TTF: DAP’s Fong Kui Lun should realise that with positions of great power comes the need for there to be Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT). If the Bukit Bintang MP isn’t aware of this, he should refer to the most honourable and infallible leader of the blind, Lim Guan Eng. Lim would be able to explain how and why a simple letter, however well intended, has the potential of bringing down bungalows and even kilometre long tunnels if poorly executed.
The onus is now on Fong to explain to the MACC the reason he issued a letter of support to PPBM’s Mohd Noorhisyam Abd Karim (see news item below). According to the DAP MP, the letter was meant to urge Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to release any empty lots to poor and needy traders. Question is, did he spell that out in the letter, or is this a desperate attempt by him to ‘legitimise’ the abuse of power? What measures did he take to verify if indeed the “80 poor Malay traders” Noorhisyam spoke of existed?
On the 15th of June 2018, I wrote (in orange):
DBKL’s Licensing and Petty Traders Development Department director Anwar Mohd Zain told reporters that he was forced to approve an application for bazaar lots from a PPBM youth leader, Mohd Noorhisyam Abd Karim. According to Anwar, DBKL was forced to give in to Noorhisyam’s demands after the latter produced a letter of support from DAP Member of Parliament (MP) Fong Kui Lan. Fong has since admitted to writing the letter.
But here’s the thing – did the DAP not go to town with stories of how Barisan National MPs used to issue letters of support to give unfair advantages to their cronies? Pakatan Harapan is just 37 days into governance, and already, we’re hearing of how one leader abused his position to help another make a fast buck. According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Noorhisyam rented out the lots for as high as RM5,000 a lot, meaning, the people would ultimately have had to pay much higher for the food they bought.
Question is, will the MACC now investigate this?
Did it not occur to Fong that the higher the rental, the higher would be the price traders would sell their food to cover costs? Did Fong not think of the people when he chose to write the letter of support? Imagine this happening all over the country – is this how Pakatan Harapan plans to alleviate the burden of the rakyat due to the high cost of living?
Noorhisyam could well have been trying to make a fast buck by using the plight of traders as an excuse. The least Fong could have done would have been to monitor the situation closely with DBKL to ensure that the lots were given to deserving traders at reasonable prices. Given the rental Noorhisyam charged, it is highly unlikely that he was representing poor traders or doing what he did for the sake of the people.
The MACC needs to dig deep into the matter.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun says that the support letter he issued for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia was for empty lots at the Ramadan bazaar in Jalan Masjid India and not for additional lots.
Commenting on the Ramadan bazaar fiasco involving Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Youth leader Mohd Noorhisyam Abd Karim, Fong said his letter was meant to urge Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to release any empty lots to poor and needy traders.
“Mohd Noorhisyam came to my service centre on May 31 saying he was representing 80 poor Malay traders who requested help to set up stalls at the bazaar,” said Fong
He added that he sent the letter to DBKL saying that he did not have any objections to the request and asked DBKL to consider it.
“DBKL replied with two options; the first being that the empty lots were offered through balloting or a new bazaar location would be opened at Wakaf Buta,” he said after lodging a report at the Dang Wangi police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
He again stressed that no money was exchanged between him and Mohd Noorhisyam.
The scandal erupted after Mohd Noorhisyam was accused of misusing political connections to secure 80 bazaar lots for RM6,238.40.
He allegedly rented them out for as high as RM5,000 a lot through middlemen.
DBKL gave approval for the lots to operate from June 6 to 14, from 11am to 11pm.
Source: The Star Online
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