BN prime ministers will suck the rakyat dry

BN prime ministers will suck the rakyat dry

Chua delivering his ceramah in Padang Jalan Danau 17, Desa Jaya, Tebrau on Feb 28, 2013. It was PKR’s first ever public rally in Taman Desa Jaya and it attracted a respectable 1,500 evenly mixed crowd of Chinese, Indians and Malays.

WHY do you think the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) became super efficient after Mahathir Mohamad stepped down as prime minister in October 2003?

Because the national treasury was empty and income tax was a main source of income to keep the government afloat. It was then incoming prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who confided in me that Mahathir had left him with an empty federal treasury.

Of course there was also Petronas and plenty of borrowings to keep Abdullah’s administration going.

Unfortunately for Malaysians, the man who was once regarded by the rakyat as “Mr Clean”, extended Mahathir’s excessiveness in milking the country’s wealth dry.

Abdullah relied heavily on internal and external borrowings to finance mega projects but did nothing to reduce the ballooning federal debts until his downfall in 2009 following the March 2008 political tsunami.

Abdullah’s successor, Najib Abdul Razak, not only extended the government’s borrowings, he and his wife Rosmah went on a spending spree, resulting in accumulating more than RM520 billion in federal debts.

Umno prime ministers, like Abdullah and Najib, are all the same.

They have no intention whatsoever to help the rakyat or country. They just use their power to enrich themselves and their cronies with billion-ringgit projects and monopolies.

Since the national treasury was empty, the NRD was then beefed up to do national service for Barisan Nasional (BN).

In 2010, Najib’s NRD collected RM85 billion in taxes followed with another RM125 billion in 2011.

BN prime ministers will always continue to squeeze the rakyat until their “blood runs dry”.

It is estimated that if BN is not stopped from their wayward ways, the federal debt will hit RM1 trillion by 2020.

Should the people give their mandate to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to govern after the coming 13^th General Election (GE13), we should be able to heal the country’s financial standing over time and also launch people-centric fiscal policies to help ease the rakyat’s financial burden.

One half of the 1,500-strong crowd at PKR’s ceramah in Taman Desa Jaya, Tebrau, on Feb 28, 2013.

We can surely do this with the tens of billions of ringgit in savings from the BN government’s leakages, corruption and inefficiency.

Just give us one term to prove our worth. The next general election is the only chance for change in this century for Malaysians.

We have revealed our action plans for the rakyat and Malaysia in our election manifesto.

Some of the key measures to help ease the rakyat’s financial woes are:

Ø YEARLY automatic RM1,000 deposits into the accounts of Malaysians aged 60 and above;

Ø THE scrapping of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) which BN cronies aimed to collect some RM20 billion in speeding compound fines from 832 cameras nationwide. BN has temporarily suspended the AES due to GE13;

Ø THERE will be no 1Care as proposed by the BN federal government represented by Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai. 1Care makes it mandatory for all Malaysians to contribute 10% of their salary, just like EPF deductions, for health insurance. No insurance, no health service or admissions to hospitals. Guess who benefits from the billions of ringgit in collections? Of course BN cronies. PR will ensure healthcare is free to the rakyat.

Ø Toll collections will be scrapped in stages;

Ø The retail price of fuel will be lowered to reduce the cost of transportation thereby causing a domino effect in lowering the price of goods and services;

Ø Education will not only be free for all from primary to tertiary levels, all schools will receive yearly allocations at RM300 per pupil;

Ø Electricity tariffs will be reduced by removing the RM25 billion subsidy for the rich crony Independent Power Producers (IPPs) who sell their electricity to Tenaga Nasional (TNB) at high rates; and

Ø Taxi permits will be given to all individual cabbies and permits for crony corporates will be revoked.

The other half of the 1,500-strong crowd at PKR’s ceramah Taman Desa Jaya, Tebrau, on Feb 28, 2013.

At PR’s recent national convention in Shah Alam, four retired military generals, two from the army and one each from the navy and air force, have revealed that high procurements without tender had cost the government some RM75 billion.

