While waiting

I will do a quickie cos I cannot go to sleep as my video is being uploaded.

Wednesday – A lot of controversies are popping up in my little island. Being the inquisitive CJ who often ventures into the cyberworld, I read and hear more shits than others.

Last week, CM was away in overseas. This week, the press are hounding him for answers to many things. I failed to get anything on Monday and Tuesday. But today, I was told that there is going to be a press conference at Botanical Gardens.

I went there with some questions. And the dear CM, as always, make sure that this CJ gets her answers. Probably, he knows my words are lethal so better please me before I start ranting.

I am very lucky. He is very nice to me, the newbie, noobie, green horn citizen journalist. My questions are not easy questions because I usually dare to broach a subject because I know CM won’t scold me. Hehehehe, sometimes, it is how you present your questions.

He went down to the hawker centre and dealt with the complaints. I notice something. People are very confident with the CM. They got grouses, they just whack. No such thing as ‘you are the CM, we must hormat’. They give him valid complaints. He listened patiently. He got his men to deal with it. The people though are very disappointed with the huge drop in their business, tolerates the CM. Finally, they apologised if they have been harsh. CM told them, No problem…got any problems, contact them.

I don’t know lah. Maybe I am biased but where else can you find the leader of the state to follow you around to listen to all your complaints?

I am glad that the iconic Lim Guan Eng, the peoples’ people is still there. For a while, I thought he has been sucked into officialdom whereby he became the monotonous, robotic and cold leader like those we are so familiar with. Nope, catman or not, Kapitan Lim or not, whatever names people call him, he still has his Lim Guan Eng personality in him. The kind which I used to admire. Glad he didn’t lose it. And hope he remembers to stay that way.

Ok, one of my videos is uploaded. Good night everybody (if you can call 3 am good night)

4 thoughts on “While waiting

  1. we need more people like you and CM Lim, you that write only truth and no lies and CM Lim, that work for the (rakyat) than for its own pocket(s). great job! make sure you poke CM Lim once a while if he walk the talk in the wrong path. some politician can be so ignorance and arrogance if we leave them alone. 🙂

  2. I have just found you after a search for Taoist Funeral Rites on Google. You are a treasure. I am inspired to learn more about Malay politics and of course, food. Thank you for allowing a glimpse into your side of the world.

    Best Wishes,
    Cindy (BTW, if it matters, I am a woman, aged 52 years)

  3. CM is not as good as ppl think he is la…stop this butt kissing attitude la..ppl are sick of ur LGE praising attitude all the time…ever fucking wondered why ur readers are disappearing and ur comments are getting lower day by da? Read this comment from MI from ong eu soon..

    Since the last election, our political landscape has changed beyond recognition. Many have openly adopted partisan stand on issues affecting the people on their zealous quest to defend the Pakatan state governments whenever there is a criticism.The Penang state government under the leadership of Lim Guan Eng surprised a lot of those who voted for change by pursuing the policies and projects of Koh Tzu Koon with a zeal beyond the imagination of Penangites. Lim Guan Eng has willingly without bribery or corruption fast tracked all the projects he inherited from Koh Tsu Koon’s administration.

    When pressed on the Queensbay land conversion controversy, Lim Guan Eng blamed Koh Tzu Koon for the decision. Lim Guan Eng said he does not quite agree with the decision, but he has to comply. Lim Guan Eng continued to defend the decision of Koh Tzu Koon. The Chief Minister said that state legal advisers informed him that the land was not bound by a crucial proviso in the National Land Code (NLC) 1965 which forbade foreshore land from being converted to freehold. He said the land had been gazetted as state land – and not considered foreshore – by the previous state administration.

    In the press report, lawyer Agatha Foo pointed out a proviso in section 76 of the NLC, which Lim had overlooked in his assembly reply. Foo noted that the proviso expressly prohibits the state from disposing of “any part of the foreshore or sea-bed for a period exceeding ninety-nine years”. The proviso had been inserted when section 76 was amended in Parliament in 1985. “Consequentially, the said proviso would also prohibit the state from re-alienating or converting any part of the reclaimed foreshore or sea-bed to freehold land.” “Any subsequent attempt by the state to re-alienate or convert any part of the foreshore or sea-bed to freehold, notwithstanding that the foreshore or sea-bed have now been reclaimed, would tantamount to a circumvention of the prohibition in section 76 and hence be ultra vires the NLC.

    A lot of critics were puzzled by the fact how can the Chief Minister missed a crucial proviso in the National Land Code. The truth is now being revealed! The Chief Minister has since wanted to convert a 1.4ha seafront site, adjacent to the 124-year-old Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Hotel along Lebuh Farqhuar, from leasehold to freehold on his free will.

