The DAP leader plays one-upmanship game with Najib Razak who yesterday promised to abolish toll for motorcyclists.
Lim Guan Eng says BN’s pledge to do away with toll for motorcyclists is an empty promise.
GEORGE TOWN: DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today Pakatan Harapan (PH) will abolish tolls on the Penang Bridge for all if it wins power at the federal level.
He said this in answer to Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Najib Razak’s promise yesterday to do away with toll for motorcyclists who use the Penang Bridge if BN wins.
“If we win, we will not just abolish the Sungai Nyiur toll, but also the toll for Penang Bridge.
“More than RM1.7 billion has been collected, and it exceeds the cost of construction, the cost to expand from two to three lanes, as well as maintenance costs. So why must toll still be collected for the first bridge?” Lim asked.
Calling Najib’s pledge to do away with toll for motorcyclists an empty promise, Lim urged the prime minister to first fulfil the promise to construct the light rail transit (LRT) system for both the island and the mainland.
“Najib promised us the LRT three times but it was not fulfilled. We cannot just sit and do nothing. We cannot just sit around and see Penangites suffer from the traffic jams.”
At a press conference today, Lim added that it was not fair to compare the financial resources of the state and federal governments, saying this was why the state needed to carry out reclamation and land swaps.
He also hit out at Najib for “threatening” Penangites to expect nothing if they continue to support the opposition.
According to a front page report in theSun daily today, with the headline “BN or ‘nothing’ for Penang”, Najib had said, among others, that voters in Penang could expect to get nothing and would continue to be hit by floods and other mismanagement issues if they continued to support the opposition.
The daily reported Najib as saying that the people would be assured of a bright future only if BN won power at both the federal and state levels.
However, Lim asked how the prime minister could “threaten” citizens like this.
“This is a constitutional guarantee for us to be treated fairly. It is not just irresponsible and unbecoming of a prime minister, but also illegal (to threaten citizens).
“This is completely out of order. A prime minister cannot talk like that. It is the democratic right of every citizen to vote for who they want. You cannot threaten a person just because he does not support you.
“What is the form of democratic system used by BN? This is a threat to democracy, to say that if you do not want to support BN, you will be denied what you should rightfully receive as a Malaysian under the Federal Constitution,” he added.
Lim said the PH-led state government had extended aid to everyone, regardless of political affiliation.
“When we hand out financial aid, we do not ask about their political background. There are even Umno and Gerakan leaders who line up to get the money. We do not discriminate. This is true democracy in Penang.”
On Najib’s pledge to get rid of the massive land reclamation project proposed for Penang if BN is returned to power, Lim said until today, BN had not come up with an alternative plan to reduce traffic congestion.
The reclamation encompasses commercial and industrial development stretching across the span of the south coast.
It was proposed as a means to fund the state government’s RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan. It calls for a tunnel across the North Channel from the island to the mainland, and three new highways. -FMT
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