Nothing impressive about re-siting of Marudi petrol kiosk – Dr Ting

MIRI: Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon ( photo above) calls out Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil for making a U-turn on relocating the Marudi petrol kiosk.

In an open letter congratulating Penguang, who is Marudi assemblyman, for his efforts in resolving the issue promptly, Dr Ting said the decision of not building a petrol station in a residential area, namely Kampung China, was done in ‘good ethics and common sense’. However, he claimed that it was not done out of real concern for the people.

“The decision was not really out of compassion for the residents, but out of (fear of) potential political damage in Marudi. The petrol station’s relocation was a planned decision by the state government months in advance,” he said.

Dr Ting claimed that many of the appointed Chinese community leaders had rebuked the opposing residents openly even as late as last week, although the residents had been unable to seek a dialogue with them and the public officials. He had stepped in after being informed by the public and found out that the public land in Kampung Cina had already been transferred to a private individual two weeks earlier.

“The fact that land transfer has been completed signifies that this proposal has progressed to the ‘noreturn’ phase and only political interference by the CM (chief minister) would be able to resolve the issue,” he said.

The peaceful protest conducted by the residents, and members of Democratic Action Party ( DAP) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat ( PKR) on March 6 was sparked by public anger on the declaration by some local leaders that it was ‘too late to return the public land’.

“It is only after wide publicity on national television and local news (media) that you are forced to respond,” he said, referring to Penguang.

Dr Ting said he promised residents to accede to Penguang’s request of ‘not targetting Marudi constituency’ to enable the matter to be resolved amicably, as Penguang had stated that he would only help if DAP, or Dr Ting, stopped targeting the issue.

On Penguang’s call for ‘outsiders’ not to interfere in his constituency Marudi, Dr Ting regarded this as both unwise and politically suicidal, saying: “Mind you, I was born in Marudi Hospital; I studied and grew up in Marudi. Marudi is my hometown and I will continue to help the local community.”

Dr Ting also said the peoples’ representatives are elected to serve Sarawak, and their services are not restricted to their respective constituencies.