Crossing swords with other elected reps in Penang State Assembly

As reported in Malay Mail

Assemblyman slams 'sloppily prepared' budget

Thursday, December 12, 2013 - 08:15

Location: 

GEORGE TOWN

A BARISAN Nasional (BN) assemblyman labelled the Penang 2014 Budget as unrealistic and one that was "sloppily prepared".

Muhammad Farid Saad (BNPulau Betong) said the budget was unacceptable because it did not show any progress in the state.

"The state government ought to redo the budget," he said after pointing out similar figures and statistics for three consecutive years in several areas, including development and housing.
Muhammad Farid also criticised the state government for the lack of funding to assist and promote homestay programmes.

"According to homestay operators, they did not receive a single sen from the state government," he said.
"The state tourism exco has also failed to provide an answer for my written question regarding the return of investments (ROI) for the George Town Festival."

Tourism development and culture committee chairman Danny Law (DAP-Batu Lanchang) was not present at the sitting, and Muhammad Farid took him to task for the incomplete answers.

At this juncture, Wong Hon Wai (DAP-Air Itam) stood up and defended Law, citing other figures such as hotel returns and tourist arrivals which also contributed to return of investments.
"The festival has brought a positive impact to the state as it is also renowned elsewhere in the world," he said.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 As reported in The Sun Daily

 

PR, BN women politicians unite rights

Posted on 12 December 2013 - 08:57pm
Last updated on 12 December 2013 - 09:48pm

Aaron Ngui
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

GEORGETOWN (Dec 12, 2013): In a rare show of unity between Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional women politicians, they were united in defence of their gender when their involvement in the political arena was brought up at the Penang state assembly.

State Youth and Sports, Women and Family Development Committee chairman Chong Eng, who started the ball rolling, urged political parties on both sides of the political divide to put in place quotas for women to contest seats.

"Parties should create quotas for women to be placed in their respective decision-making bodies as well as enacting laws to reserve a certain percentage of constituencies for women only to contest.

"We should support affirmative action policies which level the playing field between men and women," she said in her winding up speech today.

She was backed by state Opposition leader Datuk Jahara Hamid (Telok Air Tawar–BN) who said women should not only have a choice but be respected as well by not being bullied.
Yap Soo Huey (Pulau Tikus–DAP) also voiced her support for quotas stating that society was structured in such a way as to benefit men, pointing out men form the majority in many decision-making bodies.

This prompted Backbenchers Club chairman Wong Hon Wai (Air Itam–DAP) to urge the legislature to invite university students to attend the sessions so both genders can be exposed to politics and be encouraged to participate.
"Visits to factories should also be arranged to encourage their interest in engineering," he said, while Dr Norlela Ariffin (Penanti–PKR) said she was now an elected representative due to such a policy practice by her party which played an important role for increased women participation in politics.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As reported in New Straits Times

2nd Penang Bridge to be opened on schedule despite ongoing probe

 

GEORGE TOWN: The Second Penang Bridge will be opened as scheduled by the government although the investigation on the collapse of the second ramp rail of the bridge is still going on.
The Chairman of the State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee, Chow Kon Yeow said the investigation carried out by the commission set up by the state government did not prevent the bridge from being opened according to schedule.

"Besides the probe by the commission, the agency concerned had already submitted its investigation and report to them, and the ministry as well as the Syarikat Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd are responsible in ensuring the safety aspect when the ramp is opened to traffic.

"Actually, the road under the ramp is already open to traffic. They will be responsible for the safety of the ramp," he said when replying to a supplementary question from Wong Hon Wai (DAP-Air Itam) at the State Legislative Assembly sitting, here today.

Wong wanted to know whether the state government planned to extend the period of investigation on the Second Penang Bridge.

In the incident on June 6, the concrete ramp at the exit road of the Second Penang Bridge at Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu in Batu Maung, collapsed and resulted in one individual being killed while three others were injured.

On July 6, The Director-General of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Datuk Ir Dr Johari Basri confirmed that the department found there were elements of negligence in terms of procedure and technical aspects by the contractor.
-- BERNAMA