Thursday, March 22, 2012

Lim Guan Eng's election issue

Not a single new low-cost home in Penang since PRU12? Really Guan Eng? All that talk about caring for the poor and [according to the Auditor-General's report] he's not built even one low-cost home for Penangites since becoming CM in March 2008! That must be a record of sorts. No wonder his publicists had to work overtime to promote the RM100 he threw for the old and the RM20 he contributed to some cabbies.


Penang’s RM500 million ‘affordable housing’ scam
March 20, 2012 
FMT LETTER: From Calvin Sankaran, via e-mail 
One can accuse Lim Guan Eng, the Penang’s Chief Minster, of many things but surely a lack of self-promotion can’t be one of these complaints. Ever since taking over the state’s reins, Lim has ceaselessly and tireless hyped up his DAP-led administration as people-centric and super efficient.
As such the revelations by the Auditor General (AG) in his 2010 Report that Lim’s administration failed to build even a single low-cost house since taking over the state government came as a huge shock to many Penangites and Malaysians.
This revelation is highly unflattering and politically devastating when compared to the previous BN government’s record of building 9,600 low cost and 6,000 medium cost houses as well as 4,800 low cost flats between 2004 and 2008. .

Read the rest of the letter to the FMT h e r e. 

47 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:52 pm

    Its called pricing the Malays out of the island. At this rate the only Malays left on the island will be tree settlers on Balik Bukit. The same tactics were used in Singapore by Lee Kuan Yew. Many Malay kampongs in Singapore had no land title. The Malays just lived there. So Lee took over the land, built HDB flats and told the Malays 'Ok you can buy a flat'. The Malays who had no money just stared at the flats. Same thing happening now in Penang. Orang Melayu Pulau Pinang boleh duduk atas pokok di Balik Bukit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:53 pm

    ....and how come the rakyat all but kicked out BN in 2008 if the BN had done so much for the state ? Lu mau spin, boleh....kita tunggu sampai PRU13 to see who gets elected into the Penang State gomen.

    Godfather

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous12:55 pm

    Latuk: A bigger election issue is the 5 AP holders with the right to import Indon maids. Plus the incompetent ministry personnel who in cahoots with these 5 AP holders failed to negotiate a good deal with Indonesia.

    Godfather

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:35 pm

    RM100 for the elderlies?

    Alamak!

    Nak beli minyak angin nak guna urut lengoh2 bandan pun tak cukup la Chief Minister Guan Eng.

    Okay lah, maybe can buy 4pieces kain pelikat to last them for the whole year..

    Thank you CM Eng Guan!

    hehehe
    PERWIRA

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:36 pm

    Just wait for the DAP cyber-troopers to start screaming the AG has been paid by UMNO/BN la!!Typical lim-long-kang's argument maaa!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1:41 pm

    Rocky,

    I'm sure that CANNOT BEAT NAJIB's announcement that Govt will help low cost home buyers to purchase homes ranging from $220,000 to $400,000.00

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:20 pm

    Please lah. You know what Guan Eng will say now? He will do and say what he always does. In this case he will come up with this: Low cost houses is not MY responsibility. It is the Federal Govt's!! That's him for you. But he still think he's God given. It is always some people's fault except him.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Godfather,

    I don't have a maid but I feel for you and others who depend on them, whether they are Indonesians or Filipinos. Those who have been entrusted with the maid issue are true morons. It is a matter Najib Razak has to start addressing seriously if we want to call ourselves a developed nation. Perhaps your chief minister can contribute towards this, since he can't help the poor in Penang with affordable homes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:34 pm

      True. How can they manage a nation when even a small island also cannot perform.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous4:34 pm

    Godfather,
    You seem to be blinkered by party loyalty - support DAP at any cost. Even pro-UMNO bloggers will come out and critisize government over corrupt practices. The lembu is one of the cases. The minister's term is ending and even her position in the party is in jeopardy. If anything the 2008 beating has humbled BN and made them more open. If anything the 2008 triumph has made DAP and Pakatan more arrogant and closed. Clearly there must me accountability for the curi pasir case just as the lembu case. However Pakatan has used Selcat to white wash the issue and close it. Same in the Bayan Baru land case & the Batu Kawan housing scheme. So much for preaching accountability, democracy and openes....gag orders abound.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jasper Bloodstone4:44 pm

    Anon 9:52 PM

    And what have you been smoking, dude?

