PM ABDULLAH : Gerakan NOT ENOUGH Help; HISHAMMUDIN: Meet the UMNO Youth Leaders Grassroot for feedback. So provide more Cruthes and Stretchers?

The message is loud and clear to Gerakan that something extra needed to be done. What is enough? To give them a living is not enough, what they want perhaps are “get rich quick contracts”- minimum effort maximum results. And it needs more than a “satisfactory working relationship” and the “social contract” to hold on to power.

It is a bread and butter issue. Compare to other States, the Penang Malays would definitely felt left out. So what can the Gerakan do? Apart from meeting the Grassroots, they should take a “study tour” to the other UMNO led States and examine the “enough” measures extended to them.

And on the local front, Gerakan controlled council can waste more of the ratepayer’s money in helping them with contracts by beautifying the streets, order BIGGER flower pots, replace archaic lampposts with decorative ones; change all the pavement blocks every few months, replace all old roads signage’s with modern reflective ones, rotate different types of parking systems in different areas etc

If there are lack of funds, increase the assessment rates. What Dr Lim K Y forget to add in the social contract about the "willingness to share power” is the need to also "share the wealth".

See the latest Update - bottom (15 Aug 06) from Chief Minister KOH T K

“it is better to meet without exposing the differences in the media in line with the BN spirit," i.e. swept everything under the carpet and don’t wash dirty linens and hang them out to dry!

Report from bernama

Abdullah Asks Penang Government To Consider Proposals From Malays; August 13, 2006 18:55 PM

KEPALA BATAS, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- The Penang government should consider proposals made by the Malay community in the state so that their interest will be protected, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said the efforts carried out by the Gerakan-led state government were still not sufficient to assist the community.

This situation could have caused feelings of dissatisfaction among the Malays towards the state government and Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, he said.

Abdullah, who is also the Umno Penang chairman, said it was not true that the state government did not help the Malays but what it had done so far was not enough.

"There is assistance but perhaps not as much as hoped for by the Malay community and this is the reason for the many comments," he told reporters after opening Founder's Day of Yayasan Budi Penyayang and Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad's Kepala Batas branch Sunday.

Yesterday, Umno Tanjong division's former youth chief Raja Munir Shah Raja Mustafa accused Koh of failing to assist the Malays in Penang and it was time for the Chief Minister's post to be handed to Umno for good and not just by a rotation system among Barisan Nasional (BN) parties.

Koh rejected the accusation, saying all development programmes were agreed by the State Executive Council which comprises representatives of BN parties, including Umno.

Nearly all the state Umno Youth divisions have said they intended to propose a resolution calling for the rotation of the Chief Minister's post at their current delegates meetings.

Abdullah said some of the proposals submitted by the Malay community could be implemented but not others because of limited resources.

On the issue of "wakaf" (endowment) land, he said much of it still could not be used for development, especially in Georgetown.

"Some of the land is for general purposes while others are family plots or meant only for mosques, and this has restricted their use to bring economic benefits," he said.

He said the federal government has allocated RM40 million to develop "wakaf" land belonging to Muslims in the country because most of it was of high value and could be developed to give better returns.

Hishammuddin Advises Koh To Listen To Umno Youth Grassroot

BUTTERWORTH, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon should go down to the grassroot and meet state Umno Youth leaders who are unhappy with his leadership, said the movement's leader Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

He said Koh should accept the fact that there must be reasons why Umno Youth members were calling for the rotation of the Chief Minister's post among Barisan Nasional parties.

"Since Penang is a model state in the country in power-sharing and racial unity, the Chief Minister should go down to the grassroot, hold discussions and understand the problems of the Malays," he said when opening the Umno Youth Bagan divisional delegates meeting.

Hishammuddin, who is also the Education Minister, said Koh should listen to the issues raised by the Malays to get a comprehensive picture and not merely accompany Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he returns to the state.

"I am offended by claims that we don't understand the issues in Penang and then being accused of raising racial issues," he said.

He said the call to rotate the Chief Minister's post should not be dismissed as political grandstanding ahead of the Umno general assembly since it reflected the voice of the grassroot.

Although Umno Youth knew it was difficult to implement a rotation system and the Prime Minister himself has stated there would be no change, the Umno Youth divisions surely had a reason to approve a resolution on it.

The resolution should not be seen as a "hidden agenda" as alleged by a Gerakan leader, he said. He said the state Umno Youth was being open about its intention.

