Pakatan says BN damaged Selangor ‘beyond repair’

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have accused Barisan Nasional (BN) of damaging Selangor “beyond repair” during its previous Administration under Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo.

They have claimed that Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s current administration of the country’s wealthiest state is “far better” than the previous BN government that saw the construction of Dr Khir’s palatial home and his extravagant overseas trips that were allegedly made using public funds.

“(Dr Khir) Toyo has been the Menteri besar of Selangor for more than eight years. The damages that were done during his tenure were beyond repair and beyond imagination,” PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told The Malaysian Insider today.

“Toyo has no moral authority to comment about the performance of the state government of Selangor now,” he added.

Today, Dr Khir and Selangor Umno deputy chairman Datuk Noh Omar accused the PR Administration in Selangor of being “worse than BN” in practising cronyism and had clearly mismanaged public funds in the state development corporation (PKNS) and Yayasan Selangor.

Saifuddin, however, pointed out that Dr Khir had yet to explain how he managed to finance his multi-million ringgit mansion in Shah Alam.

“He did not explain how he got his mansion,” said the Machang MP.

“If you compare the RM300,000 expenditure by Yayasan Selangor, that is only the airfare for Khir Toyo, his wife, children and servants for his Disneyland trip,” he added.

Dr Khir had reportedly denied using state funds to pay for his children and maid’s trips to Disneyland Florida and Disneyland Paris in 2007 and 2004 that allegedly cost state subsidiary Permodalan Negeri Selangor Sdn Bhd (PNSB) RM1.7 million.

He had claimed that PNSB had only paid for him and his wife, and that the trips were technical trips as Selangor wanted to build a theme park in Bagan Lalang.

The former Menteri Besar has also reportedly claimed that he had bought his mansion for only RM3.5 million.

Saifuddin also highlighted the current government’s practices of establishing the Selangor Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) and appointing a BN representative to head the state Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

“The Selangor government now has established Selcat. Selangor is the only state in Malaysia now that has the opposition as the chairman of the PAC,” said Saifuddin.

Today, Dr Khir had also accused Khalid of practising cronyism by appointing personal contacts to head state subsidiaries like PKNS, Yayasan Selangor, state-owned sand mining subsidiary Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) and the Selangor Agriculture Development Corporation (PKPS).

“The onus is now on Khir Toyo to furnish facts and evidence to the state government,” said Saifuddin, referring to Dr Khir’s allegations.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua echoed Saifuddin’s views and said that PR’s administration of Selangor was “far better” than the previous BN government.

“We are far, far, far better than the previous BN Administration,” he said.

“We do not fear scandals about our mentri besar holding gigantic palaces...we do not tear down temples in a reckless fashion. Dr Khir himself has a palatial home in Shah Alam,” he added.

Pua also described the recent allegations of mismanagement of funds and cronyism against PKNS and Yayasan Selangor as a remnant of the previous BN administration.

“A lot of practices that were from the previous administration are still in existence today. If there is a critique that I have about the Selangor government, it is that we have not managed to get rid of all of it,” he said.

Today, Noh said that complaints of public wastage and cronyism had cropped up in Khalid’s administration in just two years.

Khalid was forced this week to deny his Administration was involved in spending an exorbitant amount for a Yayasan Selangor luncheon to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

The luncheon was scheduled for yesterday but was cancelled after the Selangor Sultan snubbed it over its exorbitant cost.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has started investigations into Yayasan Selangor’s extravagant celebration.

Other allegations against Yayasan Selangor reportedly include the purchase of luxury cars, a RM170,000 buka puasa function; RM200,000 for clothes, RM320,000 on a Hari Raya event, and the closure of the Yayasan Selangor Skills Institute in Bagan Terap, Sabak Bernam due to insufficient funds.

Last week, Hulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib also claimed that the PKNS management had appointed personal contacts to lead PKNS subsidiaries, and that the corporation had funded a RM520,000 wedding dinner for Malaysian astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor last month.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP pointed out, however, that the current state government was quick to address such complaints.

“At the state assembly, you find that when these things come about, a due inquiry is ordered straight away,” said Pua.

“There is no attempt to deny. There is no attempt to cover up,” he added.

He also said that the current Selangor government has “progressed tremendously” from the previous government, pointing out that land deals were now done through an open tender system.

“I think the Selangor state government has progressed tremendously from the times of the BN Administration. Land deals are done based on market prices and through open tenders,” said Pua.

Selangor DAP chief Ean Yong Hian Wah also claimed that Khalid’s Administration was more transparent than the previous BN government because of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and Selcat.

“The current Pakatan government is much more transparent than the previous government. We have the FOI Act and we have Selcat. This is the proof that shows we have the mechanism to make sure the government is transparent,” said Ean Yong.

The Malaysian Insider
17/11/10