    At least Bru, with family connections in Singapore, will have firsthand knowledge of how Malays there are faring.

    I see their kids doing well in school, in the ITEs, polytechnics and local and overseas universities.

    I see them in landed properties, private condos and HDB estates.

    Without any wholesale migration to the land of susu and madu north of the Causeway, much as certain parties would have you believe otherwise.

    Why this peculiar state of affairs? Well, one reason could be that 1 Singgie Dollar fetches 2.4-something Malaysian Ringgit. Which is something that all the Singapore Pak Ciks and Mak Ciks I know relish with glee. After commenting unfavourably on the crime scene and personal security in Johor Bahru!

    Back to topic. Why is low-cost housing such a big deal in Penang or anywhere else in Malaysia. Surely the mantra should be "affordable housing", not "low-cost housing" with it's implications of a permanently-disadvantaged underclass with the accompanying racial connotations?

    Land in "good" areas is a limited-supply commodity. With private property ownership and free markets in play, the price of land is determined accordingly.

    I am sure we'd all love to live in Bangsar, Bukit Damansara or Bukit Tunku, but does that make sense in pricing a scarce commodity?

    Why should Penang be any different?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous4:46 pm

    Can you please comment on the EC's latest act of 'delineating boundary' and thus shifting the voters' list? Is there any truth? Hope you stay true to your journalist calling and lay out the facts just like what you have done in the above post.
    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous5:02 pm

    itu cina wont care about the p




    rakyat melayu who kicked the BN out in 2008 thought cina kiasu a eng a real godfather..but now they know..he only cared for that one particular race...go to penang you will see housing affordable only for that race...padan muka melayu penang..dok ateh pokok la hangpa..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anon 12:52pm, pricing the Malays out of the island is too polite a description. The DAP lead by LGE is doing ethnic cleansing of the Malays from the island using housing and land allocations.

    DAP and the supremacist LGE won't succeed in the longer run though because unlike the PAP, in Penang the demographics is different from Singapore which has more than 80% Chinese.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous5:33 pm

    they are already spinning the gasing on FMT itself..ive read their comments..typical of DAP and PR totok..if they cant say much to defend their anugerah tuhan, they'll start barking about duit rakyat this n that..corruption this n that..oh pls! as if u PR ppl are not prone to $$$$$$ or perhaps u guys hv a way to sorok all d $$$$ and stash em sumwhere??

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jasper Bloodstone5:37 pm

    Bru

    Can we start with the morons who negotiated the breakup of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines into Malaysian Airline System and Singapore Airlines back in the day?

    Or the morons who devised the demise of a perfectly good English Language-based education system into discordant hodgepodge of national schools, vernacular schools and what-have-you?

    What about the morons who thought of the AP system or the all-embracing regime of subsidies and price controls?

    Government procurement policies. Defence contracts. IPPs. Pricing and allocation of wireless spectrum. An addiction to cheap unskilled foreign labour...the list goes on.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous5:53 pm

    Rocky,

    Adakah Tabung Haji akan jual ladang sawit di Riau?

    22 Mac 2012
    KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Mac: Adakah Tabung Haji akan menjual ladang kelapa sawitnya seluas 83,000 hektar di Riau, Indonesia dengan harga USD900 juta kepada PT Borneo?

    Persoalan tersebut ditimbulkan penulis Mohd Sayuti Omar di dalam blognya, Merah Tinta, http://www.msomelayu.blogspot.com/ malam tadi.

