There is a report on The Star today, titled “Penang May Ban Low Cost Homes”. The report was written by my friend Ian Mcintyre that quoted me on this issue. I have no complaint on the content of the report, but the title of the news report seemed to oversimplify a complex issue.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/21/nation/6694234&sec=nation

Allow me to clarify here. Low cost housing is still needed in Penang (including Penang Island), as well as other parts of the country. There are many low income families that still need it.

The idea that I want to expound here is “Affordable Home with Livable Environment”.

It is a trend nowadays that Developers are building homes way beyond the means of the general population. Young working adults find it difficult to even afford a home. The link houses in industrialized parts of Penang Island is selling at RM600,000 and above, Condos are selling at RM350,000 above. It is, without the slightest doubt, way beyond the means of around 70% of Penangites. However, these homes are still selling like hot cakes and therefore, driving the prices higher and higher.

Developers also continue to build Super-link house (3 storeys), Semi-D and Big bungalows. Prices are astronomical. The building size might be 3000 sq ft and above. I have no problem with developers building luxury homes, but generally for a single family (5 members average), we do not need such big floor space and Penang Island cannot afford to have these houses because of the scarcity of land. It is a wastage and environmentally unfriendly too. Imagine how many air-cond you need to install!

On the other end, developers are required to build cheap 600-700 sq ft low cost flats that are selling at RM 42k. It is very popular among young families, because many people can’t afford link house and this is affordable for most Penangites. When young people slowly move up their salary scale, they buy another house and they rent it out to others. Lack of maintenance and other issues quickly turn low cost flats into “unlivable” situations. That is the problem with low cost flats.

My suggestion is that we need to build something in between. We need more homes between the range of RM100,000- RM 300,000. It should be affordable and with a livable environment, having good amenities, perhaps a swimming pool, ample parking space, a garden etc. Land space is optimized and no wastage of our limited resources and environment. Low income groups can get help from Federal Government or State Gov for assistance in terms of financing it. Young people will have a choice of affordable homes with good living environment.

I do not think we can Ban low-cost homes, it is simply too far-fetched! Low cost homes should be sold strictly to families of the low-income group only.

We should make “Affordable homes” with livable environment the choice for majority of Penangites.

Press Statement from Parti Keadilan on Penang Second Bridge

22 June 2010

Read News:

http://malaysiakini.com/news/135265

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/pakatan-rakyat/7145-second-penang-bridge-uem-making-outrageous-demands-

http://www.merdekareview.com/news/n/13859.html

In March, 2008, I revealed a letter written by UEM Managing Director Dato Ahmad Pardas Senin to Director of Economic Planning Unit of Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr. Sulaiman Mahbob. The letter dated August 2007, titled “Projek Jambatan Kedua Pulau Pinang – Analisa Kewangan” was sent to Parti Keadilan Rakyat by a whistle-blower. There were several main points in the letter.

• Concession period 45 years.
• UEM requested the Government to provide Soft Loan (GSL) at 4%.
• UEM asked as high as RM22,872 million government assistance from the Government including Investment Tax Allowance (ITA), Government Grant, JBIC Loan and Soft Loan.
• Construction price was RM4,068 million.
• Projected Toll charges would amount to RM7,065 million
• Penang 2^nd Bridge’s Beginning Toll rate to be RM9.40 (Class 2) with 2% every year till end of concession 2051, to be reviewed every 5 years.
• Penang First Bridge to be adjusted together with Second Bridge to RM9.40, and eventually reached maximum toll rate of RM11.50 and continue till 2051. (In fact concession ends in 2018, why till 2051?)
• No more 20% discount for Touch & Go cards.

Former Chief Minister denied my statement at that time. With recent developments, my revelations have proven to be true. Recently, first came the controversial cancellation of Touch & Go discounts. Under immense public pressure, the Gov flip-flop and announced that non-Penangites will no longer enjoy the discount. Last week, Prime Minister has confirmed that Penang Second Bridge Toll will be RM9.40, consistent with my revelation. Now, we are worried that the Government will just go along with whatever proposal the UEM in this letter.

