The Mess that is called Perak

Multatuli accuses the DAP of being the biggest monkey in the alliance in Perak.  The DAP is founded on socialist principles, and is known as a party which looks after the small man. Why has it failed to speak about the plight of the Orang Aslis?

Multatuli says: A good country turns into a basket case in a “few minutes” figuratively speaking.

To use an anology – how families fall from great power and wealth to poverty.

I know people who come from very wealthy families but are now poor. I have also seen people who come from poor families who have now done extremely well. It does not matter where you start – it’s where you end.

Countries like the Philippines come to mind – it was very rich until Marcos. And what about Sri Lanka – where family feuds (between Tamils and Singhalese) has brought the country to its knees. And of course Malaysia – but someone else can touch on that; I am happy to confine my comments to the tempurong I live in.

Yet look at Japan, Singapore and Hongkong or even Taiwan.

Resource poor etc and yet where are they now?

Perak is like that. One of the richest state if not the richest in the heyday of tin mining. It has plenty of resources. But we are the second poorest state by some accounts.

How did we come to this?

Blame the politicians 

We have the resources and talents – how many Perakians have gone on to great things (but only when they leave the tempurong).

Boil it down and you will find that the source of our mess is the people who govern the state. The politicians we put up there. And if I may add the lackeys who manage Ipoh – another mess.

61 years of UMNO-BN rule has bankrupt the state. But if we go on blaming the previous governments we get nowhere. The past is the past, we cannot change it. What matters is now.

This is a PH Government; voted in to put things right. Voted to usher in a ‘Perak Baru’ of clean, accountable, transparent and efficient government.

What have we got instead? More of the same.

It may appear that I have a vendetta against the Perak Mentri Besar, Ahmad Faizal Azumu – I don’t!

I have never met the gentleman and it’s not that I (and all Perakians) did not give him a chance. He and his government have had one year. One year is a short time I know; but every step he takes, he digs a deeper hole for himself and everyone of us. What will be left at the end of four years? We can’t afford another three years of Ahmad Faizal.

Let’s take it case by case.

His latest against the Orang Aslis. Mariam Mokhtar did a sterling job in calling him out on how he treats the ‘Real Tuan’ of our land. I cannot do better.

I remember when PR ran the state under Dr Nizar Jamaluddin; the Orang Aslis got a better deal. That is a man with some empathy and understanding of the situation of our Original People. 

I understand Ahmad Faizal ’s constituency has a very large number of Orang Aslis who helped elect him. Is this how he repays them?

But l smell a bigger rat than Ahmad Faizal. Look deeply into who is doing the logging; who these loggers are fronting for – the real owner; maybe the answer is there. The same goes for the quarrying business.

American politicians are controlled by Wall Street; ours are controlled by ‘vested interests’ – who they are it’s for you to find out.

I won’t go into the laundry list of Ahmad Faizal’s dirty linen. It gets boring after a while.

Let’s not blame the poor man alone. He may be the Menteri Besar but there are others who are just as culpable.

Unless ours is a dictatorship, then one must assume there must be collective responsibilty.

It would seem our state cabinet is inhabited by monkeys who See No Evil, Hear No evil and Speak No Evil.

The biggest monkey

The biggest monkey is DAP which is the majority party in the alliance in Perak.  This is supposed to be a party founded on socialist principles – a party which looks after the small man – so why not a single squeak on the plight of the Orang Aslis? Why nothing about the hare brain schemes – Space Centre, New Airport, and the very suspect reforestation project which was given to a two ringgit company without open tender.

To give credit where credit is due; I must say the only Ex-Co who is doing a half decent job is Tan Kar Hing the Ex-Co for Tourism.

I know the PH Government has a razor thin majority in the state assembly but that is not an excuse for sitting on your hands. Do you mean to do that for the rest of your term?

Do what is right and the people of Perak will judge you kindly. We are not blind or stupid. We can see you are trying but if a couple of frogs jump ship; we will vote you in with a bigger majority. By the way Ahmad Faizal was an UMNO frog; say no more.

Keep on this trajectory and you will be booted out. You were given the mandate to government; but if you are constantly looking in the rear view mirror at UMNO-BN how can you see the road ahead – where to take us?

They say a fish rots from the head. Remove the head and you may save the body.