Only Gerakan understands Penang, says Mah

KUALA LUMPUR: “Nobody knows Penang better than Gerakan,” said Gerakan president, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong.

Mah said when Penang was under Gerakan’s administration for 39 years, the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ was managed well including in environmental matters.

Speaking at the party’s 46th National Delegates Conference here yesterday, he said the leadership of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and DAP in Penang had neglected sustainable development.

He revealed that when Gerakan’s Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon was chief minister (1990-2008), only eight housing projects were approved but after the DAP took over in 2008, the number shot up to 39.

“This is a more than a four-fold increase. Stop pointing fingers. You are the government, take the blame,” he said.

He was referring the landslide incident in Tanjung Bungah recently and the worst ever flood disaster in the state last week, both of which claimed 18 lives.

He added that the ‘pearl was no longer shining’ and promised to bring the state back to its glory days when Gerakan comes back into power there.

“Penang is now crying. We will make sure that Gerakan will be back in the state assembly and that the pearl shines again,” he said.

He said the DAP-led Penang government had never been sincere in its administration and gave scant attention to local issues much to the detriment of voters.

“They failed to bring about sustainable development as can be attested to by the Tanjung Bungah landslide tragedy and also failed in the aspects of affordable housing and economic development which has made Penang lag behind,” he said.

The opposition won the state from the Barisan Nasional in 2008 and have been in power since. — Bernama