Something is not right with Penang Second Bridge Project. At a time where federal minister warned that the country would go bankrupt, huge amount of money has gone to subsidized crony companies (please refer Government Assistance section). Federal Government gave Penangites various construction costs, the construction cost keeps escalating although material prices have come down significantly, the toll rates jump 34% from RM7 to RM9.40. The terms and conditions of the contract are shrouded with secrecy. All these have to stop. Penang Parti Keadilan Rakyat demands accountability from the Federal Government.

Penangites have been short-changed for the first time when the Government proposed and selected the current alignment and design without consultation with the Rakyat. Then, the government again direct negotiated with UEM without open tender.

We believe open tender will bring the best deals for Penangites. Competitive bidding will bring the cost down significantly. Competition will also bring in the best expertise and technology to construct the bridge. Competition will benefit the Rakyat. Unfortunately, with the current Barisan Nasional usual practice, their crony companies “didahulukan”.

We need to put a stop to all these corrupt practices. Today, we are revealing the document that we got in 2008. This letter has not been disclosed to public before. It is an old document, we believe there will be more recent development. Under BN administration that has never practice transparency, this is the only financial analysis we have had. In the name of transparency, the rakyat has the rights to know.

Therefore, Penang Parti Keadilan Rakyat call upon the Prime Minister to de-classified the Penang Second Bridge Toll contract between The Government of Malaysia with UEM. Penangites have the rights to know what is in for them. They are the people who will use it everyday. They are the people who pay for it for the next 40 years.

Failure to do so, Penang Parti Keadilan Rakyat will intensify our campaign to halt the Toll Hike. We will mobilize the Rakyat to tell the Prime Minister, we don’t want toll hike. We want Competitive, Accountability and Transparency in Second Penang Bridge Project.

YB Sim Tze Tzin
Ketua Biro Komunikasi Parti Keadilan Rakyat Pulau Pinang
ADUN Pantai Jerejak

Hari Daftar Undi Pulau Pinang

Ceramah Perdana Isu-isu Panas!Tolak Fitnah, Selamatkan Pulau Pinang铲除诬赖，迎春讲座会Untuk Pengetahuan Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan di jemput hadir bersama:Tarikh: Februari 12, 2010 (Jumaat) 星期五Masa: 9 malam 晚上9时Tempat: Tapak Pesta Sg Nibong, Pulau Pinang Penceramah:YAB Lim Guan Eng, Ketua Menteri Pulau PinangYB Mansor Othman, Timbalan Ketua MenteriYB Malik Kassim, Exco Kerajaan NegeriYB Chow Kuan Yeow, Exco Kerajaan NegeriYB Ravin, ADUN Batu UbanYB Sim Tze Tzin, ADUN Pantai JerejakSebarkan! Please FWD! 传！cny ceramah banner

Lately, I have been visiting Chinese schools in kawasan Bayan Baru, Bayan Lepas, Sungai Ara area to process their application for state funding. Chinese Schools, Missionary schools, Tamil Schools and Sekolah Agama Rakyat are often sidelined by the Education Ministry. Many schools’ condition are far from satisfactory.

Teachers, parents and board of directors’ often tell us their stories of knocking door to door to get donations. Time is wasted to raise funds rather than educating the kids. When I was a kid, I remember I went house to house to get RM1 - RM5 donations. These are true but sad stories of our schools.

No child should be left behind. Schools are important institutions in our society. Ministry should be fair to allocate funding to schools. But, before we realized the so called “1Malaysia”, the Penang State Government are doing his best to help alleviate the hardship of these schools.

It is not easy for State Gov to come up with these funds, the federal gov has not been very generous to us, to say the least. So, we have to cut costs in our spending, we stop leakages and corruption. With CAT principles, we managed to save money for the state. These saving has been diverted to many popular social programs such Senior Citizen Program, hardcore poor programs, as well as the special allocation for schools.

This year, the state gov has allocated RM 5.8 mil for SRJKC, RM 1.75 mil for missionary schools, RM1.75 mil for SRJKT.  We hope that with these state funding, the schools will get temporary relief from the difficulties to get federal funding.

One of my visit to school is reported today in the Star:

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/2/2/north/5587012&sec=North

MISSIONARY, religious, Chinese and Tamil schools in Penang should come up with their own initiative to raise funds instead of depending on allocations from the state government.