That includes submarines that can’t dive and jets that did not have engines.

According to the generals, Special Branch (police) and military intelligence, PR is expected to upset BN and create electoral history in GE13.

They also opined that there would not be any unrest should PR win GE13 because the Armed Forces will be with the rakyat.

GE13 a chance for Johoreans to take revenge for land grabs

GE13 a chance for Johoreans to take revenge for land grabs

Chua delivering his ceramah at the 1,000-people Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) dinner themed Ke Arah Perubahan pada PRU13 (Towards Change in the 13^th General Election) outside Restoran Serambi Teratai, Pekan Kangkar Pulai, on Feb 23, 2013.

THE coming 13^th General Election (GE13) is a chance for Malaysians, especially Johoreans, to halau (chase away) Barisan Nasional (BN).

Following the amendments to the oppressive Land Acquisition Act in 1991, Umno and its cronies have been grabbing the rakyat’s agriculture land for dirt cheap prices and then going for the kill by converting the land use to property development.

Land grabs are especially rampant in Johor because of Singaporeans’ seemingly endless demand for high-end property.

All sorts of “valid reasons” have been cited by then Johor Mentri Besar Muhyiddin Yassin and now Ghani Othman to forcibly force landowners, the majority of whom are Malays, to surrender their land cheaply.

So, GE13 is the opportunity for Johoreans to take revenge by giving Ghani and BN the boot.

Muhyiddin and then premier Mahathir Mohamd used the second-link as the reason to seize 32,000 acres of Nusajaya land for Umno’s property developers.

Today, Ghani and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak are replaying what Ghani and Mahathir did in Nusajaya.

Najib had soon after becoming prime minister proposed to his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong that a third link be constructed to connect Singapore to Pengerang.

This is the real reason for Najib and Ghani to use the Act to acquire 22,500 acres of Pengerang.

The non-sustainable Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project which requires only about 6,000 acres is not the real reason for the land grab.

Johoreans can stop the greed of Ghani, Umno and BN by using their ballots wisely in GE13.

The Kampung Simpang Arang Orang Asal Seleta community were also present to express their support for PR after their ancestral graves were desecrated by developers and their fishing ground polluted by 15km of coastal mangrove land reclamation from Sungai Pulai to Danga Bay, Tanjong Bin and Tanjong Pelepes.

I have been to Sabah with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim several times and we could feel the mood of Sabahans wanting change.

Their response to our visits was Ini Kalilah Kita Ubah! (This Time We Will Change!). And it is not only coming from the urbanites but the rural folk.

This is a good signal from the East Malaysians for change. If Johoreans also go for change, it will be the end for BN’s 55 years of abuse of power and misrule.

GE13: It’s a crucial vote for the future

GE13: It’s a crucial vote for the future

Chua chatting with a young Malay voter at a bus stop near the Pasar Malam.

GELANG PATAH (Feb 19, 2013): Johor PKR chairman Chua Jui Meng’s sixth edition Gong Xi Fa Cai distribution of mandarin oranges to Johoreans today focused on the state’s longest Pasar Malam (Night Market) in Nusaperintis (Pekan Gelang Patah).

Chua and his supporters and campaigners spent four hours in the night market, from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, distributing mandarin oranges and 10,000 sets of flyers containing information on Barisan Nasional (BN)’s scandals and what Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had to offer when given the mandate to rule after the 13^th General Election (GE13).

Chua extended handshakes and greetings to some 15,000 people at the night market before leaving for a ceramah in Kg Maju Jaya, Tebrau.

Chua distributing mandarin oranges at the Pekan Gelang Patah night market.

Chua said: “Malaysians are at a political crossroad. After 55 years of uninterrupted rule by the corrupt BN federal government, the coming GE13 is a crucial vote for the future of Malaysians and Malaysia.

“Malaysia cannot afford to continue allowing BN to plunder the country’s wealth until we become a bankrupt nation.”

