‘Pakatan’s grand promises misleading’

Kedah Gerakan youth chief observes that several promises in the manifesto were similar to those made during 2008 general election but which were never fulfilled in Pakatan states.

GEORGE TOWN: Pakatan Rakyat’s general election manifesto shows the sheer hypocrisy of the coalition planning to form the next federal government, rebuked a Gerakan youth here today.

Party Kedah youth chief Tan Keng Liang blasted Pakatan of not being honest and sincere, and misleading the people by making grand promises in its latest manifesto.

“We hope Pakatan would review its manifesto so as not to mislead Malaysians in the coming election,” he said in a statement.

Tan is skeptical of Pakatan’s promise to build 150,000 affordable homes in low and medium cost categories, as mentioned in page 25 of the manifesto booklet.

Since taking over Kedah in 2008, he pointed out that PAS-held Pakatan government had failed to build any affordable homes for Kedahans.

He said the Auditor General 2010 Report stated that the DAP-helmed state government had also failed miserably to build a single affordable home in Penang.

He said the Pakatan states’ failure to build affordable homes for lower income people had made a mockery of its own “welfare state” agenda, that the coalition promise if it took over Putrajaya.

He observed that several promises in the manifesto were similar to those made during 2008 general election but which were never fulfilled in Pakatan states.

“We are skeptical on the sincerity of Pakatan in implementing all its promises in the manifesto

“Pakatan state governments’ actions in past five years didn’t reflect the promises,” said Tan, on Pakatan manifesto launched at the Shah Alam Convention Centre (SACC) today.

In the last general election, he said Pakatan allies – DAP, PKR and PAS, all promised in their respective manifestos that they would not hike up the water tariff.

However, he said Kedah’s water tariff shot up by 100 per cent in 2010 and similarly Penang’s tariff also increased under the pretext of water conservation surcharge.

“Indeed, in Kedah, they promised to reduce it,” he said.

Although Pakatan promises to implement open tender policy, Tan said many projects in Pakatan states were never awarded in open tender.

He cited Aman Central RM500 million shopping mall, construction of RM330 million KUIN main campus and RM109 million Amansuri condominium project, all in Kedah; and Penang WiFi project (phase 2) and the award of Penang housing consultancy contract for Batu Kawan as glaring examples.

Pakatan’s hypocrisy
On Pakatan’s promise to provide free tertiary education and to abolish the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans, he said he said the coalition state governments did not offer free higher education to all students in UNISEL and KUIN (Insaniah) in Selangor and Kedah respectively.

He said students in both universities, which come under the state government purview, relied on PTPTN loans to pay their fees.

In 2011, he noted PAS-led state government even increased the fees for KUIN despite protest from its students.

A year later, he recalled that KUIN suspended five students who protested against a decision of the university’s administration.

Imposed under the provisions of Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), he said the suspension was never reduced despite public protest.

“But now Pakatan promises academic freedom and abolishment of UUCA,” Tan fired a broadside.

He also exposed Pakatan’s hypocrisy with its promise to reform laws to regulate logging activities.

Despite public protest over environmental damage, he pointed out that Kedah government still refused to stop the logging of forest reserves in the state, including Pedu, Gunung Inas and the latest, Bukit Perangin.

On Pakatan promise to uphold media freedom and restoring trust in media practitioners, he said Pakatan government barred a number of media from covering the Kedah assembly proceedings in 2011 because these media reported the state’s failure to handle the flood situation.

“In Penang, the Pakatan government had banned certain media and journalists from state functions from time to time,” he said.