DAP-led Penang govt shooting itself in the foot?

The optimism comes about not because BN has suddenly grown stronger; it is due to the notion that DAP has started to replicate some of the mistakes committed by BN.

John Chin, Berita Daily

The honeymoon period which many people bestowed on the DAP-led Penang government for at least six years after they stormed into power in 2008 can now be effectively classified as over in this Year of the Rooster.

In fact, it is more of a hell setting now for Pakatan Harapan compared to when DAP rode to prominence on the back of disgust towards BN, or rather its chieftain Umno, in that year.

Since then, most attempts to regrow BN’s influence here have been largely unsuccessful as the people simply do not want this type of coalition – period.

But there is now a sense of growing optimism in BN about performing better than the two previous encounters of 2008 and 2013.

The optimism comes about not because BN has suddenly grown stronger; it is due to the notion that DAP has started to replicate some of the mistakes committed by BN.

For one, DAP has started to scold critics who are pointing out shortcomings which are common in any administration the world over.

In other words, BN stands to gain from DAP’s weaknesses on governance.

Since June, the state has been besieged with issues, especially of the Mother Nature kind where rough weather, which some quarters believed was induced by climate change, has come to bear on all fronts in Penang.

A “perfect storm” engulfed Penang; nobody was really spared from its ill-effects.

Those staying on low ground were inundated by mudflows and floods; those on high ground experienced landslides while residents along the coastline saw some of their rooftops blown away.

But Penang has bounced back, in some ways in impressive fashion, until another issue crept up – the management of the Penang International Marathon.

It is a rare race where athletes run in the pre–dawn hours, as holding it during office hours would result in congestion throughout the state.

Side-stepping issues

Most participants at marathons tend to be the middle- to upper-income classes, who have the luxury of training every other day to prepare for the arduous task of running some 15km or up to 42km in a full marathon. Running helps them to destress while also inculcating a sense of healthy living.

And the majority of them are also said to be supportive of Pakatan, as they have borne the brunt of a declining economy – many marathoners travel overseas to work, holiday and run, hence the decline of the ringgit has angered them.

They also grumbled about rising living costs, which some have attributed to wastage and high tolerance towards corrupt practices at the national level.

Such a demographic makes them easily identifiable as Pakatan supporters.

A record number of 35,000 participants were looking forward to this annual event, one of the largest sporting events in Penang.

But to their chagrin, the organisers this time struggled to meet their expectations with many things reportedly going wrong, from wrong sizes of T-shirts to the issuing of expired protein chocolate bars.

And again, Penang reportedly chose to side-step the issue and played down the anger of some participants.

It is about time for Penang to not play politics at every turn but to just focus on resolving issues. If the hillslopes cannot cope with development due to intense rainfall brought on by climate change, then stop development there.

If traffic congestion was worsening, then find ways to reduce the inflow of vehicles. But Penang has chosen to continue with the ways of BN, which is to invoke a respite which does not resolve the issue in the long term.

One example of this is the state’s decision to provide compensation to those affected by the floods but remains adamant that there is no need to review development policies.

In other words, the people were getting the same dose of medicine but administered by a different doctor.

Nonetheless, folks are smart nowadays – they know if they are being given a raw deal, especially in Penang, which is the only state to have evicted a sitting chief minister, not once but thrice since 1957.

Will history repeat itself?

It can happen if the current administration chooses to go down the same road of the previous one by ignoring civil society, by side-stepping issues and of course by placing emphasis on politicking rather than on problem solving.