MM Online - Guan Eng told not to fish for votes with popularity pledges (extracts):
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GEORGE TOWN, April 14 — Penang Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Teng Chang Yeow today told Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng not to make senseless popularity pledges merely to fish for votes in the coming 14th general election (GE14).
Teng described Lim’s promise to abolish all tolls on Penang Bridge if Pakatan Harapan wins at the federal level as a popularity pledge which does not make sense.
According to him, if all tolls on Penang Bridge were abolished, no motorist will pay to use the Sultan Abdul Halim Muádzam Shah Bridge.
GEORGE TOWN, April 14 — Penang Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Teng Chang Yeow today told Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng not to make senseless popularity pledges merely to fish for votes in the coming 14th general election (GE14).
Teng described Lim’s promise to abolish all tolls on Penang Bridge if Pakatan Harapan wins at the federal level as a popularity pledge which does not make sense.
According to him, if all tolls on Penang Bridge were abolished, no motorist will pay to use the Sultan Abdul Halim Muádzam Shah Bridge.
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the older Penang Bridge (in red) is north of the newer (2nd) Sultan Abdul Halim Muádzam Shah Bridge (in black) |
“We have conducted studies early before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced abolishing toll for motorcyclists on both bridges to the mainland if BN wins in Penang.
“The objective is to lighten the burden of about 20,000 motorcyclists using both bridges daily especially those from the low and medium income groups,” he told reporters here today.
Yesterday, Lim who is also DAP secretary-general said Pakatan Harapan would abolish all tolls on Penang Bridge if it wins at central level while toll collection at Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge will be maintained.
Even though I have been disgusted with and lost any beloief in Lim Kit Siang (the father), I had continue to admire and ardently support Lim Guan Eng, believing he was still true to DAP principles but was only conforming to his father's policy as a filial Chinese son should, until his recent shameful behaviour to Dr Tan Seng Giaw - see my postGuan Eng's ostracization of Tan Seng Giaw - sad act of childishness, churlishness, cowardice.
Even if Lim Guan Eng as Sec-Gen of the DAP wanted to replace Dr Tan as the DAP candidate for Kepong, he should as a matter of basic courtesy informed Dr Tan personally or even by official party post of that decision.
Instead he ignored Dr Tan and made that public announcement in Selangor without informing or inviting poor Dr Tan to that event.
What a happy ending for DAP it could have been if an invited and participating Dr Tan were to step up at that DAP event to announce Lim Lip Eng as his recommended replacement as candidate for Kepong in GE14.
But alas, Lim GE missed such a wonderful and gracious opportunity by being silly, churlish and perhaps even hostile to Dr Tan.
Consider Dr Tan Seng Giaw - even if he was not to Lim Guan Eng's personal or party liking for whatever slight he might have inflicted on the Penang CM in criticising the island state's green record or whatever else Lim might hold against Dr Tan, Dr Tan is not only the DAP MP for Kepong for 36 years who has won overwhelming support in that constituency, but also the DAP National Vice President and a former Selangor DAP chairman for five years, from 1982 to 1987, and of course a DAP veteran who has been and is still a party member for 40 years since 1979.
By whatever socio-cultural measure, Chinese or not Chinese, marginalising Dr Tan in such a childish churlish cowardly manner has been a most discourteous and shameful act, an unmitigated socio-cultural disaster blemish for Guan Eng's personal record.
I had never imagined Lim Guan Eng would behave like another DAP man I dislike for his un-Asian behaviour - if you want to know more, see my post un-Chinese Tony Pua.
Be that as it be, there are still DAP people I respect and now pin whatever hopes I have remaining on them.
But the campaign for GE14 should NOT be a poker game of upping the ante on the offer of the other side, which seems to be what Lim Guan Eng has just done, offering to abolish ALL tolls for Penang Bridge. I am afraid I have to agree with Teng Chang Yeow that Guan Eng has made a senseless popularity pledge in promising to abolish ALL tolls for the Penang Bridge.
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There is now a bizarre carnival of recklessness on the Pakatan side, which disappoints me greatly because I remember with some pride (and humour) of Guan Eng's very Spartan behaviour when he first became CM of Penang in 2008, holding a meeting with PAS in a MacDonald Cafe, travelling air transportation in economy class, and ultra careful of spending public money in his new role.