The Umno state committee would discuss the resolution and decide whether to submit it to the central committee, he added

Saturday August 12, 2006

No rotation for chief minister post

KUANTAN: There will not be any rotation among Barisan Nasional parties for the post of chief minister in Penang.

“There is no change in the policy,” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, putting an end to speculation arising from resolutions taken by some Umno Youth divisions in that state.

The current chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon succeeded Tun Lim Chong Eu as Penang chief minister in 1990. Both are from the Gerakan component party of Barisan.

In recent weeks, several Umno Youth divisions in the state had called for the post to be rotated among Barisan component parties.

Speaking to reporters in Permatang Pak Mahat near here, where he was visiting a low-cost housing project, Abdullah issued the one-liner as a response to the issue. He refused to say more on the matter.

“There is no change in the policy up to now,” he said, brushing aside questions about several Umno members quitting the party over the matter.

He, however, added: “Those who quit did it for personal reasons and this has nothing to do with the party.”

In Kepala Batas, the MCA said it did not see a need to rotate the Penang chief minister’s post because of the stable political situation in the state.

“There is no need to rotate the post in Penang because there is strong cooperation among the Barisan component parties in the state,” said deputy president Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy.

“Their working relationship is satisfactory. The state’s political situation is also quite stable,” he told reporters after visiting the new SJK (C) Sin Chung building here yesterday.

Earlier, Chan presented RM25,000 to the school for the purchase of computer software.

He said the school’s new RM1.5mil building project in Permatang Sintok would be completed next month.

“The MCA has so far raised RM200,000 for the school building project,” he said.

In Kota Baru, Gerakan president Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik reminded party members to understand the nation’s social contract and uphold its principles.

“We have to look back at the history of the Barisan when the coalition was formed not just for one race but for all Malaysians,” he said after opening the annual Kelantan Gerakan delegates conference.

“The social contract is about the willingness to share power and remain sensitive to touchy issues.”

Dr Lim also promised not to openly criticise the party leadership when he retires next year.

“If there are problems, I will not hesitate to criticise, but I will not do it openly.”

And the following is all that the STAR can report (due to space constrain)

Penang has aided Malays; By K. SUTHAKAR and DAVID TAN; Mon August 14, 2006

KEPALA BATAS: It is wrong for anyone to claim that the Gerakan-led Penang state government is not helping the Malays, says Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Prime Minister, however, said the existing help rendered by the state government to the Malays was inadequate. Abdullah said the state government must study all proposals made by the Malay community in the state so that their interests would be protected.

Some of the proposals cannot be implemented due to a lack of resources but they must try to carry out the development as far as possible,” he told newsmen after opening the Founder’s Day of Yayasan Budi Penyayang at its centre here yesterday.

The inaugural event was dedicated to the foundation’s founder and Abdullah's wife, the late Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood.

Abdullah said the Federal Government had allocated RM40mil to develop tanah wakaf (endowed land) in Penang.

“The land must be developed properly to derive the maximum returns since it is of high value,” he added.

UPDATE AUG 15 06:

Koh Accepts Prime Minister's Advice To Listen To Malay Views; August 14, 2006 23:28 PM

PENANG, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said Monday he accepted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's advice that the state government considers suggestions from the Malay community to protect their interests in the state.

He said he would try to improve the situation to assist the Malay community to keep pace with others in the state's development activities.

"I welcome the advice of the Prime Minister. We can improve the situation," he told reporters.

Abdullah Sunday said the state government had helped the Malays but the assistance was not as much as expected by the community, which could be the reason for dissatisfaction in the Malay community.

Umno Youth divisions in the state have been adopting a resolution calling for a rotation of the Chief Minister's post among Barisan Nasional parties.

Koh said he accepted admonitions from anyone and considered them as something positive to further improve the existing system.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the contributions of Umno representatives at State Executive Council meetings, he said they would always strive to highlight the interests of the people in Penang.

Although they tried to give the best solutions to whatever problems faced by the people, there existed problems that just could not be avoided resulting in delays, he added.

"They raised specific issues at the meetings but not all issues can be resolved immediately and there are some that take a longer time," he said.

He said he was always ready to meet leaders of Umno Youth, whom he regarded as "partners and brothers" in the Barisan Nasional, for discussion.

"If there is anything, they can meet me or write me a letter or call me. Whatever it is, it is better to meet without exposing the differences in the media in line with the BN spirit," he said.

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