaps DAP people see Sarawak as a flat land as in the in-flight magazine’s map while flying to Sarawak.

DAP only has the urban voters in mind where a very small portion of the Sarawak Bumiputra would benefit from this. And as Violet Yong, the DAP rep for Pending (a suburban area of Kuching) said in 2013, it is the voice for one race.

I would go with Adenan Satem’s manifesto for BN for being more people friendly, realistic and holistic – encompassing all races! So much for calling BN a racist party.

March 20, 2016March 20, 2016

Tokong Mustn’t Lie

The above was sent to Lim Guan Eng. it states the valued price of the bungalow at No.25, Jalan Pinhorn. Yet, Guan Eng had the cheek to say the following:

It seems impossible for Guan Eng to NOT know about the value of the property or his claim to NOT know about the plans for the land at Taman Manggis. Mind you, let us see what are his other portfolios:

I have a message for you, Guan Eng:

March 19, 2016

Is The MACC On The Opposition’s Payroll?

I found the following on My Nation:

For the pasr three days I have been wondering if the MACC is part of the conspiracy as mentioned by Muhyiddin a few days back. The inaction by MACC on cases involving civil servants and Barisan Nasional politicians is telling…blatantly. This latest action by MACC seems like a red herring, a diversion from the pressure it is facing:

RM0.00 SPRM tahan 9 orang termasuk seorang pegawai kanan sebuah kementerian terlibat sindiket salah guna dana kerajaan.Akibatnya rugi dana RM100 juta-Agendanews
RM0.00 PENGARAH Siasatan SPRM,Datuk Azam Baki di PC tadi kata pegawai yang berjawatan Setiausaha Bahagian itu dianggar terima suapan RM20 juta-Agendanews
RM0.00 PEGAWAI itu kerap terbang first class keluar negara dgn keluarga.Banyak jam mahal.Ada satu RM400,000,kereta mewah,barang kemas,beg2 berjenama -Agendanews

Fine that it is acting against errant civil servants but has it said anything about Lim Guan Eng’s case.

Suddenly, Lim Guan Eng came up with a very weird statement:

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today expressed surprise over the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) saying it previously investigated his tenancy at a Penang home, saying it never contacted him regarding the case.
He also questioned why the MACC neither announced that it had investigated him over the issue nor the outcome of the investigation.
“It is intriguing that the MACC in Penang said it once investigated my tenancy at the home in 2009. If that is so, why did it not announce to the public in 2009 that this was baseless?
– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/after-macc-reveals-past-probe-guan-eng-questions-silence-about-outcome

It begs the question: is the MACC on the Opposition’s payroll?

March 18, 2016

Will MACC Not Act Again?

Today, Datuk Huan Cheng Guan has lodged a report against Lim Guan Eng on the No.25 Jalan Pinhorn property issue and how it is linked to the Taman Manggis land sale.

Earlier, Lim Guan Eng mentioned in a press conference that he had no knowledge that the Taman Manggis land had been earmarked for the construction of low-cost affordable homes. Perhaps Guan Eng also suffers from memory loss like Mahathir:

The MACC, probably under pressure to do something as the spotlight is now on the agency, has announced that an investigation paper has been opened on the Lim Guan Eng case:

A previous investigation on Lim Guan Eng was forwarded to the MACC HQ in 2010 but there was no further action – not even forwarded to the then-Attorney-General, not even to its oversight panel. Of course there wasn’t any donkey cries as in the recent case of the SRC/1MDB. Let me recap:

12-02-2010, 06:58 PM

GEORGETOWN: Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) Pulau Pinang sudah menyerahkan kertas siasatan berkaitan kos ubah suai dan sewa banglo mewah Ketua Menteri, Lim Guan Eng, kepada ibu pejabat suruhanjaya itu di Putrajaya, bulan lalu.
Perkara itu disahkan Pengarah SPRM negeri, Datuk Latifah Md Yatim, pada sidang media di pejabatnya di sini, pagi ini.
“Kami sudah serahkan kepada ibu pejabat untuk tindakan lanjut,” katanya yang enggan mengulas lanjut.
Julai lalu, Pemuda Gerakan Pulau Pinang, membuat laporan kepada SPRM berhubung kos pengubahsuaian banglo mewah yang disewa Guan Eng di Jalan Pinhorn di sini.
Laporan itu dibuat selepas Guan Eng tidak memberi maklum balas terhadap permintaan Gerakan yang mahu beliau menjelaskan isu berkaitan banglo sewa itu termasuk nilai sewaan.
Ketua Menteri berpindah ke banglo berkenaan kerana kediaman rasmi, Seri Teratai di sini, mengalami kerosakan serta banyak anai-anai.

Pada sidang media itu, Latifah juga memaklumkan tiada tindakan pendakwaan terhadap mana-mana pihak berhubung dakwaan Aminah Abdullah bahawa beliau cuba disogok supaya menarik diri pada pilihan raya kecil Dewan Undangan Penanti, Mei lalu.
“SPRM memperakukan tiada mana-mana pihak akan didakwa dalam kes ini,” katanya.
Menjelang pilihan raya kecil itu, Aminah yang bertanding atas tiket Bebas mendakwa didatangi pemimpin Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) dengan menawarkan jawatan Yang Dipertua Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang (MPPP) dan wang tunai RM80,000 supaya menarik diri daripada bertanding.
Aminah, yang juga bekas Ketua Wanita PKR negeri turut mendakwa PKR menawarkan jawatan Timbalan Ketua Menteri I jika beliau menang pilihan raya kecil itu, dengan syarat menyertai semula parti itu.

Beliau mendakwa didatangi seorang pegawai kepada Exco kerajaan negeri dan seorang ahli majlis PKR negeri untuk membuat tawaran itu.

So when an investigation paper on a member of the Opposition gets to the MACC HQ, it enters a black hole.

We will see how far will this “investigative” effort get. Perhaps, it will be just another NFA.

By the way, does anyone still remember that there was an allegation of abuse of power by a senior ranking MACC officer but was dismissed by the MACC top man? Apparently there already was a police report being made on that in Kota Bharu just after when the alleged abuse of power took place. No action was taken.

Recently there was another report made in the Klang Valley by the same complainant on the same allegation involving the same MACC person. So far that too has been met with silence on both the PDRM and the MACC side.

Is the MACC covering for the wrong-doings by its ranks?