Now it's Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong

When Tun Dr Mahatir resigned from UMNO, I was thinking a little deeper about his position in Proton, Langkawi thingy etc that links with the present federal government. So when Mokhzaini resigned following his father's footstep, I was also curiously thinking whether will his act damage his position as chairman of the Sepang International Circuit.

Petronas and the Sepang thingy are government owned. So since UMNO is part of the government and it's President is the Prime Minister of the country, wouldn't it be a contradictory of the principles of Barisan Nasional that it's members cannot or rather be prohibited to join or be employed by the Pakatan Rakyat state government.

Now since Tun and son is no more in UMNO, wouldn't it be contradicting the principle of BN? This can be seen in the positions of Datuk Lee Kah Choon in Penang and Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong in Selangor. The former has resigned from Gerakan and the latter was given a show cause letter. So, macam mana dengan Tun and son? Will they be asked to resign from their position. Looks like Najib must telan his own sliver for making statements against Datuk Lee and Datuk Dr Tan.

However my opinion is this, there is no harm for opposition members taking up government position in state agencies or federal government link companies. I think this is a healthy trend as it gives more accountability, integrity and competency in running the administration of government.

It is still never too late for BN to learn from it's Pakatan rival. BN or UMNO must not be arrogant to think that they are untouchable and can never be destroyed. In fact the recent election serve as a lesson they learn albeit a very bitter lesson that almost cause BN it's federal seat.

The Only Letter Mahatir speaks sense....

I read this letter by Tun Mahatir in the Star, very interesting insights by the old man. Words like this can never be accepted by people in UMNO or BN. What all can agree is that Gerakan 'hilang' satu member yang berwibawa. He was tipped to be a CM in Penang should he and his party win in the general election. But of course that dream never materialised. Unfortunately to Kah Choon when he was appointed as Director to the two state government agencies, he was called 'inexperience' by the leadership in his party. At one point you are tipped to be a VVIP and on the other hand 'inexperience'.

But reading between the lines of the letter, I must say that BN in order to survive in the political arena of this country MUST change it's ways. UMNO and BN are too narrow minded. If PAS is able to adapt changes by inviting non Muslim to contest in the general election, UMNO and especially UMNO must change to be relevant.

So to UMNO and BN, please take heed to the call of the person whom you love before...

------- Mahatir's letter below

THE recent decision of a senior Gerakan leader to take a job under the DAP Government of Penang should not be taken lightly by the Barisan Nasional if it wishes to survive and regain support of its members and supporters.

The Gerakan leader may be motivated by a genuine desire to work for the good of Penang and Malaysia. But it may also be because loyalty to the Barisan is now based on personal gains or fear of punishment of some kind.

This is especially so among the leaders. There is no genuine love for the objectives said to be the raison d’etre for the party’s existence. They are all fighting to get a piece of the cake that the party would be able to distribute when it wins elections. They could become Ministers or Mentris Besar or Deputy Ministers or Speakers. They could get contracts or licences, APs etc.

When the party loses, these will not be forthcoming. The reason for supporting the party would disappear.

The rank and file on the other hand stands to gain nothing, win or lose. The party is not any longer for the general good of the country but only for lining the pockets of the leaders. So why should the ordinary members help the leaders to line their pockets?

The party can keep on making promises but the members know that these promises are empty.

Supposing the Opposition are smart enough to provide good Government, to look after the interests of the ordinary people, to lead a Spartan life like not flying in chartered planes when going to Kuala Lumpur or taking excos and divisional heads on jaunts to foreign countries, then those people who voted for the Opposition out of anger against the Barisan in 2008 would transfer their loyalty permanently to the Opposition.

When that happens, the Barisan, Umno and other component parties can forget about recapturing the states lost to the Opposition. Their turncoat members (saboteurs as they are classified by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) will remain turncoats and will actively work against the Barisan t the next election. To lose once is bad but to lose a second time in Malaysian election is an unmitigated disaster.

The window of opportunity will close pretty soon. Unless drastic actions are taken now, there would be no time to rehabilitate the Barisan and Umno and indeed all the other Barisan component parties for the next election. When this happens and Barisan is totally defeated, the leaders who mismanaged the Barisan will go down in history as betrayers of the parties that had so successfully defeated the Malayan Union, gained independence for the country and developed it to what it is today.

The leaders still have a choice. Continue supporting a person under whom the Barisan and its component parties were defeated or stop being self-serving and return to the true national struggle. You may gain something for yourself personally today but your children and grandchildren will pay a terrible price. The choice is yours.

DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD.

