Time to get down to work, Kak Wan

Balan Moses, The Sun Daily

An open letter to Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, the people of Kajang and Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun/MCA

DEAR DR WAN AZIZAH

Congratulations on your victory in the Kajang by-election. I am sure that there has been a great deal of euphoria in the days after your unsurprising victory in the Kajang by-election on March 23.

But the glad-handing should be over by now. It is time to get down to work. There is a lot to be done for the people of Kajang who are surely looking to you to address some of their complaints, which from the looks of it have been perennial in nature.

All this talk of you possibly becoming the mentri besar is bringing on the smiles on some faces in Kajang with others worried if you will have time to meet the needs of your constituents.

Only you can answer this and in good time after you resolve the mentri besar issue which by the looks of it may take an immeasurable amount of time given the complexities involving incumbent Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and Parti Keadilan Rakyat deputy president Mohd Azmin Ali who will have an important say in the matter.

But this should be a breeze, Khalid and Azmin notwithstanding, given your husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s, acknowledged hold on politics in the state which probably led to you being chosen as the PKR candidate in the by-election.

To me, it can only be a good thing if one’s state assemblyman is also the chief executive of the state government. The wheels of government may have a way of grinding faster where the mentri besar’s constituency is concerned.

A few days before the people of Kajang went to the polls, you spoke of your priority list in the event you were elected.

Now that you have been given the mandate with a large majority besides gaining the popular vote (59%), I want to revisit these promises on behalf of the people of this growing township.

You promised to reduce crime, improve public safety, tackle traffic congestion, create new jobs and introduce better town planning.

There have been rumblings from Kajang folk that not much has changed in terms of a better quality of life since Pakatan Rakyat took over in 2008.

PR and Wan Azizah have to make good on their promises or risk an erosion of their voter base. After all, it is a PR state government the last time I checked and getting allocations should be a breeze.

The state government should realise that it will reap in future what it sows now.

The people of Kajang are awaiting your plans with bated breath as they are fed up with a garbage-ridden town, flash floods, clogged drains that lead to the aforesaid problem, traffic congestion that sometimes makes appointments unnecessary and poor town planning that is not in keeping with a town slated for big things.

I spoke to a few Kajang residents who said that someone needed to take a huge broom and sweep the town of its filth.

You may have to work with Kajang municipal council officials in this respect who will also have to unclog drains.

This may lead to fewer flash floods due to water being able once again to follow its natural course.

I am sure you do not intend to be a one-term state assemblyman although anything is possible after your predecessor Lee Chin Cheh’s experience when he had to sacrifice his seat for Anwar, a deal that never went through.

But if you intend to stay on, it is best that you start forging a relationship with the people of Kajang with regular interaction.

If you do become the MB, this may not be possible given the demands on your time from the rest of Selangor.

Please plan ahead if this eventuality becomes a reality. The people of Kajang voted you in with specific expectations in mind that you should deliver come what may.

TO THE PEOPLE OF KAJANG

You have to ensure that Datuk Seri Wan Azizah and Chew and the MCA do not renege on what they had promised before the by-election.

I am sure you remember that Wan Azizah is also PKR president which must certainly entail tedious duties.

I am equally certain that you realise that she has to come down from a national figure as party chief to become a local personage who has to get her hands dirty handling clogged drains, traffic congestion and flash floods.

Will she be able to do this herself or will she appoint personal representatives to ease her burden?

The bottom line is this: the people of Kajang voted for her and no one else. Ipso facto, she should be rolling up her sleeves to carry out her duties.

Please hold her to this solemn vow she made, especially if she becomes MB.

TO CHEW/MCA

You Datin Paduka contested under the Barisan Nasional banner, promising a great deal too if she got elected.

Now that you have lost, the MCA which you represent and the BN in the larger sense, should be responsible for your campaign promises.

You are seasoned enough as a politician to know that the people will remember your promises.

I don’t think it is that easy for any party to drop its campaign promises just because it lost a by-election, especially if that party rules the nation.

The MCA and BN by extension should be committed to improving the quality of life of Kajang folk as they should be whether or not their candidate is in the driver’s seat.

Let it not be felt that campaign promises have a limited shelf-life restricted to the duration of the campaign. The promises made to deal with the problems of the people and make their life a little more bearable have to be made good.

The fact of the matter is the problems of the people have not gone away and need to be resolved fast.

Balan Moses, theSun’s executive editor (news), has seen far too many campaign promises by elected representatives remain just that. Malaysian society at large has to keep those chosen at the hustings on their toes always. There is much to be done after victory at the ballot box.