    Menurutnya, beliau baru menerima emel sekejap tadi dari seorang penjengok yang memberi tahu Tabung Haji telah bersetuju menjual asetnya iaini ladang kelapa sawit seluas 83,000 hektar di Riau, Indonesia dengan harga USD900 juta kepada PT Borneo.

    Penjengok itu meminta mana-mana wakil rakyat boleh membangkitkan perkara ini di parlimen memandangkan urus niaga melibatkan lebih dari RM2 billion.

    “Perkara ini perlu didedahkan kerana ia melibatkan kepentingan penyimpan Tabung Haji termasuk saya, isteri dan ibu,” tulisnya.

    Beliau turut memetik kandungan emel diterima itu:

    Maklumat yang baru diterima: Tabung Haji telah bersetuju menjual aset mereka iaitu ladang kelapa sawit seluas 83,000 hektar di riau, Indonesia dengan harga USD900 juta kepada PT Borneo. Pohon minta mana2 YB untuk membangkitkan perkara ini di parlimen kerana melibatkan urusniaga yang melebihi dari RM2 bilion.

    Begitupun, Sayuti tidak dapat mengesahkan maklumat itu dan kepada mana-mana pihak yang mengetahuinya boleh berkongsi maklumat untuk kebaikan bersama.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous6:30 pm

    Lim Guan Eng became CM of Penang on March, 2008. Now he had completed four years of service. Can some people in the construction industry tell how long it takes to complete building houses (low cost or otherwise) from planning, procurement of land, designing, financing, launching, building till handing over.

    It may be that BN had built many low cost houses, But how long did BN took to get them done. In two years?

    So Rocky if you want to wallop LGE, look for some valid issues. (Talking about his son is not one of them).

    ReplyDelete
  18. >>Viewing this issue from a macro perspective, a more disturbing picture emerges and the real intentions of the state government are unveiled. It certainly looks as though the state is creating a humongous ghetto for poor people in the state by removing them from the island and other more prosperous parts of the mainland and sending them to Penang’s very own Soweto.


    KAH KAH KAH

    weii, apa ni?

    Tuduh si guan eng tak bina rumah murah.

    Tapi bila bina rumah murah, nak tuduh dia nak jadi Penang jadi South Afrika.

    kah kah kah... ini punya BN orang memang satu macam la... kah kah kah

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:07 pm

    Godfather, relax. Your hero Guan Eng is going to sweep Penang and give telur and zero to BN. He will be the most powerful CM in the country and you know what they say about absolute power, right? Trouble is I read in malaysiakini that he is a Failed Accountant. Hmmm, am wondering ....

    Islander

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous12:24 am

    Saya rasa Datuk lebih bodoh dari lembu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:52 am

      Wow.. Name calling.. Is this the best u could throw? U r 1 sick puppy ha3

      Delete
  21. Anonymous1:02 am

    It does not matter whether LGE don't provide the low cost housing or not, we will still vote the opposition because the UMNO is full of corrupted leaders that rob their own people by BILLIONS in the name of ketuanan melayu. And when we start questioning the corrupted practice, the use their stupid Retarded UMNO supporters who are willing to see the deterioration of their quality of life just to support the luxury lifestyle of these crook UMNO warlords. Let the GE13 decide and we will see who spin the story. Politic is about perception, as long as LGE is perceived as a cleaners leader than umno that's good enough for us

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous1:03 am

    Good one sir..god given father..you puss not in the right boot..always remember 2 wrong didn't make it right.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous3:07 am

    Is there a limit to how much you spin? Sigh...as it is you are stupid...and yet you keep trying so hard.....

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous9:11 am

    The problem with Guan Eng is that he thought he can do a Kuan Yew on Penang. Yes the malays are minority there but Malaysia is totally different from Singapore.

