Time for Khalid to get going or lose Selangor to BN

Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor state government have got their work cut out. There are serious land and water issues in Selangor which are still awaiting solution as it nears the 3rd anniversary of 8th March 2008, after being in power for almost 3 years now.

To its credit though, the Pakatan state goverment has initiated 3 major programmes to benefit its citizens, and notable among these are:-

1. TAWAS (savings scheme for children born in Selangor until age 18)

2. Mesra Usiamas (one-off payment of RM2,500 to family members upon the death of their elderly kin [registration only for those over age 60]); and

3. Skim Mikrocredit (for entrepreneurs who want to start a small business).

Funds have also been disbursed to schools and places of worship besides land being allotted to build schools, mosques and temples.

But then there are also unresolved problems ...

However, the main grouse of the Selangor residents are issues pertaining to land.

Take for example the Parliamentary seat of Selayang. Folks in Kuang have been waiting for their land titles even before 2008 and are still waiting while those who have bought a low-cost house in Bukit Botak are still awaiting for concrete action to be taken to help them overcome their woes in regards to this abandoned housing project.

Their difficulties are compounded by the fact that they have to service their loan and their home is not in sight. This project was abandoned during the tenure of former Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo.

"The Selangor PR Government had better act fast to solve these land issues. We don't want to be caught napping a second time and have the rug being pulled from under our feet again," a Pakatan supporter in Sungai Buloh, who wished to be known only as Rizuan, told Malaysia Chronicle.

He said this in reference to the Khusrin issue where MB Khalid was outmaneuvered by the federal government and the former State Secretary.

Another PR supporter, Selva of Kuala Selangor informed Malaysia Chronicle that the workers of Coalfield Estate in Ijok are also waiting for their land and compensation.

"The matter has been brought to the attention of the Menteri Besar who ironically is the State Assemblyman of Ijok but so far we are still waiting for something concrete," Selva groused.

Not at all a safe state for Pakatan

Indeed, Pakatan strategists should take note that 8 parliamentary seats in Selangor were won by a margin of less than 10% majority in the 12th General Election: Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat (all these 4 seats were won with less than 5% majority) and Selayang, Gombak, Ampang and Kelana Jaya.

Hulu Selangor was won by PKR with a 0.4% majority in 2008 but BN regained this seat in the Hulu Selangor by-election in April last year when its candidate P. Kamalanathan defeated Zaid Ibrahim (contesting for PKR at that point in time) with a majority of 1,725 votes.

Tellingly, the results show that Pakatan managed to obtain 75% Chinese support but there was a swing to BN by the Malays and the Indians.

"A 10% swing to BN in the 13th General Election will spell disaster for us. Likewise a 10% swing to us will be disastrous for BN," DAP strategist and Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong told Malaysia Chronicle.

Another salient factor to be noted in Selangor is that there are 10 state seats won by less than 10% majority: Sekinchan, Bukit Melawati, Cempaka, Damansara & Teluk Datuk (these were won by less than 5% majority) and Ulu Kelang, Bukit Antarabangsa, Lembah Jaya, Kota Anggerik and Selat Kelang.

Leasehold titles are another problem plaguing the Pakatan Selangor state government. In PJ Old Town, for example, some residents have to pay more than RM100,000 for their titles to be converted from leasehold to freehold and this they say is too costly for them.

Some also claim that in fact their property titles were really freehold in the first place to begin with. They said Khalid should look into these matters without further delay and point out that MCA is seizing the opportunity to meet the residents to attend to their grouses.

Khalid needs to get going and Anwar needs to be tougher

As for the issue of water, many of those in the Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) housing scheme have failed to benefit as they make their water payment to the Joint Management Board (JMB) due to not having individual water meters.

There are many complications in this issue which need much time and resources to address so that the targetted group can really benefit from the free water scheme.

Meanwhile, PAS strategist Dzulkefly Ahmad said Prime Minister Najib Razak would be wise to hold the general election this year before the Pakatan begin to sort out their mess and the BN's own problems start to become glaring.

"If Najib delays, it will not be to his benefit as the economy will not be improving in leaps and bounds. If he prolongs the date of the general election, the results of the ETP (Economic Transformation Programme), GTP (Government Transformation Programme) and what have you will be more visible and it will be seen that the picture is not as rosy as it is painted out to be. It will be evident then that these programmes are just a lot of hype as the results of its gestation take a very long time," Dzulkefly told Malaysia Chronicle.

Conversely, the same applies for Khalid, who has been accused of being too slow in his decision-making. Selangor is Malaysia's richest state and crown jewel for foreign investments.

If Khalid - popular though he may be - does not buck up, Najib may well have the last laugh and this is also something that Opposition Leader and PKR de-facto head Anwar Ibrahim should take note of, Pakatan supporters told Malaysia Chronicle.