It was an emotional send-off for Lim Guan Eng as thousands turned up at Padang Kota Lama, to see him for the last time before he goes to Putrajaya to assume the post of finance minister.
Tonight is reminiscent of the days before the 14th national polls concluded on May 9, where large crowds dominated the ceramah scene in the Pakatan Harapan camp.
On the field today, the crowd waved the PKR and Rocket flags, and flashed their mobile phone torch lights, shouting slogans of “Reformasi” and “Save Malaysia”.
Guan Eng arrived about 9.15pm, as his fans reached out to greet him, shaking hands with him, while some hugged him.
When the event concluded at 11pm, he left the stage but was mobbed by his fans like a rock star as they rushed to take selfies with him, chanting “Lim Guan Eng, Lim Guan Eng”.
During his speech, he said: “I will never forget Penang. Although Penang is far from Putrajaya, Penang is in my heart”.
“Please pray that we are successful in Putrajaya because when we are successful there, it is Penangites and Malaysians who are successful,” he said.
“Goodbye everyone and thank you,” said the former Penang chief minister as the crowd cheered for him.
The DAP secretary-general said he would never forget the people who in GE14 gave unanimous support to Harapan, leading to Harapan’s victory in Penang and Putrajaya.
“We maintained our popular votes at 68 percent but our seats have gone up from 30 to 37. We thank Penangites because we have not only gained 11 out of 13 parliamentary seats but captured Putrajaya as well,” he said.
He then led the crowd to sing the coalition’s battle song, “Rakyat bersatu, tolak GST”.
As Harapan was successful, united and victorious, its leaders will now implement what they have set out to do in their election manifesto, Guan Eng vowed.
But as finance minister-designate, he is unable to issue a statement until he is sworn in.
However, he had carried out many negotiations with senior government officers since Saturday, when Prime Minister Dr Mahatir Mohamad named him as the person for the post.
“As Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyperson, I promise I will fight every day for the Malaysian people.
“Many feel proud because a Penangite has clinched a post in the federal government,” he said.
Guan Eng said he had to relocate to Putrajaya but it is not because he does not love Penangites.
“I do love you all but I love Malaysians more, and that is why I took over the job there as the finance minister,” he said.
“This is because we have proven that we have done better than BN. This is where we first began, we proved not only BN can rule but opposition as well, where everyone can carimakan… in Penang.
“But if we depend on Penang alone it is not enough, we have to have a safe Malaysia too. That is why Malaysia had to be saved from BN.”
New CM expresses gratitude
During the three-hour ceramah, newly-minted Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow expressed gratitude to Penangites for giving the mandate to Harapan for the third time.
He said his journey begun on 1986 as DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang’s aide, where he started to work for Penang and Malaysia.
He expressed his sincere gratitude to DAP for entrusting him with this new duties and responsibilities.
“Thanks to Guan Eng for his leadership in this 10 years where we have proven we can become a government that is better than the previous BN.
“Thanks to Guan Eng for laying a foundation for me and all state executive councillors to continue the journey to govern Penang,” he added.
Chow said finally Penangites must appreciate that after 10 years, several colleagues had lamented that the state government did not get enough funds from Putrajaya to implement its projects for the people.
“But you have changed everything on May 9, now we can get federal support, as our Guan Eng is going to become the finance minister,” he added, to loud applause from the crowd.
“Please hear the voices of Penangites, hope you continue to give us your support.” – https://www.malaysiakini.com/
Guan Eng: Hard work needed to revive Malaysia’s fiscal health
GEORGE TOWN — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said he has been able to view the state of the country’s finances and concluded that it will need time and effort to repair.
Lim, who is earmarked to be finance minister pending the disposal of his corruption trial, said during a ceramah at Esplanade here that the country’s financial health was not in good order.
“What I saw was.… I know I need to work hard to bring it back up and revive Malaysia’s fiscal health,” he said to an audience of thousands during the two-hour ceramah held to thank voters.
Lim said he met with various agencies under the Finance Ministry and discovered the size of the challenge that awaits him.
However, he assured the public that Pakatan Harapan (PH) will still fulfil the pledges made during campaigning for the 14th general election.
“Over the past 61 years, Barisan Nasional (BN) has left behind a lot of errors, issues, mistakes so there are a lot of things for us to resolve and it will not take one day, one month or one year to resolve so I hope all of you will give us time to resolve all these problems,” he said.
The former Penang chief minister also told the audience that he will never forget the state and the support that voters had given him in the past 10 years.
He also sang a song about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) song before reiterating that the federal government will abolish this.
Lim also added that his successor as CM, Chow Kon Yeow, has already made many requests on behalf of the state.
“For now, I can’t issue any statement on this yet because I am not sworn in, but I will definitely work hard for Penang and Malaysia,” he said.
Earlier, Chow said he met with Lim to exchange views with his predecessor on Penang’s needs.
“I hope he will continue to give us support and work with Penang for a better Penang and a new Malaysia,” Chow said.
The ceramah ended with Lim’s saying his final farewell to Penang while thanking Penang voters for their support.
– Malay Mail
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