    Guan Eng looks like a total idiot with his silly promises to the chinese in Penang. Even Kuan Yew has become irrelevant in Singapore.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous9:24 am

    Rocky,

    Sudahlah....Got no maid don't talk..

    Sapa yang Jumpa President Indonesia to settle the maid issue? Najib Kann...

    MR ALL TALK DIFFERENT ACTION NAJIB as always claims ignorance when the shit hit the fan!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous9:41 am

    Roc!
    Dont shoot first ! With this indian Calvin you never know because they are good at twisting over their mother"s grave....
    Low cost housing also a rroblem with BN states also? Please we are not idiots to swallow line and sinker on your spin...we know your agenda ajib
    boy!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous9:48 am

    Im thankful to five maid agencies the AP holders. Now i only pay RM4,511 to get a maid. B4 this, i have to pay RM10,000 to 'Ah Beng-not AP holder' to get a maid. As usual, that does not include other hidden cost!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:13 am

    Latuk Locky:

    Just to set the record straight, gua bukan orang Penang. Gua orang WP (bukan Workers Party). But I admire what Lim Guan Eng has done for Penang. Not like the CM of Pahang that wants Lynas, the CM of Melaka that can't get the monorail to work, the CM of Perak that has sold large chunks of the state to some Brazilians and Jews. Or like the CM of Sarawak that kept topping up his bank account.

    Godfather

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:28 pm

      How come no mention of Guan Eng's failed Kancil kar-park? It's true idiots are in awe with other idiots.

      HM,bne

      Delete
  29. Anonymous11:13 am

    Sudah bikin over 10,000 units lah, bro.

    http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2011/08/01/guan-eng-penang-approved-11596-affordable-homes-since-2008/

    ReplyDelete
  30. IT.Sheiss2:08 pm

    The DAP claims to be "democratic socialist" and a "party of the people" but the failure to provide low-cost or affordable housing for low-income people on Penang island shows that it's not what it claims to be.

    Some also say that the Penang state government is rather construction industry-friendly, so can it be expected to serve the interests of the people or do these Tony Blair-style "democratic socialists" ser4ve the interests of the housing developers.

    True democratic socialists in the vein of the original Labour Party in the U.K. would build affordable public housing which is not subject to market forces, even if it is in a prime location.

    In that regard, the BN has done a better job without claiming to be democratic socialist.


    Here in Petaling Jaya, nothing much has changed despite us having a Pakatan state government for four years now.

    Construction continues unabated, traffic jams have worsened, the roads are still pot-holed as ever due to constant digging and re-digging to lay telecommunications or electricity cables, pipes, etc.

    Saturday is a no plastic bags day in a token gesture to environmentalism but the Selangor state government has done nothing to promote and enable environmental awareness, recycling and to provide adequate facilities for recycling of waste and old products, while no plastic-bags on Saturdays only inconveniences the public - that's us.

    I'm not saying that the BN was any better but the Pakatan government has shown that it isn't any better too.

    ReplyDelete
  31. "Guan Eng: Penang approved 11,596 affordable homes since 2008. By Clara Chooi | August 01, 2011. The Malaysian Insider."

    Bro, so, how now Calvin Sankaran's unsupported claims?

    Bro, I also note from comments here that if one supports Bumno/BN despite over $100 billion corruption, that's ok. But if one supports DAP, that's blinkered.

    That $2.2 billion KIDEX YOU NOT Toll Highway awarded to UMNO lawyer and wife of ex-CJ and UMNO lawyer Zaki, betul betul "on merit" ke? Kek, kek, kek!

    Next $ billion Bumno/BN financial scandal - CLICK HERE or http://www.malaysia-today.net/archives/archives-2011/45537-9bio


    Dpp
    we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race

    ReplyDelete
  32. Barisan National FeedLoot Koperasi3:02 pm

    Rakyat Pulau Pinang sudah kaya-raya lah, tak perlu lagi low-cost house!
    Cakap sikit pasal tu High-Crass Cows lah...

