Friday, November 24, 2006

DAP man links CMS performance to favours

KUCHING: Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud challenged DAP Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen yesterday to repeat his remarks on Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) outside the state assembly so that he can take legal action.
“I have nothing to do with the decision-making in CMS. Unless you can prove that, you should shut up.

Taib: ‘I will sue you if you can’t prove what you said’“As a leader, I am very clear how I perform my duty. I never exercise any discretion to create favours for my children’s company,” he said when interrupting Chong who was debating the 2007 state budget at the Sarawak state assembly.

CMS is a listed company controlled by Taib’s family.

Chong had said that CMS was doing so well in its business but not Sarawak, and that because of this, state leaders should take the blame.

Taib then told Chong to repeat his remarks outside the assembly so that he would not be protected under assembly privileges.

“I will sue you if you can’t prove what you said,” he told Chong.

The chief minister said CMS did not own even 1% of the country’s wealth and that it should be treated like any other company.

Speaker Datuk Asfia Awang Naser had earlier stopped Chong from mentioning the interests Taib’s wife had in CMS “because your motive is improper and you are directly implicating” the chief minister.

When the session resumed after a 30-minute break, Chong said that an Australian newspaper had suggested in a news report that, because of its good connections, CMS had secured a RM1.3bil contract to maintain roads in the state. Following that, Sarawak awarded two other road contracts worth RM78.8mil to CMS.

State Second Finance Minister Datuk Wong Soon Koh came to the defence of the chief minister, saying that Taib had always declared his interests, and that the state Cabinet’s decisions in awarding contracts to CMS were above board.

Chong urged the state to offer more contractors the chance to get jobs.


Star 24-11-2006

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

政治酸辣湯

犀鳥鄉的政治最近數年似乎特別熱鬧、喧嘩。政黨紛爭一個緊接著一個上演,輪流走上權爭舞台。這一場場的黨內權爭更有如砂州本土酸辣湯一般,讓從政人士嚐上了癮,欲罷不能。

淺嚐一口酸辣湯,酸中帶辣,辣中帶酸,只有置身其中者,最能了解箇中的味道。政治焦點如今又聚在政黨的紛爭上。

這一回是走過47個年頭的砂人聯黨。儘管目睹了砂國民黨、砂達雅黨內訌而最終走向四分五裂,但人聯黨似乎還是擺脫不了黨內權爭的魔咒,隨著前兩者的步伐彈奏權爭的曲子。

政治講求實力,曾在砂州主政的國民黨當權勢旁落時,即使是身經百戰,閱人無數的前黨魁拿督黃金明,在面對黨內改革派的挑戰時也難以力挽狂瀾。最終讓這個曾經輝煌一時的政黨,黯然的走下了砂州政治的執政舞台。而雖有國民黨的借鏡,標榜代表砂州最大族群的達雅黨也難逃黨爭的桎梏,上演國民黨的舊戲碼,而且一波比一波熾熱,在玉石俱焚下,把這個曾是代表達雅精英的政黨送上了斷頭台。

但歷史的覆轍如今又讓砂州政黨歷史最悠久的人聯黨重蹈,這讓不少當年與這個政黨走過歷史的元老,心有戚戚然。

政治需要智慧,我們政壇上的精英個個身經百戰,照理應該是得到前者的借鑑,為何今日又要重演國民黨、達雅黨的權爭戲碼?犀鳥鄉土的政治酸辣湯,一碗碗的輪流的往各個政黨領袖的桌上捧送,他們卻依舊雙手托起一飲而盡?

或許這就是本土政治酸辣湯的獨沽一味,同是一碗酸辣湯,但看在不同人眼里,嚐在不同領袖的口里卻酸辣不一,甚至有些感受到箇中有絲絲甜味,食髓知味的欲罷不能,味蕾大受刺激,食慾大起。

一輪輪的角力、一場場的格斗後,當台下肉博的緊張浮上台面時,政黨權爭卻讓人看到口口聲聲把政治說成是大眾事業的政治人物的另一面。


1-11-2006