SLIM POLLS | Former Perak state executive councillor A Sivanesan today claimed that the constituencies in Perak that are strongholds of BN are less developed than those under Pakatan Harapan.
He said the development of areas under Umno such as Lenggong and Grik only consisted of government buildings.
"Take a look at Slim. What is the development here? The development here is only government buildings. A hospital, rest house, land office, and Mara college - that's all the development there is," said Sivanesan (above).
"There's just the Bandar Baru Slim River. Even that was actually done by the private sector. If Bandar Baru Slim River didn't exist, Slim would be a ghost town," he added.
Sivanesan was speaking to reporters at a press conference in Pejuang's operations room in Slim this morning.
The Sungkai assemblyperson had come to speak in support of the election campaign of independent candidate Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi. Voters will go to the polls on Saturday.
"BN leaders who complain that opposition areas have no development are not very smart. In fact, the opposition areas are more advanced," he said.
He also touched on the issue of floods in Slim, which he said could not be resolved due to the weakness or apathy of BN leaders in the area.
Since 1986, Slim was represented by just two Umno reps - the late assemblyperson Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib who held the seat since 2004 and his predecessor, former state speaker Junus Wahid, from 1986 to 2004.
"The issue of floods in Slim is more or less the same as in Bidor. Before 2008, if it rained for three hours, one-third of Bidor was flooded. But after I was elected in Sungkai, this issue was resolved in six months. Now, even after five hours of rain, it does not flood in Bidor," said Sivanesan.
"But in Slim, the issue of floods for more than 50 years is still unresolved, so who is to blame?" he asked.
For the record, Sivanesan has held the position of state executive councillor twice, first in 2008 and then in 2018.
However, the Pakatan Rakyat state government helmed by Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin in 2008 only lasted 11 months before being overthrown in a political coup.
The Harapan state government elected in 2018 also collapsed after Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu defected to form a state government with Umno and PAS.
Indian voters marginalised under PN
Meanwhile, Sivanesan accused the Perikatan Nasional (PN) state government of sidelining the Indian community.
The Perak DAP vice-chairperson claimed that the menteri besar had frozen an allocation of RM125,000 to each of seven Indian community leaders.
"The appointment of Indian community leaders was a tradition starting in the BN era. It was to defend the welfare of the Indian community in Perak on a small scale.
"But during the BN government, there was no provision for those appointed.
Sivanesan said that under Harapan, seven Indian community leaders were appointed, including one for the Slim constituency, and were allocated RM125,000 each in the 2020 Budget.
"But, Faizal has acted to freeze the allocation after the state government was changed," he claimed.
"This is the real situation of the Indian community in Perak under PN. I challenge the MIC, Makkal Sakthi to resolve the issue of community leaders instead of just putting on a show," he added.
The Slim state seat fell vacant after BN's Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib passed away on July 15.
Amir Khusyairi is contesting as an independent candidate as Pejuang is not yet formally registered. The party is led by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He is an underdog against BN's Mohd Zaidi Aziz. A third candidate, former teacher S Santharasekaran, is also contesting as an independent candidate. - Mkini
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