Who is the one short-changing Malaysians - BN or Pakatan?

Selangor Opposition leader Satim Diman is barking up the wrong tree. He accuses the Selangor State government of selling off government assets in order to fund the Selangor State minimum wage policy which is to take effect next year.

Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim explains that the money which they would use does not come from Perbandanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) but through savings from prudent fiscal management and the reduction of corruption within the state.

As Mentri Besar of Selangor, Khalid has led Selangor to post the largest state budget surplus in the state's history. By the end of 2010, the reserves stood at RM918 million, and increased state revenue by RM200 million in under six months.

The Pakatan state government has also shown their ability to practice good fiscal management. The state is being run effectively, with additional programmes to give assistance to the elderly, children of farm workers, a RM50 million micro-credit schemes and free water to name a few. Added initiatives but increasing revenue year-on-year? They must be doing something right.

The irony of the accusations leveled against the Pakatan-led state government is that Barisan Nasional are the ones who are inherently guilty of engaging in land swap deals to generate income. Further to that, they do not even bother to give the money back, but are quite content in keeping it to themselves.

Same with the Kedai 1Malaysia

Tony Pua and Nurul Izzah have shot down the whole Kedai 1Malaysia (KR1M) scheme. In the lobby of parliament on November 9th, they exposed the BN government of lying to the people that they could potentially save "up to 50%" on 250 items as compared to what one could purchase outside.

Although some items were indeed cheaper, the fact remains that you could get Tesco or Carrefour branded items at the same price or even cheaper. The RM40 million subsidy pumped into Mydin who operates the 85 stores cannot be substantiated. So Satim Diman, who is short changing the public now?

Land deals

Since you talked about land, let's talk about land. The federal government is very clever not to include certain allocations in the budget, so the way to finance a crony project would be to do a land-swap deal.

In 2009, the Auditor General raised questions over the RM256 million Skudai 7th Brigade Army Camp project. This was awarded in 1997 but after 15 years, is only 18.3% complete. The Kausar Corporation who was awarded this project had already collected the construction fee in full, and was given 153 hectares of land.

Records reveal that a RM465 million bank loan was paid out for the land, which would place the land valuation in excess of RM800 million in 1997. At todays land valuation, it could potentially be worth more than double the Selangor State government surplus. This means that Kausar took RM721 million in cash, and 153 hectares of land. The government does nothing over all these years, and the people get nothing. Is this how this all works?

So Tuan Satim Diman, when a company in which the government awards a project directly through closed tender, who is given land worth 4 times the project itself, takes all the money but does not complete the project, and walk away, that is ok?

Minimum wage

Even if the allegations against Khalid Ibrahim were true that he is selling off some PKNS assets to ensure that the lowest paid staff of government run companies receives at least RM1,500 a month, that is fundamentally wrong?

Is it fair to say that the modus operandi of the BN government is that when things are done to enrich their cronies, that has to be defended at all costs, but when it benefits ordinary people it has to be protested against? Is it a coincidence that the majority of Umno branch chiefs are Class F contractors?

Barisan Nasional representatives have to get their act together otherwise they will be branded as hypocrites every time they open their mouths. They cannot win on the grounds of financial management, they cannot win on grounds of morality and they cannot win by saying they are a better alternative.

Pakatan not perfect but neither is BN

Pakatan Rakyat is far from perfect. They may not agree about certain issues, but they are able to successfully manage 4 states better than Barisan Nasional, and secure more than 53% of foreign investment in this country. The numbers speak for themselves.

For BN parties, especially Umno, the issue is not free and fair elections. It is elections in themselves. When the election years come around, they have to fork out money which they would have otherwise pocketed to give a token back to the people. Only once they are safely back in power, can they ignore the people once again and get back to plundering the nation.

In a country so blessed with natural resources, why is it that this government cannot eradicate hardcore poverty? How can this government allow incomes to remain so low? Why are funds not allocated and invested in our children's education so Malaysia would be the leading nation in South East Asia rather than Singapore?

Greed

It all boils down to greed. BN cannot afford for people to be educated. They cannot afford for incomes to rise up. The people have to be kept ignorant and poor so that during elections they can receive a little bit of cash, be told that the BN government is wonderful and they have to be grateful.

When the Rakyat begins overcoming poverty and ignorance, this is bad news for the present BN government who may very well find themselves cast out onto the streets and given a dose of their own medicine. A new dawn awaits us. It is time for them to pay for their ingratitude towards the people they are supposed to serve.

Douglas Tan is a DAP member and a columnist for Malaysia Chronicle