21 November 2019

 

Press Statement by MCA Vice President Datuk Tan Teik Cheng

 


 

Uncouth to use promised govt funding as political leverage


 

All allocations for Tanjung Piai are money that belong to the people, not Pakatan Harapan nor its Ministers. So, Datuk Liew Vui Keong, please refrain from using government funding to threaten an elected representative and his constituents, and stop viewing it as an instrument to score political mileage. 

 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong is trying gain political leverage by using government allocations announced earlier during the recent by-election in issuing a thinly veiled threat to Tanjung Piai MP Dato’ Sri Dr Wee Jeck Seng to leapfrog to the ruling coalition if he expects his constituency to smoothly acquire any of the promised development funding.

 

As a full-fledged minister, Liew should have known better than to openly issue threats to another elected representative using government allocations and development projects. It is unacceptable for him to treat tax money from the people like it is out of his own pockets to force an MP into joining his side.

 

Before polling day in Tanjung Piai, PH announced numerous funding and projects in the area, unabashed despite its action being labelled as distributing election candies. Now that it had lost miserably, is PH planning to backtrack on these promises?

 

Well, it is plenty clear to everyone that PH is trying to do what it best known for — U-turns and breaking promises. The government knows there isn’t any possibility that Dr Wee would even consider leapfrogging, so its Minister now comes up with numerous excuses to worm its way out of fulfilling the promises.

Keep in mind that the residents of Tanjung Piai are taxpayers too; they have the exact same amount of rights as every other Malaysian to receive funding to develop their constituency.

 

I urge Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Dato’ Seri Salahuddin Ayub, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and Rural Development Minister Dato’ Seri Rina Harun who previously announced these allocations in the name of the late incumbent MP Dr Md Farid Md Farik to step forward and clarify if they appreciate and approve of Liew’s action?

 

After all, the four Ministers had earlier sworn that all these were done according to the wishes of the late Dr Md Farid. It is up to them to decide when would be a good time to channel the promised funds to Tanjung Piai; however, for a Minister to now employ it as political leverage against the new MP? What kind of promise is that?

Datuk Tan Teik Cheng

MCA Vice President

 

-MCA online-