COMMENTS: As the 2012 curtain comes to a close, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) continues to prove its ability to govern states under its leadership with many resounding successes throughout its reign.
Among the achievements that are considered as major milestones of PR in 2012 includes the acknowledgement of the Auditor General, headed by Tan Sei Ambrin Buang, towards good fiscal management by Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan Governments.
According to the Auditor General’s 2011 Report (LKAN) which was tabled in Parliament on October 15, it clearly demonstrates the financial management of states under PR are far better, leaving behind states administered by Umno-BN.
Among the acclaimed in the LKAN report was that the monies raised by the Selangor Government has increased by R62.5 million compared to the previous year.
Selangor also recorded its own history when, for the first time, the State Government reserves reached more than RM2.5 billion.
Apart from that, the response of the people of Selangor towards various agendas under the ‘ Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor’ by the State Government has also been the envy of Umno-BN.
Until September 30, 2012, the State Government has spent RM766,913,379 for the success of 16 assistance programmes or assistance schemes, for the people of Selangor since the programme was launched.
At the same time, a total of 166,441 people of Selangor and 1,303,601 households have received various benefits from the programmes.
Among the programmes introduced are Free Water Supply, Selangor Microcredit Scheme (SkimSel), Children’s University Entrance Gift, Golden Age Friendly Scheme (SMUE), Selangor Children Heritage Fund (TAWAS), People’s Tuition Centre, Urban Microcredit Scheme (MiMBAR), Selangor Kindergarten Assistance Scheme (TUNAS) and People’s Care Assistance Scheme (SiKembar) as well as others.
Umno-BN Fights With Slander
Thus, it is not surprising when Umno-BN madly attacked and defamed the Selangor State Government to ensure that the richest state returns to to them.
Among the insane actions taken by Umno_BN includes the fictitious ‘Selangor Water Crisis’ advertisement project which was held at an apartment in Petaling Jaya on September 24.
However, this immoral political game shattered when several media, including TV Selangor itself, managed to sniff out the such activities.
On location of the filming, TV Selangor managed to be informed by several actors that they had paid RM50 for the success of several profanities describing ‘Water Crisis in Selangor’.
The filming also became hilarious when tankers supposedly supplying water to ‘victims of water crisis’ did not only no carry a drop of water, but the ‘victims’ themselves took tap water before filling it into buckets which were brought as filming props.
The residents were unhappy with the action and also notified that their homes have never experiences water outages as the fictional film was trying to depict.
Meanwhile in October, residents at Taman Medan Cahaya also became victims of Umno-BN’s dirty politics when they were manipulated to participate in a demonstration demanding 20 cubic metres of free water from the State Government.
However, the Block B Resident’s Association Chairman, Mohamad Fuad Jam Jam and a resident of Block H of the apartments involved, A Ramlee Yahya, informed that the involved apartment had already received free water supply since 2011.
In addition to that, Mohamad Faud also informed that before the demonstration was held, the association was informed by the demonstration organisers that the main purpose of the demonstration was to protest the publication of a film that insulted Prophet Muhammad, thus causing confusion among the residents.
Ever-Increasing Political Violence
Due to mounting pressure to return to power in PR states and to maintain power in Putrajaya, Umno-BN has been continuously acting insanely by violently hindering PR’s advancement.
Several violent incidences involving Umno-BN supporters against PR supporters at a ‘ceramah’ site, either in Selangor or other states, have become among the heated topics of 2012.
Lately, at an incident at Negeri Sembilan, ANAK Information Chief, Naraza Muda was wounded in the head and passed out after being beaten with a sharp stick by Umno-BN supporters in the Orange Travel Convoy on December 23 recently.
Meanwhile, two PR supporters also suffered injuries after being attacked by a sharp weapon by Umno-BN supporters at a PR ‘ceramah’ in Gombak on December 4.
Another most talked about Umno-BN violent incident in 2012 was the series of attack on the ‘People’s Freedom Tour’ (Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat) convoy including the ‘Independant People’ (Merdeka Rakyat) bus which PKR Opposition Leader, Datuk Anwar Ibrahim, was travelling in.
What’s more unfortunate was that the the police themselves did not show eagerness to overcome these violent political issues, thus letting it continue.
Malay Reserve Land Mortgaged
Apart from violent actions against supporters of the opposition party, Umno-BN also shamelessly plays the race card to scare Malay voters into thinking that they would lose their political power.
However, unfortunately for Umno-BN, their efforts did not cause the maximum impact that they expected when their violent acts were also ridiculed by the general public.
In addition, Umno-BN’s patriotic action was also wasted with the expose of the old party’s betrayal of selling State Government-owned land and Malay reserve lands.
Inn Selangor alone, from 1999 to 2008, an estimate of 24 land lots belonging to the State Government, with an estimated value of RM300 million, which was obtained by Umno-BN in the Umno-BN administration era, was sold at a low price or were transferred to third parties.
Umno-BN was also smart in easily making money by inserting their interests in every transaction of the sale of land to third parties.
Thus, the people of Selangor should make a wise decision in the upcoming elections in 2013.
If measures in terms of performance, it is not a difficult choice for the people of Selangor because performance records of over four years under the Selangor PR administration and the Umno-BN’s administration records of 55 years, tells everything.