Don’t compromise on our security, safety

he BN government must be held responsible for allowing some five million foreigners into the country, especially in Sabah.

COMMENT

By Chua Jui Meng

The Barisan Nasional federal government not only plunders the country’s wealth, it also compromises the security and safety of Malaysians.

Malaysians are sentenced to death for illegal possession of firearms but no action is taken against armed foreigners who enter our country illegally.

There is no valid reason whatsoever for our Malaysian armed forces not to act to defend our country against the armed Sulu invaders.

Malaysia must be the only country in the world that negotiates with armed invaders instead of acting to drive them away or apprehending them.

Our Defence and Home Ministers Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Hishammuddin Hussein respectively have let down the rakyat and country. Our sovereignty as an independent state has been compromised shamelessly.

What’s BN-Umno’s agenda in treating the Sulu invasion in Sabah so lightly?

I have just come from the Pekan Gelang Patah pasar malam (night market) where I spent four hours distributing mandarin oranges and to greet Malaysians.

Some 60% of the night market visitors were foreigners.

The BN federal government must be held responsible for allowing some five million foreigners into the country, especially in Sabah.

They have now become not only a security threat to those born in Malaysia, it is upsetting the cultural and social development of local communities.

The scores of financial scandals linked to top Umno leaders must be stopped. They are milking our country’s wealth dry.

The coming general election is a chance for Malaysians chase away these leaders.

Stop the land grabs

In Johor, following the amendments to the oppressive Land Acquisition Act in 1991, Umno and its cronies have been grabbing the rakyat’s agriculture land at dirt cheap prices and then going for the kill by converting the land use to property development.

Land grabs are especially rampant in Johor because of Singaporeans’ seemingly endless demand for high-end property.

All sorts of “valid reasons” have been cited by then Johor Menteri Besar Muhyiddin Yassin and now Ghani Othman to forcibly force landowners, the majority of whom are Malays, to surrender their land cheaply.

So, the 13th general election (GE13) is an opportunity for Johoreans to take revenge by giving Ghani and BN the boot.

Muhyiddin and then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad used the second link as the reason to seize 32,000 acres of Nusajaya land for Umno’s property developers.

Today, Ghani and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak are replaying what Ghani and Mahathir did in Nusajaya.

Najib, soon after becoming prime minister, proposed to his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong that a third link be constructed to connect Singapore to Pengerang.

This is the real reason for Najib and Ghani to use the Act to acquire 22,500 acres of Pengerang.

The non-sustainable Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project which requires only about 6,000 acres is not the real reason for the land grab.

Johoreans can stop the greed of Ghani, Umno and BN by using their ballots wisely in GE13.

I have been to Sabah several times and could feel the mood of Sabahans wanting change.

Their response to Pakatan Rakyat’s visits was “ini kalilah kita ubah!” (this time we will change!). And it is not only coming from the urbanites but the rural folk.

This is a good signal from the East Malaysians for change. If Johoreans also go for change, it will be the end for BN’s 55 years of abuse of power and misrule.

Chua Jui Meng is PKR vice-president and Johor state chief. He is also a former MCA vice-president and an ex-Cabinet member.