ONE has had a few minor "face-offs" and his remarks recently show that at least he's made public his awareness that governance is never easy. But unlike PKR's Khalid Ibrahim in Selangor, Dap Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng is already learning it the hard way.
Obviously Lim has been full of nerves since the Kampung Buah Pala dispute made headlines in the press late last week, resulting in him making contradictory statements, pointing a finger at the previous state administration headed by the Gerakan's Koh Tsu Koon and even going to the extent of trying to pass the burden to the federal government who Lim thinks should buy the land from the owner (to solve his problem!). The latter incidentally is something Lim says his state cannot afford to do and mind you, also because doing that would set a precedent. Yet he sees nothing wrong if that same precedent comes from the federal government.
After keeping silent for a few days Lim went on the offensive against the developer and Koh. On Thursday he maintained that his state government was prepared to cancel the project planned for the area if the developer fails to compensate the residents. He insisted (and sounded rather impressive) that Penang was prepared to face financial losses over the cancellation and if the developer took action.
For the developer he had strong words. "I want to warn the developer not to test the state government's patience because we will not back out just like that." Wow... macho.
His message to Koh: "He should address the matter with the Cabinet as the present state government is not financially capable." And there was Lim saying that his government was prepared to face financial losses.
The drama in Penang caught the attention of his Selangor Pakatan colleague Khalid who said state governments could not simply give in to the demands of squatters as it could jeopardise development. He acknowledged that in the case of the dispute in Penang it was difficult to strike a balance and please everybody. That is precisely what the Barisan Nasional has had to do since independence in 1957 -- a balancing act. There have been successes and there have been failures but it appears that in baiting the people to vote for them in the general election in March last year, the Pakatan parties courted squatters and other pressure groups with all kinds of sweeteners which they later could not deliver.
Many political analysts agree that Pakatan, especially PKR, received strong Indian support that helped them to win many seats in Selangor. That PKR was pally-pally with the now banned Hindraf was no secret. But that kind of association comes with a price.
I remember a news item soon after the election about a visit by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Khalid to an Indian settlement in Shah Alam. The report said the area had only about 300 residents but they saw fit to ask the newly elected Pakatan government to build two Hindu temples there. Yes not one but two for such a small settlement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