“The state government began giving allocations to such schools last year. But, the school heads must bear in mind that the allocation was only a supplement.

“The schools are expecting a higher allocation this year. Penang is not a rich state and the state government can only do so much,” Penang Chinese Education Affairs Coordinating Committee member Sim Tze Tzin said.

Speaking to reporters after a discussion with SRJK (C) Chung Shan’s board of directors and representatives of Parents-Teacher Association at the school in Bayan Lepas on Saturday, Sim suggested that such schools apply for funding from the Federal Government.

On SRJK (C) Chung Shan’s request for an RM120,000 allocation to repair leaking roofs and upgrading of amenities, Sim, who is Pantai Jerejak assemblyman, said the committee would discuss the school’s application.

Sim said SRJK (C) Wen Khai and SRJK (C) Chong Cheng had also applied for RM700,000 and RM250,000 in aid respectively from the committee.

It was earlier reported that the state had allocated RM11.3mil to 124 missionary, religious, Chinese and Tamil schools this year compared to RM8.5mil last year.

The funds are meant for maintenance and upgrading of amenities, but some of the school representatives suggested that they be allowed to buy desktop computers and send some of their teachers for courses to upgrade their skills and knowledge.

Program Jom Daftar Undi and One Buck Short Concert, Nov 7, 4.30pm @ QueensBay Mall Penang!

Jom Daftar Undi is a six-month program to actively register new voters. We will open counter together with Suruhanhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR) at the main hall of QueensBay Mall from November, 2009 to April, 2010. It is non-partisan and neutral program, and supported by the Government agency.

We feel strongly that register as voter is every citizen’s obligation. It is they duty to come forward to register themselves.

To mark the start of this six month program, we begin with a launching for Jom Daftar Undi by organizing a Concert by One Buck Short Band (OBS). OBS is a popular band that has followings across the country. Hopefully, they will attract young people and create awareness about the importance to register as voter. The event will be officiated by Deputy Chief Minister I of Penang, YB Dr. Mansor bin Othman.

Several young YBs across the country will also grace the event and hopefully, their youthfulness will attract young voters to interact with them and thus creating the awareness that young people can also change the country for the better. (See list below)

The launching of “Jom Daftar Undi” program:

Date: November 7th, 2009 (saturday)

Time: 4.00pm-6.30pm

Venue: QueensBay Mall North Zone Ground Floor, Penang

Organizer: The Office of YB Sim and Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR)

Dignitaries: YB Dr. Mansor (Guest of honor), YB Nurul Izzah, YB Yusmadi, YB Manikumar, YB Amir Shari, YB Sim Tze Tzin and many more.

This event is organized by the Office of YB Sim Tze Tzin, ADUN Pantai Jerejak together with Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya. The Queensbay Mall is generous enough to host the event. We also recieved the support from Unit Ehsan Malaysia and many individuals to become volunteers in this event. The event will be opened by Deputy Chief Minister I of Penang, YB Dr. Mansor bin Othman. Together, several young YBs from across the country will be participating in this activity. They are namely: YB Nurul Izzah, MP Lembah Pantai, YB Yusmadi Yusoff, MP Balik Pulau, YB Manikumar, Exco Kedah, YB Amir Shari, ADUN Batu Cave. YB Sim Tze Tzin, ADUN Pantai Jerejak is the host for this event.

Why Jom Daftar Undi?

According to statistics by UNDP Malaysia Report and Merdeka Center Youth Survey, about 44% of young people did not register to vote. About 32% of population of Malaysia is between 20-39 years old. Therefore it is estimated that about 3.6 million eligible voters did not register to vote. This is a staggering number.

Most of the young people surveyed by Merdeka center thought that voting is not high priority in their lives. Among other reasons given are busy and other commitment, no time, indifferent or negative towards politics. Some 8% of people surveyed even said they don’t know where to register as voter.

Objectives of this event

Given this background, we think that it is important to engage young people in this political process, to exercise their democratic rights, to give them greater say in the future of this country.

Therefore, we want to register as many young voters as possible during this period.

