Guan Eng should read the writing on the wall

RAJA SARA PETRA

The negative reception that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng received at the Heritage Day event in Penang yesterday should serve as a warning to him and to DAP that the honeymoon is over. Guan Eng is advised to read the writing on the wall and understand the message that the Penang people are sending the DAP state government. My only surprise is not that it happened but that it took almost ten years to happen. That demonstrates the patience the Penang people have but that patience is now wearing thin.

First of all, Guan Eng’s speech at what was supposed to be a Heritage Day event was full of political rhetoric and had nothing to do with what the event was all about. Screaming about how clean the DAP state government is against the backdrop of so many allegations of corruption, although not yet proven in court, is the height of hypocrisy. If Penang is really a clean government then Guan Eng should take leave until his case is settled and the court pronounces him not guilty. That is what ‘clean’ really means: accountability and transparency.

Guan Eng is not only losing the support of Penangites but also of his own party. The Registrar of Societies (RoS) has instructed DAP to hold a second party reelection after the December 2012 election and the September 2013 reelection were deemed illegal. Instead of trying to avoid holding this second reelection, why not Guan Eng just follow what the RoS instructs and prove that he still has the support of his party. The fact that DAP is scared of holding the second reelection is because they are worried Gun Eng is not going to win, or is not going to win in the top five, that is if he can even win a place in DAP’s CEC.