Now, apart from teh reckless promise to abolish ALL tolls for the Penang Bridge he even supports removing the GST in the silly game of upping the ante against the BN side but not explaining how the hell will a Pakatan government find revenue to run the country effectively?
Read Hafidz Baharom's article in my new post (also today) titled Turn hypocrite so as to become the government to learn how reckless Pakatan has been in its manifesto.
I have been supporting DAP for umpteen years and it dismays me greatly to see the party today deteriorating to such a f**king frenzied fumbling reckless foolhardiness in its campaigning and policy-making. What has driven a once-cautious, prudent and ethical DAP to such seeming desperation?
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“The objective is to lighten the burden of about 20,000 motorcyclists using both bridges daily especially those from the low and medium income groups,” he told reporters here today.
Yesterday, Lim who is also DAP secretary-general said Pakatan Harapan would abolish all tolls on Penang Bridge if it wins at central level while toll collection at Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge will be maintained.
 |
Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge |
Even though I have been disgusted with and lost any beloief in Lim Kit Siang (the father), I had continue to admire and ardently support Lim Guan Eng, believing he was still true to DAP principles but was only conforming to his father's policy as a filial Chinese son should, until his recent shameful behaviour to Dr Tan Seng Giaw - see my postGuan Eng's ostracization of Tan Seng Giaw - sad act of childishness, churlishness, cowardice.
Even if Lim Guan Eng as Sec-Gen of the DAP wanted to replace Dr Tan as the DAP candidate for Kepong, he should as a matter of basic courtesy informed Dr Tan personally or even by official party post of that decision.
Instead he ignored Dr Tan and made that public announcement in Selangor without informing or inviting poor Dr Tan to that event.
 |
Dr Tan Seng Giaw conduct himself in the mode of his mentor the venerable Dr Tan Chee Khoon |
What a happy ending for DAP it could have been if an invited and participating Dr Tan were to step up at that DAP event to announce Lim Lip Eng as his recommended replacement as candidate for Kepong in GE14.
But alas, Lim GE missed such a wonderful and gracious opportunity by being silly, churlish and perhaps even hostile to Dr Tan.
 |
Lim Lip Eng |
Consider Dr Tan Seng Giaw - even if he was not to Lim Guan Eng's personal or party liking for whatever slight he might have inflicted on the Penang CM in criticising the island state's green record or whatever else Lim might hold against Dr Tan, Dr Tan is not only the DAP MP for Kepong for 36 years who has won overwhelming support in that constituency, but also the DAP National Vice President and a former Selangor DAP chairman for five years, from 1982 to 1987, and of course a DAP veteran who has been and is still a party member for 40 years since 1979.
By whatever socio-cultural measure, Chinese or not Chinese, marginalising Dr Tan in such a childish churlish cowardly manner has been a most discourteous and shameful act, an unmitigated socio-cultural disaster blemish for Guan Eng's personal record.
I had never imagined Lim Guan Eng would behave like another DAP man I dislike for his un-Asian behaviour - if you want to know more, see my post un-Chinese Tony Pua.
Be that as it be, there are still DAP people I respect and now pin whatever hopes I have remaining on them.
But the campaign for GE14 should NOT be a poker game of upping the ante on the offer of the other side, which seems to be what Lim Guan Eng has just done, offering to abolish ALL tolls for Penang Bridge. I am afraid I have to agree with Teng Chang Yeow that Guan Eng has made a senseless popularity pledge in promising to abolish ALL tolls for the Penang Bridge.
There is now a bizarre carnival of recklessness on the Pakatan side, which disappoints me greatly because I remember with some pride (and humour) of Guan Eng's very Spartan behaviour when he first became CM of Penang in 2008, holding a meeting with PAS in a MacDonald Cafe, travelling air transportation in economy class, and ultra careful of spending public money in his new role.
Now, apart from teh reckless promise to abolish ALL tolls for the Penang Bridge he even supports removing the GST in the silly game of upping the ante against the BN side but not explaining how the hell will a Pakatan government find revenue to run the country effectively?
Read Hafidz Baharom's article in my new post (also today) titled Turn hypocrite so as to become the government to learn how reckless Pakatan has been in its manifesto.
I have been supporting DAP for umpteen years and it dismays me greatly to see the party today deteriorating to such a f**king frenzied fumbling reckless foolhardiness in its campaigning and policy-making. What has driven a once-cautious, prudent and ethical DAP to such seeming desperation?
