After all, we’ve seen how the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan worked very ‘hard’ to ‘abolish’ tolls in Penang. So it would only be right for the Chief Minister of Penang himself to lay out Pakatan’s plans to abolish tolls in Malaysia. I mean, who would you rather say it – a man with experience in building ‘White Elephant Tunnels’ (or WET) or the man who gets all wet each time Najib announces something good for the people?
THE THIRD FORCE
If every adult Malaysian donated a ringgit to the government each time Khalid Samad said something stupid, we would end up with a budget to fund the entire Penang Undersea Project in no time at all. Yesterday alone, the government could have helped Lim Guan Eng ‘recover’ the RM220 million his administration overpaid consultants for mere pieces of paper.
And that may be the best gift Barisan Nasional could ever offer the people of Penang. By helping bankroll the multibillion Penang Undersea Tunnel project, the ruling coalition would help the DAP Secretary General fulfil a manifesto the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat advanced prior to the 2008 general election. Back then, Guan Eng agreed to work towards abolishing all tolls nationwide in the event Pakatan formed government.
As a matter of fact, the DAP Secretary General even led a protest at the Sungai Nyior toll plaza before promising his party would put a stop to toll collection at the Butterworth stretch. All he asked was for the people to give the DAP a chance to steer Penang towards heights never before seen or heard.
And we’re seeing it today.
Here we are, nine years later, witnessing how the Chief Minister ‘successfully’ transformed the island state into a getaway for super-rich foreigners. Yes, Penang is no longer the land of opportunities it once was, but a prime real-property bonanza for the DAP-led government that practically sold large chunks of the island to super-rich developers. Just so that you know, these developers are linked one way or the other to Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping and Hunza Property’s Khor Teng Tong.
And yes, we still have the Sungai Nyior toll plaza up and running.
To add ‘glory’ to these ‘accomplishments’, Guan Eng announced plans by his administration to build a tolled undersea tunnel to compliment Penang’s first and second bridges. Instead of working towards abolishing existing tolls, he undertook to award Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd a 30-year toll concession despite getting his administration to foot the tunnel’s entire cost.
Amazing, is it not?
More amazing is the fact that some guys at a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) were paid a RM220 million ‘bonus’ just to come up with pieces of paper on this and that. Now, who do you think the Chief Minister is planning to impose these ‘miscellaneous’ charges on if not the ‘blessed’ people of Penang? Do you now see why we refer to him as Tokong?
I honestly ‘believe’ that the ‘infallible leader of the many’ has what it takes to steer the country in the right direction. He has a wonderful team of strategists – the likes of Khalid Samad and sotong Rafizi – who believe that Malaysia under Pakatan would ‘prosper’ the way Penang turned from a lousy ‘shantytown’ into a land for super-rich Hongkies. But people can easily forget Guan Eng’s contributions and think only Barisan National has the capacity to develop Beverly Hills styled cities.
Which is why, we need people like Khalid to open his mouth more often.
Yesterday, the Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) member and ‘Mat Sabu understudy’ tweeted that the abolishment of tolls at the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau (and also the Bukit Kayu Hitam and the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) in Johor) by Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak should be the first step towards the abolishment of all tolls in Malaysia. To accomplish this, Khalid told Malaysians that they needed to vote the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan into power come the next general election.
Perhaps Khalid needs to get Guan Eng to repeat all that.
After all, we’ve seen how the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan worked very ‘hard’ to ‘abolish’ tolls in Penang. So it would only be right for the Chief Minister of Penang himself to lay out Pakatan’s plans to abolish tolls in Malaysia. I mean, who would you rather say it – a man with experience in building ‘White Elephant Tunnels’ (or WET), or the man who gets all wet each time Najib announces something good for the people?
