Perak BN government scorches Pakatan policies

It looks like the Perak BN government is bent on destroying all people-friendly policies implemented by the previous Pakatan Rakyat administration. When Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir took his office in February, he was reported as saying that BN would continue the people-friendly policies implemented during Pakatan’s 10-month rule. However, this turned out to be a broken promise as about nine people-friendly policies have either been scrapped or put on the back-burner. DAP state secretary Nga Kor Ming is disappointed with BN’s about-turn on the following Pakatan-implemented measures: 3,000 applications from residents of new and planned villages to convert their land titles from leasehold to freehold cancelled. 817 elected village headmen had their term of office terminated. The village chiefs have since filed a suit in the Ipoh High Court to be reinstated. The proposal to change the octagon Yak Tack Seng market along Jalan Osbone into a tourist centre scrapped. The uniform one-coupon parking system for vehicles, and at a discounted rate from April, for the whole state did not see daylight. The proposed RM38 million new bus terminal at Meru Raya in Jelapang grounded. The open-tender policy for approving government contracts, land and logging concessions reverted to the old system of closed tenders. The giving state land to religious schools and Chinese independent schools also scrapped. The policy of giving RM1,000 to the dependents of senior citizens who die too has been buried. The process of legalising the 134 new villages put on hold. “Just because Barisan is jealous of our people-friendly polices, it does not mean that they have to penalise the innocent people and make them suffer just to show their anger at us,” said Nga. Nga also took to task Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for his “makan angin” trip during his one-day visit to Ipoh on Thursday while the country was facing the worst economic crisis in history. “He just comes to eat, drink and takes a walk to meet the people in Little India. He can utilise this precious time to plan how to overcome the economic crisis and bring the nation back to a sound economic footing,” he added. [Source: Malaysiakini]