“The Chief Minister more or less told Tanjung Bungah residents “to go fly kites,” that unless Teh sang to his tune, they would be made to suffer his wrath. On the 15th of December 2017, he told Tanjung Bungah folk just that when Teh was barred from handing out aid to flood victims. Last Friday, he sent another signal to them, this time, implying that “anyone who did not believe in the DAP would suffer the consequences.”
THE THIRD FORCE
First, he barred his rep from handing out aid to victims of a flood that wrecked havoc in Penang. Then, he denied the same rep funds to assist members of his constituency. On the 15th of December 2017, TTF revealed that Lim Guan Eng was running a gangster administration by targeting reps who opposed him. Last Friday, Teh Yee Cheu may just have given us reason to believe that the Chief Minister of Penang was accustomed to delivering Mafia styled justice.
A 19th of January 2017 report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT) revealed that the Tanjung Bungah rep was stripped off his annual RM200,000 allocation by the Penang government for the “apparent drop in (his) performance as an assemblyman.” Teh expressed regret that the state leadership had taken away something that would otherwise have assisted his constituents in many different ways.
“Some of these funds are for the poor folk where we help them get their monthly medicine supply, baby and adult diapers, new wheelchairs and to buy necessities for their homes.
“This simple right of an assemblyman has been taken away from me. To do this to a backbencher and an elected rep is cruel,” he reportedly said.
The revocation of Teh’s allocation was confirmed by DAP Member of Parliament (MP) Zairil Khir Johari, who added that the fund was redirected to his Bukit Bendera office by orders of the state government. A DAP insider from Komtar disclosed to TTF yesterday that the order was communicated to Zairil by none other than the Chief Minister himself, Lim Guan Eng.
Zairil, who seems to have spoken to FMT’s Pradeep Nambiar, made no mention of this when describing plans for the future.
“The state government has decided that the administration of the constituency, beginning 2018, will be under the Bukit Bendera DAP parliamentary constituency.
“To facilitate this, I will be opening a new service centre within the Tanjung Bungah constituency,” he reportedly said.
The revocation of Teh’s right to an allocation makes it the second time in a month he is being punished for deciding to contest against Pakatan Harapan. On the 15th of December 2017, Guan Eng admitted that the Tanjung Bungah rep was barred from handing out aid to flood victims owing to his decision to leave the DAP. Last Friday, Pradeep revealed that the revocation of the RM200,000 was for the exact same reason.
Fair?
Well, suppose that I am a Barisan Nasional candidate seeking to contest the Tanjung Bungah seat come the 14th general election (GE14). Let’s further suppose that I win the contest and go on to represent my constituents in the state assembly. Now, considering that it was Barisan Nasional that approved my candidacy, I am duty bound to represent the coalition’s interests, meaning, my job as a state rep is to juggle both the interests of the people and the direction Barisan has intended for them.
Now, suppose that for some reason, I turn rogue and announce that I’m contesting against Barisan come the 15th general election (GE15). However, I make it clear that I’m willing to remain in Barisan to honour those who voted me into power thinking I represented the coalition. Under the circumstances, would it be wise for Barisan to ‘punish’ me by revoking allocations meant for my constituents?
If it did, it would be sending a clear signal to the people that their wellbeing wasn’t its primary concern. You need to remember, that an electoral win isn’t just a testament of the people’s confidence in your ability to serve, but a commitment by the party you represent to secure the wellbeing of people who brought you into power. If Barisan were to play pucks with me, it would just help me convince the people that something was terribly wrong with the coalition.
Get the idea?
Teh is still alive and kicking. He has openly demonstrated his willingness to remain in the DAP despite his fallout with the party. By doing so, he has sent a clear message to the people that his decision to remain with the party until the general election was in their best interest. If the DAP had any sense, it would have reciprocated by working with Teh just to ‘prove’ that it too placed the people’s welfare above anything else.
But what did Guan Eng do?
The Chief Minister more or less told Tanjung Bungah residents “to go fly kites,” that unless Teh sang to his tune, they would be made to suffer his wrath. On the 15th of December 2017, he told Tanjung Bungah folk just that when Teh was barred from handing out aid to flood victims. Last Friday, he sent another signal to them, this time, implying that “anyone who crossed swords with the DAP would suffer the consequences.”
Mafia justice, anyone?