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous3:30 pm

    Stick to the point la scumbags.

    Agree totally with Anon 12:52PM.

    Just to repeat the words:

    Its called pricing the Malays out of the island.

    Its called pricing the Malays out of the island.

    Its called pricing the Malays out of the island.

    And I know the stupid Malays (read: Certain Malays who think stupidly) when cornered on this issue will say "Dulu Umno apa buat, sekarang baru bising??!".

    I will just say, both Pakatan and Gerakan/ Umno have been poor,so why don't you come out with a damn solution instead of pointing fingers??.
    And those politicians who come from this state shouldn't have any post in the federal until the island is sorted out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:16 am

      Spot on bro.. Cerek 1 ni kt cerek lg 1 bontot lg itam ha3 politicians r a bunch of liars

      Delete
  34. Anonymous4:40 pm

    Debate 101 for PR fanboys

    1. divert the issue
    2. divert the issue
    3. divert the issue

    The issue here is about LGE Ah Beng not developing low cost houses. Kat sekolah x belajar macam mana nak debate?

    Oh lupa, most of you Ah Beng supporters were not from Sekolah Kebangsaan. (Alamak this 101 berjangkit lak)

    Show us the proof that he did develop low cost houses. That's how you debate. If not necessary, show us why. Maybe in Pulau Pinang (nama sebenar) sudah ramai orang kaya jadi tak perlu low cost houses. Jawab macam tu.

    For those who said that the Malays supported DAP for PRU12 because we so loooovvvvveeee DAP, get this to your brain. Most of us (the malays) just hate the sleeping beauty. I don't know about the chinese community though. If the 3rd option was a monkey, most of us would vote for the monkey and not DAP.

    Tolonglah, i would never vote for DAP ever again. Look at their fanboys, bigger as#holes and super racist.

    Nonpartisan1973

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous9:56 pm

    Nonpartisan1973:

    Ask your ayahanda Mamakthir. He said that in this country everyone's a racist. Pricing the Malays out of the island ? There are three cities where everyone has been priced outn you moron - JB, KL/PJ and Penang. And it's all due to the fact that no one truly believes in the CPI numbers produced by the BN clowns.

    Godfather

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous11:59 pm

    the authorities MUST monitor the land grab in penang

    The Penang Malays MUST report any bully tactics wrt land acquisition

    this is the way they rob land from the Malays in singapore

    I remember makcik and pakcik saying "gamen ambil tanah, terpaksa pindah"

    but years later, kampung tempeh in singapore was developed as private residences - priced out of the Malays affordability

    when land is acquired by govt, price is dirt cheap

    so when private developers cheat the Malay landowners, they got a very good bargain and become overnight millionaires

    areas like pasir panjang, west coast, geylang serai, kampung baru etc were Malay kampungs wiped out for private housing that only the chinese can afford

    the Malays had to work 48 hours a week just ot own a small pigeon hole for 99 years only

    cannot even hand over property to children

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous12:04 am

    anon @ 1:02 AM

    lge cleaner than Najib?

    heh heh lge is an ex-convict - charged in court with uttering seditious remarks in public and publishing false news in a pamplet. He was later convicted on both counts and fined a total of RM15,000.

    Following an appeal by the prosecution, the fines were converted to 18 months' jail. He served the jail term from Aug 25, 1998 after the Federal Court dismissed his appeal.

    he is a liar

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous2:53 am

    we the bumiputra community vote DAP?

    even DAP become dog and pig, even after death and we rise again never ever will we ever vote DAP.

    after what they had done... swindle
    the bumiputra community...cheat...love to manipulate...denial syndrome...creator of chaos and hatred (remember the communist?ghee hin ,hai san the triad orgy?...among other thing?)after what they had done to this land...never respect the constitution...they insist, demand, threatened that they go to their own school...never had an honest heart...monopoly the economy...

    accusing umno as corrupt(as though as they were clean like a white sheet) calling Dr M as mamak (as though it is not racist? name calling? no respect)

    after swindling, cheating, destroying the environment (remember lynas...want to vomit laa ptuih...)making ton of money then migrate to NZ or the OZ(fav destination...hey people over there better watch out!!!)

    still remember guan eng go to jail for the malay girl?some kind of white knight ehhh? what ever you call it la.....

    they claim they are hard working people??? cheating la...that why they can drive big car big house.