    On Oct 15,2008, Lim Guan Eng issued a press statement promised not to follow the footstep of Koh Tzu koon in circumventing the National Land Code by converting all reclaimed land from leasehold to freehold status. Now hardly a year gone by, Lim Guan Eng has silently converted the PDC Heritage Hotel site from leasehold to freehold status. PDC Heritage Hotel site is a 1.4ha seafront site adjacent to the 124-year-old Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Hotel along Lebuh Farqhuar. This site is not even a reclaimed land.

    The conversion is clearly against the NLC proviso. Is Lim Guan Eng has something to hide from Penangites when he defended Koh Tsu Koon’s decision on the Queensbay land conversion controversy? Did Lim Guan Eng learn anything from the Queensbay land conversion controversy? Lim Guan Eng has no excuse to pledge ignorant on the proviso. Why Lim Guan Eng opted to flout the National Land Code proviso by converting the 1.4ha seafront site adjacent to the 124-year-old Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Hotel from leasehold to freehold? The PDC heritage project is within the heritage enclave which means it must comply to the height requirement of not taller than 18 metres. Without the conversion from leasehold to freehold, the project will not have sufficient commercial value to sustain. Is Lim Guan Eng want to mislead us again that the prime seafront land which is a state land can not be considered as a foreshore land?

    I am calling all concerned Penangites to stand out and voice their concern over the conversion of reclamation land from leasehold to freehold. We want a state government that abide by the law and not to find any loophole to circumvent any proviso of the National Land Code when dealing with state land. We need to initiate a movement to stop all illegal land conversion especially on reclaimed lands and seafront lands. I believe we need to put a full stop on this bad practices before it is out of control. For those who are interested, you are welcome to join us in our fight against all illegal seafront land conversion issues.

    andddd……..

    The declassified minutes on the conversion of PDC Heritage Hotel released yesterday by the Lim Guan Eng administration reveal that the PDC Heritage Hotel site is foreshore land.

    Foreshore is the area that is exposed to the air at low tide and underwater at high tide. For development on the coastal zone, a construction setback of 60 metres is normally observed. Setback is a guideline to developers on how far to site permanent structures behind the shoreline in order to avoid problems with short-term coastal response and flooding problems during rough weather.

    If we strictly follow the guidelines from Department of Drainage and Irrigation Circular 1987, no permanent structures should be permitted within this setback zone. Guidelines for the width of the setback zone arise from Department of Drainage and Irrigation Circular 1987, which specifies 60m on the open coast.

    The 60m setback creates a costal buffer zone that should remain in the public domain. This coastal buffer zone effectively allows public access to the foreshore.

    The land of any development site that fails to observe this requirement should be considered as foreshore land. Or in another words, the land of any development site that falls within the 60m setback from the foreshore line is consider as foreshore land.

    The minutes on the land conversion reveal that the state legal advisers had reminded LGE that the site is foreshore land, that under the National Land Code proviso it cannot be converted from leasehold to freehold status. In converting the land, Lim has referred to section 76(aa)(iii) of the NLC which says land could be converted “where the State Authority is satisfied that there are special circumstances which render it appropriate to do so” . What are the special circumstances that LGE referred to in justifying the land conversion?

    The special circumstances that Lim has cited for justifying the conversion are as follows:

    1) That the project was neglected and in an “abandoned” state

    2) That the equity held by PDC has been raised from 49 per cent to 50 per cent

    3) That the cost of equity conversion is borne by YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd

    Lim failed to address public concern over the sale of our foreshore land to private interests.

    On Oct 15, 2008, in a press statement, Lim promised that the state government would not follow the footstep of his predecessor in circumventing the National Land Code proviso that prohibits the conversion of foreshore land from leasehold to freehold status.

    The sad truth is that the Chief Minister who once fought alleged land scams committed by the previous state government is now personally involved in a questionable land conversion. This is a treacherous betrayal of the people by Lim.

    Lim hoped by releasing the minutes on the land conversion, he can divert the attention of the people on the questionable land conversion. As usual he took the opportunity to blame Koh Tsu Koon for the land conversion. If Lim sincerely believes that what Koh did was wrong, he should not go ahead with the land conversion.

    This most disturbing incident comes after Lim openly promised not to cheat Penangites of their foreshore land. Disturbing because Lim loves to continue what Koh did, but will blame the latter whenever he is criticised for whatever decisions he makes.

    It is important for Penangites to understand why he made the decision that he made. Lim should walk Penangites through the reasoning why that decision was made. The special circumstances that Lim referred to are hardly special at all.

    so still wana kiss his ass?..fuck..ppl are sick of this lge this lge that..he aint a prophet la for fucks sake..

  4. Ya lor.. So what if u r the CM, we must hormat. Hehe!! The CM should be serving the people. Not many lah, CM go around to listen to all your complaints n dealt with it..

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