"something new and groundbreaking"

Gua caya sama lu Guan Eng.... this is how baba like me speaks, in very broken Malay. Nicely put. Taken from the Star yesterday. His statement alone speaks of a real leader. Appointing clean and hard working people without considering political affiliation, race, religion and all. This is what the Chief Minister says below:

"Are we going to grow up and grow out of the outdated mindset? The time has come to look at the content of character rather than colour of skin or the gods you pray to or the respective political beliefs that you hold..."

He further commented that there should not be discrimination against someone based on political party he or she was from.

That is so true. BN leaders must grow up (jadi matanglah) and grow out (tepikan) outdated mindset and see a bigger picture. Again, I must say, it is for the people. For me I rather appoint people that can work rather than dead woods that would just warmth the seat for another five years or until they are toppled.

Policies by BN under the so called "Spirit of BN" is nothing but a policy of arrogance, full of stupidity and out dated. No wonder we are all still living as we just got our independence.

Open Letter to the Deputy Prime Minister

To the Deputy Prime Minister,

As a Malaysian, I am proud of what YAB Tuan Lim Guan Eng did in appointing a Gerakan member as a director of a Penang agency. That actually reflects a lot of maturity for the betterment of the people in Penang. I think that is what I call a statesmanship. And it is in my opinion an attitude for all CMs or MBs to follow. This goes beyond party affiliation, race, gender or religion. Nothing but a united Malaysian for the purposes of serving the people in Penang.

I am also proud of Datuk Datuk Lee Kah Choon though a loyal Gerakan man in accepting the position not for himself BUT for the people of Penang.

So Datuk Seri, shame of you for demanding Gerakan to state their stand. I think you should not force even the Gerakan leadership to explain. This shows that either BN or the leadership of BN is immature, still arrogant and all the more stupid and foolish. Simply - 'IDIOT'. No wonder this country is in the state of hopelessness and despair.

You are so wrong to state that members of Barisan Nasional component parties should not work for the opposition. Can't members of the BN coalition works for the sake of the people. Is it so wrong for the BN to work with the Penang State Government? Isn't it good for the people?

As such I think it is about time for you, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister to consider resigning from your position as you are the Deputy Prime Minister to all Malaysians regardless of political affiliation. I am totally disgusted with your attitude though you graduated from the United Kingdom. You, being a Nottingham University graduate should be more like minded as you are very much aware in the UK, there's nothing wrong in working with the Opposition for the sake of the people. As such Malaysians don't accept this threatening statements by leaders of the arrogant BN and UMNO.

Signed,
A fed up Malaysian

A good Appointment part 2

I beg to differ with the former President of the once mighty Gerakan. Arrogant still. No wonder component parties of the BN never understood what realities are. I truly understand why YAB Tuan Lim Guan Eng appoints and invites members from the Opposition Barisan Nasional. Not that we don't have people sitting in these post BUT I believed it is for greater check and balance. Politics in Penang is getting more mature with YAB Tuan Lim on the helmed. He understand the need for greater transparency and integrity in the administration of the state.

Shabas YAB Tuan Lim

------ taken from Bernama

©Bernama (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (Bernama) -- The decision by the DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government in Penang to appoint former Health Ministry parliamentary secretary and Gerakan deputy secretary-general Datuk Lee Kah Choon to run a state government agency shows that the party lacks local talents to run the state, said Gerakan Advisor Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik Monday.

"DAP has no people who can do the job. They have no local talents as they 'helicoptered' too many leaders from outside the state who did not know Penang and that is why they now have to pick a Gerakan member.

"They have obviously recognised Gerakan's preparation for good leaders. That's why they have appointed Lee Kah Choon, one of our potential (leaders)," he told reporters at the party headquarters at Menara PGRM, here Monday.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on Sunday appointed Lee as director of the Penang Development Corporation(PDC) apart from appointing Lee as chairman of the executive committee of InvestPenang, a subsidiary of PDC.

Lim, who is also DAP Secretary-General, said the decision to appoint Lee was made during the state executive council meeting last Wednesday.

Lee had late last month announced his resignation from all Gerakan posts, including as the deputy secretary-general and a member of the party's two decision-making bodies, the Central Committee (CC) and the Central Working Committee (CWC), after its poor performance in the March 8 General Election.

Dr Lim pointed out that Gerakan had always produced talented leaders and had track record in serving the people to the extent that they had also been picked up by the other political parties, including the opposition.

"Such as Anuar Tan Abdullah, the exco member of Kelantan, was once the Gerakan National Deputy Youth Chief (1990's). Do you know that Jeff Ooi, the blogger (and newly-elected member of parliament for Bukit Bendera) was also a Gerakan member in Damansara before joining the DAP last year?" he said, adding some of them "had forgotten" Gerakan and some still respected Gerakan.

"Never mind about that, we have done our job of preparing young and good leaders, trained them to be dedicated, to be clean, to do whatever job that was given too," he added.

