by Melissa Lee
Amid accusations he was "jealous" of Johor, DAP
secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has decided to break his silence over the latest
media attacks against him, this time over allegedly disparaging comments over
Johor's crime rate.
However, being a favorite target of the BN-controlled press,
Guan Eng was cautious in responding to queries if he had made the remarks. The
Penang Chief Minister said he was still checking the audio recording aired on
Buletin Utama on TV3 that showed him making the critical comments while on a
recent visit to Singapore.
"If I had made the statement, let's look at the context
in which it was made... it was a private conversation," Guan Eng told a
press conference on Thursday.
Jealous!
Deputy Education Minister Puad Zarkashi had a day ago
accused Guan Eng of being envious of Singapore's support for the Iskandar
economic corridors and may be trying to scare away investors over to Penang.
“In fact, even before the establishment of Iskandar Malaysia,
a lot of investors from the neighboring country came to invest in the
industrial area of Pasir Gudang, Tebrau, Kualijaya and Senai. This I why Guan
Eng is envious and for me it is an act of sabotage and not patriotic,
irresponsible and have no attitude for collectivism," said Puad.
“Supposedly as a Chief Minister, he should not act as an
Opposition to attract foreign investors to this country because he and Penang
are part of Malaysia. Like the Federal government’s implementation of deed, we
are always clear and transparent especially in our effort to attract foreign
investors unlike the states governed by the Opposition.”
What
Singaporeans think
However, few Malaysians and Singaporeans would agree
with Puad, the Umno MP for Batu Pahat. Singaporeans have minced no words in
criticising what they call "lawlessness" in Johor.
The have been innumerable cases of Singaporean families on
day trips to pubs in Johore, who end up murdered after tiffs with the gambling
or drug bosses who own these joints.
In December, a Singaporean man was shot several times outside
a pub in Johore but survived. In June, a 37-year-old lorry driver from
Singapore was found dead in a night club in Johor Baru. His wife and son, who
were with him, believed he was killed over a drug dispute. These are just some
of the cases recently reported in the media.
"Generally, some
Singaporeans like to come to Johor for the cheap shopping and some food, but it
is true, we think it is a very dangerous place and not many of the middle class
will go there. They consider it as slumming," a Singaporean professional
working in the Malaysian branch of a food franchise told Malaysia
Chronicle.
"I don't think it is fair to nail Guan Eng. He could be
more tactful but if it was a private affair, who says he cannot speak his mind?
The streets of Johor are not safe, I can vouch for that. That has been the view
for decades, long before Guan Eng made any comment," said a Malaysian who
used to work in Singapore and traveled frequently to Johor.
Bullying
Perhaps, Umno which wants to recapture Penang in the
13th general election is trying its best to embarrass the DAP leader. However,
the vulture-like way in which they are zooming in on Guan Eng has drawn
laughter.
"They are playing the
same intellectually bankrupt record. Over and over again. It reflects on the lack
of personal freedoms in Malaysia and the hypocrisy of the Najib administration.
It also shows up the bullying ways of Umno, and the Singaporeans are now
enjoying the comedy put up by Najib and gang," PKR vice president Tian
Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Meanwhile, Guan Eng pointed to a legal suit he recently filed
against the Umno-owned Utusan newspaper over an article that suggested he
wanted to abolish the New Economic Policy (NEP).
"They want to distract me and tire me out. I already
have a court case with Umno-linked Malay language daily Utusan Malaysia, and
that is already enough and time-consuming. But I will not let them get away...
if I do, they will continue to play the game," said the DAP leader.
Never
ending
Guan Eng also said his detractors were becoming too
much, "jumping from place to place" to criticise him for his comments
made overseas, starting with his interview with the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation in Melbourne recently.
"They started with Australia, they would now be jumping
to China, to Hong Kong and Surabaya. We will deal with them one by one,
starting with national news agency Bernama. If the news agency does not reply
to us, we will direct our lawyers to take the necessary action," said Lim.
According to a Sept 23 Bernama report, Lim “allegedly” said
Johor was not a safe state, with kidnappings being common, unlike Penang.
The report caught the attention of Deputy Prime Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin, a Johorean, who slammed Guan Eng for undermining Johor and
painting the state as an unsuitable investment destination.
That soon sparked a chain reaction among Umno and BN leaders,
who rushed to echo the DPM. Although, it may not create much of a political
impact in Penang for the Pakatan Rakyat, the Malay community in Johor might be
upset if Umno-BN continued to stir hatred through its accusations against Guan
Eng.
However, that is unlikely to stop Guan Eng or other Pakatan
leaders from speaking out as it is the BN administrators who should be punished
for not managing their states better, rather than expecting others to
continuously paint glowing but false reports about the actual situation.
Source : MC
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