Greed and Political Bias

Greed and Political Bias
Datuk Huan Cheng Guan
President, Centre for Political Awareness

At the heart of all reports regarding CDTUP's young boss, the self-proclaimed "future richest man of the world" Zhang Jian, is the fact that many are too greedy. This problem has been exacerbated by weak enforcement of existing laws against such scams and other law-breaking behaviour, particularly in Penang.

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Today, The Star (http://tinyurl.com/ndyxqzy) reported that the multi-level marketing scheme by purported Chinese millionaire Zhang Jian is an illegal set up because the company has never applied for any operating license from the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives, and Consumerism Ministry, which cautioned the public against participating in schemes offered by the company. Since the company is not registered with the ministry, it is an illegal scheme and deposit taking from the public is illegal.

What is more shocking is the revelation from the Penang Municipal Council, which said Zhang has been operating his business activities on the island without a license. Even more damning is MPPP public health and licensing alternate chairman, Ong Ah Teong’s statement that he has not received any application from the operator and he would ask his officers to check the premises.

While Zhang’s company has collected an estimated RM300 million from Malaysians since it began operations late last year, Ong Ah Teong said the operator of Yun Shu Mao in Tavoy Road could be fined RM250 for the offence. 

The Star checked Yun Shu Mao’s office in Tavoy Road, Penang and found that the business was operating as usual yesterday. Why is this so? With all the hue and cry about Zhang’s business, it appears that MPPP and MPSP are slow to act to rectify this situation and to prevent people from being scammed. That being the case, victims should quickly queue up outside Lim Guan Eng’s office in KOMTAR to ask for his assistance to recover their losses. Perhaps, that will make the state government move faster.

That is not the end of the story of poor enforcement in Penang. It seems MPPP needs ADUNs to help them in enforcement. The Rakyat Post (http://tinyurl.com/pg3hdlj) reported State Local Government, Traffic and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) would follow up with legal action against the culprit behind the massive illegal hill clearing on the hilltop in Bukit Kukus in Taman Terubong Jaya.

Note that this was only after Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu’s complaint  on Sunday that
the hill, located some 1,200 feet above sea level, was in a sad state with bald patches visible from afar.

Most disgracefully, he said MPPP had issued a stop work order on June 17 last month. It is more than three weeks already so why does the problem still exist? Poor enforcement, of course!
While YB Chow could say “I fail to understand that despite all the publicity on the Bukit Relau case, there are still parties who are still unaware and ignorant of the sensitive nature of the issue”, I want to ask him why after so many botak hills, this problem still exists?

It baffles me to see how Chow dared to declare  that there should be a need for approval before any earthwork could be done at the site and that the companies should not have any problems in applying for the necessary permits. He just does not realize that enforcement goes far beyond approving permits and issuing stop work orders. He must send people to MONITOR areas of concern.

What are Penang enforcement officers doing? Why must action be confined to only ISSUING STOP WORK ORDERS? It is almost as if MPPP stops working after issuing stop work orders and resurrects to act only if the problem is highlighted again in the media.

This is such a shameful pattern of inefficiency and yet CM Lim Guan Eng still has the courage to walk around as if all is well on the Penang front. This is muka tebal of the thickest type!

So we see a gross display of greed complemented by high level of inefficiency and political bias whereby DAP is always right and everybody else is wrong. There you are – UBAH of the lowest form for Penang!

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