Here’s the album of pix of evening campaign:

 

BN compromises security and safety of Malaysians

BN compromises security and safety of Malaysians

By Chua Jui Meng

Chua delivering his ceramah to a Malay dominated crowd in Kg Maju Jaya, Tebrau, on Feb 19, 2013.

THE Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government not only plunders the country’s wealth, it also compromises the security and safety of Malaysians.

Malaysians are sentenced to death for illegal possession of firearms but no action is taken against armed foreigners who enter our country illegally.

There is no valid reason whatsoever for our Malaysian Armed Forces not to act to defend our country against the armed Sulu invaders.

Malaysia must be the only country in the world that negotiates with armed invaders instead of acting to drive them away or apprehending them.

Our defence and home ministers Zahid Hamidi and Hishamumddin Hussein respectively have let down the rakyat and country. Our sovereignty as an independent state has been compromised shamelessly.

What’s BN-Umno’s agenda in treating the Sulu invasion in Sabah so lightly?

Chua greets Kg Maju Jaya villagers upon his arrival to deliver his ceramah.

Kg Maju Jaya voters listening attentively to what Johor PKR chairman Chua had to say at the ceramah.

I have just come from the Pekan Gelang Patah Pasar Malam (Night Market) where I spent four hours distributing mandarin oranges and to greet Malaysians.

Some 60% of the night market visitors were foreigners.

The BN-Umno federal government must be held responsible for allowing some five million foreigners into the country, especially in Sabah.

They have now become not only a security threat to those born in Malaysia, it is upsetting the cultural and social development of local communities.

Chua and Johor PAS Ketua Dewan Ulamak Abdullah Hussein have a light supper discussion after delivering their ceramah in Kg Maju Jaya.

The scores of financial scandals linked to top Umno leaders like Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, the extensive use of the Land Acquisition Act to grab land belonging to Johor Malays by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Johor Mentri Besar Ghani Othaman must be stopped.

They are milking our country’s wealth dry.

Lawan Tetap Lawan (We will definitely fight). Fight our electoral battle until we make it to Putrajaya.

We will then stop the land grabs and injustices to the rakyat.

The new Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal government will then implement people-centric fiscal policies to benefit all Malaysians, not cronies.

Give PR a chance to serve

Give PR a chance to serve

Six-year-old Fatimah hugging tightly on to Chua in Ulu Choh’s Kg Bahagia and said she was  willing to follow him. Her grandmother says Fatimah is a super friendly girl who does not fear strangers.

GELANG PATAH (Feb 18, 2013): Johor PKR chairman Chua Jui Meng’s fifth leg Gong Xi Fa Cai distribution of mandarin oranges to Johoreans today covered the mammoth Taman Teratai Pasar Malam (Night Market).

It was also another day-long campaign by Chua and his supporters for PKR in P.162 Gelang Patah.

It was a grueling round of walkabouts with Chua extending warm handshakes and greetings to about 20,000 Johoreans.

The state and Gelang Patah campaign team kicked off the trail at 2pm in Pekan Ulu Choh and Kg Bahagia.

At 4pm, despite the rain, Chua and his supporters and campaigners spent about two hours in Taman Sri Pulai.

At 6pm, the entourage was forced to take a break following a downpour at the Taman Teratai night market.

Chua and his team then distributed mandarin oranges at a row of shophouses.

When the rain stopped pouring at 7.30pm, they hit the pasar malam trail where Chua extended handshakes to some 15,000 people until 10.30pm.

Some 10,000 leaflets, in Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia, containing information on the ills of Barisan Nasional (BN) were also distributed.

Chua distributing mandarin oranges in a Chinese temple in Pekan Ulu Choh.

Chua urged Johoreans to go for change in the coming 13^th General Election.

“The blatant corrupt practices by BN must be stopped. After 55 years, the rakyat cannot hope for BN to mend its ways.

“Give us (Pakatan Rakyat) a chance to serve you and the nation for a term. See what we can deliver and then judge us in the 14^th General Election,” he added.

Here’s the album of pix of the day-long campaign: