Pakatan ‘facing acid test’
The DAP-led government in Penang is mired in the controversial Kampung Buah Pala issue where residents are facing eviction after the Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer on June 24.
The Star
The cracks appearing in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition are an acid test and it cannot continue to hide the truth from the people, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
“Everything is out in the open now. This is the real acid test for them, one from which they cannot run away from,” he told a press conference after opening SJK (C) Union’s multimedia laboratory and its website.
He was commenting on the current political situation in the Pakatan-ruled states of Penang and Kedah.
The DAP-led government in Penang is mired in the controversial Kampung Buah Pala issue where residents are facing eviction after the Federal Court ruled in favour of the landowner and developer on June 24.
In Kedah, the Pakatan government is on the verge of collapsing following the state DAP’s decision to pull out of the pact.
Ong, who is also Transport Minister, said although the coalition was called Pakatan Rakyat, it was obvious that they only co-operated during the general election.
“If they were really concerned about the people from the start, they would not have been disorganised.”
Asked how long he expected the coalition to last, Ong said he was not a pak nujum (fortune-teller) but what was clear was that their coalition was based on vested-interest and was not expected to last long.
“It has always been the Opposition’s way to say something before the elections and after winning, their attitude changed. They should not forget that they have already been in power for the past 15 months and don’t tell me that if the previous government had made mistakes, the new one cannot rectify them. They should stop pointing fingers,” he added.
On the proposal by Penang Port Commission chairman Tan Cheng Liang that it take over ferry services, Ong said a decision on the matter would be made soon.
At a press conference in a hotel later, Ong said he had had a fruitful discussion with the state grassroots leadership on current local issues.
“They remain very focused and close to the people. I commend their commitment, which is crucial to the transformation of the party.”
State MCA deputy chairman Eng Hiap Boon said the party was “very dissatisfied” with DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng over the Port Klang Free Zone issue.
“We fully support Ong for his bravery in revealing the truth unlike the Opposition, which has yet to disclose the outcome of the investigation into events leading to the resignation of former Penanti assemblyman Mohamad Fairus Khairudin.”