    Aiyoo so many thing la to talk about.....

    instead of Gerakan or MCA they vote for DAP...why????

    vote for DAP?

    what a scum on earth...rotten to the core...denial syndrome punyeeee olang....

    p.s
    bro Rocks,

    err...are we already on PRU fever mode?

    no?

    think better hold it until that time come.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous6:37 pm

    Anon @ 12:04 AM

    Hello, LGE went to jail for defending a underage Malay girl from being raped by the Cheif Minister of that time. This is 1Malaysia about, a Chinese defending a Malay from a sex maniac!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:38 am

      Aaahhh..cut the crap la..he did it as a political stunt only..to gain support frm some gullible people..like you..

      Delete
  40. Jasper Bloodstone7:22 pm

    Malaysians of a particular ethnicity have been "priced out" of the Penang property market?

    Oh, really? Then I guess that the Malaysians of this particular ethnicity who own or live in properties in KL's Bukit Tengku, Damansara Heights, Bangsar, Taman Tun, Tropicana and PJ's SS 16 are figments of my imagination?

    Or those living in choice areas of Johor Bahru like Jln Straitsview, Jln Petrie and Jln Abdul Samad are ephemeral apparitions?

    It behoves me to ask why, 50+ years after Independence, incomes have not grown proportionately to the increase in GDP?

    ReplyDelete
  41. Jasper Bloodstone4:57 pm

    "Oooh, this is gonna upset some people....."Heavy S'pore scent at E&O Penang projects" (Singapore Business Times, March 27, 2012, www.businesstimes.com.sg).

    - 30 per cent of the buyers for the Quayside and Andaman at Quayside are foreigners; the largest group among them are Singaporean and Singapore-based. 70 per cent of the buyers are Malaysians.

    - Foreign buyers of these developments are of 13 nationalities, including Singaporeans and Bruneians.

    - Penang is getting quite popular among foreign investors.

    - Andaman and Quayside - 7 blocks of high-rise apartments - are part of the Seri Tanjung Pinang project which stands on 21 acres of reclaimed land.

    - The Andaman, like the Quayside, is designed to meet investment needs and the demand for holiday homes, with prices starting from RM1,000 (S$409) per sq ft which is quite steep by Penang and Malaysian standards.

    - The E&O.group is selling a lifestyle; it sees Penang as on par with other resort developments in the region such as Phuket and Bali.

    Can the Penang state government be faulted for it's push to make Penang an international resort-city where foreigners are welcome?

    Any more than the federal government's Greater KL push to transform KL into a global international city, on par in the region with Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo?

    What this will do to property prices in Penang and KL is foreshadowed by what's already happened in other global cities such as London, New York, Sydney and San Francisco. And in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore too.

    In globalisation, there will always be "winners" and "losers".

    The challenge for governments is how to manage their citizens' "expectations" while remaining open and welcoming to foreign investors and investments, especially those who want to put down long-term roots in these countries.

    And Malaysia has no option, but to pursue globalisation and restructuring. The PM, as a trained economist, understands this. So do the more forward-looking in the BN and PR coalitions. Every international conference and every investment promotion mission just reinforces the point.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous8:13 am

    Aiyah...we should hv helped those Indian cowboys at d beginning of term...now d Indians hv left for BN...soon more of these other fellows too..mummy..mummy heelpp!!

    ReplyDelete