Dr Lim further said he "pitied" Lee because, whether he liked it or not, he would be subjected to many suspicions either from the DAP or Gerakan members and this could prove to be difficult for him to carry out his new task.

"There would definitely be a lot of anger from the ground, either from DAP or Gerakan," he added.

Asked how he personally felt about Lee's decision to take up the appointment as he had groomed Lee as one of the Gerakan future leaders, particularly to be the Chief Minister of Penang, Dr Lim said: "Personal things should be kept personal".

"I picked him as the candidate for Jelutong, even this was opposed by the top leadership. I was proven right when he beat Karpal Singh for the seat (in 1999 General Election). He worked well and this was even recognised by the DAP," he said.

Lee had defended the Jelutong parliamentary seat for two terms before being moved to contest the Machang Bubok state seat in the recent general election where the party lost all the seats they contested and totally wiped out from its political base in Penang.

Dr Lim said three days after the General Election, he met Lee at a dinner where Lee presented to him his plan on how the party could play the role of a watchdog in Penang.

"I told him, be patient as it was totally a different ball game all together," said Dr Lim.

Dr Lim said Kah Choon had contacted his son, Lim Si Pin, who is Gerakan National Deputy Youth Chief for a meeting last week but Si Pin was not available then as he was overseas at that time.

A good Appointment

I must applaud YAB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang for having foresight in the administration and management of Penang state.By appointing former Gerakan deputy secretary-general Datuk Lee Kah Choon as director of InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation (PDC) shows maturity and dedication of the Penang State government in appointing capable people regardless of their political affiliation in running the various agencies of the state.

I must also applaud Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh who also sent a formal invitation to Sungai Acheh assemblyman Datuk Mahmud Zakaria (Barisan Nasional) on Friday to be part of his committee.

With the two great moves by the Penang State government, it is indeed good for check and balance on the administration of the state. This shows that the state government of Penang is serious in making Penang a better place to live. Free from corruption, cronyism and nepotism.

Shabas to the Penang State Government

------- taken from the Star

PENANG: The state government has appointed former Gerakan deputy secretary-general Datuk Lee Kah Choon as director of InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation (PDC), two of the state’s economic development agencies.

Lee, a former Jelutong MP and parliamentary secretary of the Health Ministry, has also accepted the post of InvestPenang executive committee chairman.

Lee, a 48-year-old lawyer, said he would withdraw from active politics to dedicate his time to his new appointments.

“I have accepted Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s offer after serious thought, consultation and considerations. I think everyone understands it was a very difficult decision to make, especially if we follow partisan politics,” he said in a press conference at the Chief Minister’s office on Sunday.

“However, after evaluating all options and consequences, I concluded these new roles would not compromise my original purpose of serving Penang and its people," Lee said.

Although he remains a Gerakan member, Lee said politics is “history” to him.

Lee said his resignation as Gerakan deputy secretary-general last month was not influenced by offers from the state government, adding that he was only approached last week for the posts.

Meanwhile, Lim also announced that the state would retain the services of Datuk Ho Mooi Ching and former state Barisan secretary Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad Sulaiman as chairman and vice-chairman of the Penang Planning Appeal Board.

Their tenure lasts until 2010.

The Politics of Biasness

The spat between UMNO Youth and Gerakan*... my personal observation is simply that of political biasness by UMNO. UMNO as all Malaysians know is ARROGANT and proud. This is evidenced of the recent remarks made by their Senior Vice President Ali Gostan who arrogantly declared that UMNO can run the country without help from anybody and that PPP can just pack it's bag and leave the Barisan coalition.

Such statements is definitely uncalled for and should be rejected by UMNO whether he is the most powerful Vice President in the most powerful party in Malaysia. He must be disciplined regardless of his position. This in my opinion is nothing short of biasness.

As such Gerakan should be commended to reject UMNO Youth Chief statement. However Tsu Koon, should further demand that Hisham to apologise Gerakan and not just disciplined S. Paranjothy for a statement he made that is nevertheless REAL that the Indian community is a marginalised community in Malaysia.

My opinion is that NOBODY will simply go to the street and voice their dissatisfaction unless they do not have a choice. There are no avenue for them to voice as nobody is listening to their cry as such the streets are their only choice. NOBODY in their right mind wants to be arrested or stand in the front of the FRU trucks UNLESS there is no other way to go about it. Perhaps the government should wear their shoes and see the things they see instead of shutting them up and sweep it under the carpet and say we are all OK.

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*UMNO Youth Chief threatens to sever ties with GERAKAN provided the latter gave an explanation on its Youth vice-chief S. Paranjothy's recent remarked about UMNO side lining the Indian community.