Free port status for Penang? PM says bullshit! Then they go after the hill slopes
Recently, the newly appointed Penang Barisan Nasional chairman Teng Chang Yeow, who is also the Gerakan secretary-general had announced that granting Penang a free port status would be one of the state BN's election promise to the people.
However, his proposal was rebuked by prime minister and Umno president Najib Razak who responded that the concept of a free port no longer exists long time ago. Najib had eventually confirmed this via his statement in the parliamentary reply during the Dewan Rakyat sitting.
It looks like the Umno president is not about to sacrifice the Penang Port to give the state BN a better chance of wresting back the state which it lost to Pakatan Rakyat in the last general elections in 2008. The federal government is already bankrupt and that is why they are not willing to give up the port.
With the recently announcement by Najib that the promise of a free port status for Penang is really a "bullshit", it really embarrassed the Penang BN chairman now who is still at a shock to learn that one of his major electoral promises is now gone into the drain. With this, Teng would have to find other means to convince the Penang people why BN should be given the second chance come next general elections, and he has to make very fast as the election would be somewhere around this year very soon.
What else Penang BN could promise? Getting rid of the hill slope development? They are now blaming the current Penang state government for the said havoc (cutting down of hills for housing). But from the records found at the Penang Municipal Council recently, there are no more approvals for hill projects or developments since 2008.
This means, all the current hill slope developments were the results of the approvals by the previous state government, which was the state BN themselves. The current Penang state government could not just issue an order to stop these projects just because the contracts and agreements has been signed and sealed. What if the developers were to institute legal action against the state for their loss of business and breach of contract?
If the state government lost the case against the developers (who sue), will the BN able to bail out the state government on the billions of Ringgit in compensation to the developers then?
We all knew that these projects were all environmentally destructive but the damages has been done earlier by the previous BN state government. If the Penang BN or Gerakan could bring up these issues now, we would ask them in return, why didn't they impose these control when they were the state government in the first place, back before 2008? Why didn't they initiate all these when they were in power then?
The simple thing is, Gerakan, although the party is holding the chief ministership, they are powerless to the fact that the BN's dominant party, Umno called all the shots. Umno had been dictating to Gerakan or MCA on what they should do and what they shouldn't do and these two parties are just subservient without questions.
So, Teng should be aware that he does not call the shots even if he is the Penang BN chairman as Umno still reign supreme over other BN component parties. You are just a puppet and will be the same as long as Gerakan remains in the BN coalition.
Accept the facts you are merely playing powerless politics as you do not really have the powers to change.
It looks like the Umno president is not about to sacrifice the Penang Port to give the state BN a better chance of wresting back the state which it lost to Pakatan Rakyat in the last general elections in 2008. The federal government is already bankrupt and that is why they are not willing to give up the port.
With the recently announcement by Najib that the promise of a free port status for Penang is really a "bullshit", it really embarrassed the Penang BN chairman now who is still at a shock to learn that one of his major electoral promises is now gone into the drain. With this, Teng would have to find other means to convince the Penang people why BN should be given the second chance come next general elections, and he has to make very fast as the election would be somewhere around this year very soon.
What else Penang BN could promise? Getting rid of the hill slope development? They are now blaming the current Penang state government for the said havoc (cutting down of hills for housing). But from the records found at the Penang Municipal Council recently, there are no more approvals for hill projects or developments since 2008.
If the state government lost the case against the developers (who sue), will the BN able to bail out the state government on the billions of Ringgit in compensation to the developers then?
We all knew that these projects were all environmentally destructive but the damages has been done earlier by the previous BN state government. If the Penang BN or Gerakan could bring up these issues now, we would ask them in return, why didn't they impose these control when they were the state government in the first place, back before 2008? Why didn't they initiate all these when they were in power then?
The simple thing is, Gerakan, although the party is holding the chief ministership, they are powerless to the fact that the BN's dominant party, Umno called all the shots. Umno had been dictating to Gerakan or MCA on what they should do and what they shouldn't do and these two parties are just subservient without questions.
So, Teng should be aware that he does not call the shots even if he is the Penang BN chairman as Umno still reign supreme over other BN component parties. You are just a puppet and will be the same as long as Gerakan remains in the BN coalition.
Accept the facts you are merely playing powerless politics as you do not really have the powers to change.
