Aliran Letter to the Editor
Loyalty to the People's Needs - or Loyalty to the Party?
Aliran calls upon the Penang State Government to call off its Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) project in the light of what transpired in the Penang State Assembly on Thursday, 21 November. More than one third of the Barisan Nasional assembly members either stayed away from the debate on this issue or did not vote for it. More than 25 per cent of the total assembly members were absent when this crucial issue was debated.
Though the record may state that the DAP motion calling for the postponement of the project was defeated by 19 votes from the Government benches, what will not go unnoticed is the fact that two BN assembly members did not vote AGAINST the motion. Looking from another point of view, these two assembly members by not voting AGAINST the motion can only be seen as passively supporting the motion. It must be emphasised that there is no disgrace in their conduct.
The principled and courageous stand taken by the Jawi state assemblywoman must be lauded by the people of Penang. It was most encouraging to note that her stand in this issue "is a matter of conscience and principle, and these are things that I will never forsake." She underlined this position by publicly stating, "I would rather quit than be forced to vote against my conscience."
She was absolutely correct when she claimed, "I cannot vote against the motion because as a responsible elected representative, I have been empowered by the people to protect their interests." This is the crux of the matter: what should prevail in the end - loyalty to the party irrespective of the needs of the people? Or loyalty to the needs of the people over the interests of the party? This is something the other 19 assembly members who voted against the motion should ponder on.
It is a shame that there are already cries for their blood for taking a stand that went against the interests of the BN. Precedents are being quoted for penalising them. But what must be remembered in this episode is that action is being contemplated against those who want to safeguard the interests of the people. It is ironic that people's representatives are not allowed to fight for the people who voted them in. Come election time, those who voted against the motion are the very people who will go around wooing voters for their support promising to defend their rights and interests!
It is very interesting to note the view of the Penang State MCA chief, Wong Kam Hoong. He was quoted by a Chinese daily as having said that "90 per cent of the State, division and elected representatives objected to the project during a special meeting held recently". However, later on, claiming that he was misquoted by the daily, he clarified that "what I told the daily was that 90 per cent of MCA leaders and members voiced their reservations on the project." In other words, he was actually admitting that there was no jubilation in MCA regarding this project - which, simply put, means that they are not happy about the project. That is what is meant, without beating around the bush!
What ails Penang is that there are too many cars choking our roads causing massive jams and polluting our environment. This is something we can do without. But what our planners are trying to do is NOT to remove the cars from our roads or to minimise their presence. Instead, they are actually paving the way for more cars to haunt us and create a nightmare in Penang. PORR is NOT a solution but a temporary relief at an astonomical cost to our social fabric. We need not pay this price - especially when there is so much we can do to improve public transport.
Elected representatives must remain true to their pledge to serve the people faithfully, earnestly and with integrity. If they cannot measure up to this promise, then they must not go around fooling the people.
P. Ramakrishnan This statement was sent to the local media including The Star, New Straits Times, and The Sun. | |||||||||||||||||