It is also noteworthy to state that, with General Election speculated to be held within next 12 months, it is vital to register early because, it will take about 6 months to process the voters list. We do not want to repeat the experience of 1999, a many as 680,000 young voters registered but did not granted the voting rights because of “long process time”.

Queensbay Mall is strategically situated at the heart of FTZ, Bayan Baru, where large crowd of young people stay work and entertain themselves. We hope this will attract more young people to register.

Volunteers Needed

As this is a six month continuous program, we need volunteers to help man the counter every saturday 3-5pm. If you feel strongly about this Jom Daftar Undi Exercise, Please contact our coordinator Jason incubus_skj@yahoo.com and Afif afifbahardin@gmail.com to volunteer in this program.

The Schedule Launching Program

4.30pm:   Ice-breaking by MC

5.00pm:   Cheerleading / Boom Boom Dance

5.20pm:   Opening Speech by YB Sim Tze Tzin

5.30pm:   Opening / launch by DCM I Dr Mansor

5.35pm:   Band Performance (ONE BUCK SHORT), followed by Interactive Games with audience and Young YBs.

6.30pm:   Close

Sembang-sembang Forum last night invited Dato Zaid Ibrahim and Deputy Chief Minister of Penang YB Dr Mansor bin Othman to a forum titled “Two Party System and the Future of Malaysia”It was a great success! The turn out was great, about 400+ Penangites of all walks of life attended. There were interesting Q&A. I congratulate Penangites for actively speaking up on politics, unlike before! This has shown the maturity of our politics and we gotta engage each other more in these discussions for the betterment of the country.Please see the Malaysiakini Reporting. http://malaysiakini.com/news/116533Zaid: Sabah, S’wak vital to Putrajaya dream PKR coordinator Zaid Ibrahim said Pakatan Rakyat must make a major breakthrough in Sabah and Sarawak in the next general election if the coalition wanted to capture the federal government.
Speaking at the ‘Sembang Sembang Forum’ in Penang last night, he said Pakatan must win the majority of parliamentary seats in both the East Malaysian states if the coalition harboured hopes of taking over Putrajaya.

However, the former de facto law minister pointed out that it would be anything but a walk in the park given that Barisan Nasional has a strong hold on the two states.

“It’s not going to be easy. But Pakatan would have to make inroads into Sabah and Sarawak,” he told some 1,000 people who attended the forum.

Moreover, he said the issues and politics in Sabah and Sarawak were very different and more complicated than the Peninsular.

He said both states have issues such as customary land rights, disproportionate development, natives rights and illegal immigrants.

Zaid said if Pakatan wanted to realise its dream of capturing Putrajaya, the coalition must come out strongly to support and address these issues.

He pointed out that unlike Sabah, Sarawak had not experienced a change in political leadership for the past 30 years.

Sabah has 25 parliamentary seats while Sarawak has 31, making up some 20 percent of the country’s 222 federal seats.

During the 2008 general election, BN won all but two seats - one in each state.

Work towards common agenda

Meanwhile, Zaid also emphasised that Pakatan allies – PKR, PAS and DAP - must compromise their individual political agendas to reach a consensus on a common agenda.

The former Umno leader expressed hope that the common agenda he prepared would be accepted and endorsed by the three allies before the Pakatan national convention in December.

“PAS must come out from its usual rhetoric religious stance. DAP must work harder to eliminate the perception that it is a Chinese-based party.

“But I would say that both parties have come far on both fronts,” he said.

He also said that Pakatan would have to unveil its style of governance, policies and action plans to convince the public that it was a different government-in-waiting.

On PAS’ commitment to Pakatan, he said the party would not leave the opposition coalition because “it was its lifetime ambition to knock Umno off its perch.”

Zaid, who is currently on a six-month break, also dismissed rumours about his rift with PKR vice-president Azmin Ali.

The ‘Sembang Sembang Forum’ is an initiative of Pantai Jerejak assemblyperson Sim Tze Tzin.

Also present was Deputy Chief Minister 1 and PKR state chief Mansor Othman

这是我在中国报的专栏文章，但是被禁刊，理由是：不可写有关补选的文章。。。

那是不是媒体不可以报道补选的新闻呢？

2-10-2009 

上星期我才评论巫统内部有年轻人反省，期望巫统能消除贪污，内部改革。这个星期巫统高层选择了有贪污纪录的莫哈末依沙为国阵岜眼槟榔候选人。

很多人都认为莫哈末依沙赢定的了。

为什么呢？先看看他的背景。依沙曾担任森州大臣长达22年，跟马哈迪首相任期不相上下。岜眼槟榔是他的老家， 土生土长。32岁开始当大臣，几十年的人脉关系，几十年的乡情恩惠，老树盘根的地方实力，在地方上无人不晓。再加上五千名邮寄选票，巫统国阵的3M 策略（媒体，政府机关，银弹），单凭这些优势，就已经保赢！

但是，如果稍微观察国阵的竞选部署，您会看到国阵如临大敌，好像非常没有信心,这是非常吊诡的。

第一，他们大抛银弹，这边宣布拨款华小，那边拨款国小。 还没竞选，钱已经花了不少。第二，森州巫统没有几个出言支持依沙，大家好像没有看到州务大臣公开支持，内讧好像就快开始。第三，如果看看巫统内部年轻人的言论，他们其实对依沙都没有好感，有些问没有更好的人选吗？有些预测多数票会减少。有些更公开问为什么要贪污者竞选。

依沙的竞选突出了巫统内部严重的问题：军阀处处，没有人才。只有地方上的军阀才有机会上阵，军阀占据山头互相恶斗。之前岜当巴锡的补选也是由地方军阀大力推荐除牌律师罗海扎竞选一样。这也突出了地方上巫统没有人才来承接重任，巫统内部新陈代谢出了问题。

首相禀着一个马来西亚，人民为先，表现至上的口号执政，却推出了污点候选人，严重让人质疑人民为先的诚意，到底曾经涉及贪污贿赂的人，怎样能以人民为先？到底以民为本或巫统为先？这也突出了首相那吉为了赢补选，不择手段的一面。

到底会不会应证前首相马哈迪所说的巫统将赢补选，输大选？且让我先到岜眼槟榔走透透后，下回再报告吧。

巫统是当今马来西亚政治上人人喊打的名词。不管是民联或国阵成员党，大家都对巫统的霸道，贪污滥权，非常不满。也可能是这样导致308政治大海啸发生。马华，民政，国大党可能被迫在国阵内忍气吞声，但是，无可否认，大家都有意无意间批评巫统。现在，更有许多二，三线领袖公开批评巫统。年轻人更对巫统毫无好感，308大选，年轻人大量倾向民联，政治海啸才有可能发生。

但是，308过后，巫统内部有反醒吗？

英文杂志OFF THE EDGE，九月刊访问了5位巫统党员，提供了鲜为人知的巫统内部的反省。

五位党员，全都是30岁以下，全部都是大专毕业生，来自吉隆坡，有些还是英国大学毕业生。他们是知识型党员，跟我们刻板印象中的巫统草根，或暴发户党员非常不同。他们有些现在是政治助理或是专业人士。他们可能是巫统的未来。

这五位年轻领袖对巫统有批判的精神，认为巫统的种族言论过火，而且有必要转型成更包容进步的政党。他们也对党内的贪污腐败非常不满，有些预测巫统将在10年内失去政权。在政治上，他们是属于自由派，所以他们对巫统与回教党相竞回教化不满。他们甚至提出“去回教化”来吸引非回教徒到国民学校就读。字里行间，我感觉到他们的焦虑，他们对巫统的无力感。毕竟，他们面对的是庞大的巫统机器，根生地固的巫统文化，他们毕竟是少数。

值得一提的是他们对国阵民联政治斗争表面化不满。他们都希望有更深一层的政策辩论。这是年轻从政者的理想。

任何政党都必须有反省的能力才能继续执政。巫统身位马来西亚最大的政党，决不是省油灯的一群。他们累积多年的经验，面对过无数大风大浪，是非常有自醒能力的政党，否则不会执政我国54年。如果民联想要执政中央，有必要了解这些内部的反省，知己知彼。

Off The Edge十月刊将刊登人民公正党年轻党员的访谈。