KUCHING: Accusations of “selective amnesia”, “deliberately misleading”, “half-truths” and “careful omissions of facts” have been hurled at Pelawan assemblyman David Wong Kee Woan.
Apparently, he had rubbed Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing the wrong way politically to get that kind of comeback from him.
A sticking issue that irks Tiong is the national debt, so he asked Wong to explain how Pakatan Harapan (PH) managed the incredible feat of pushing the level past RM800 billion.
“Was the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) plan meant to cut expenses? If so, what was the reason for continuing to borrow money?” he asked.
He said Wong does not dare to admit that the plan for the ECRL is not to save money but rather to cut corners to reduce prices.
In addition to that, he should actually save expenses on his propaganda through the media and divert the funds to improve the people’s livelihood in Sarawak.
Tiong, who is Bintulu MP, thanked Wong for his kind concern for him.
“However, I daresay that in politics and in my personal life, my principles have remained the same, which is to serve the people and improve their livelihood.
“I carry out my duties and responsibilities to the letter but David Wong and the entire Democratic Action Party (DAP) cannot claim to do so,” he said in a statement before the weekend.
1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB)
Regarding 1MDB, Tiong said that Wong clearly does not dare to divulge how much of its assets have been sold off by PH. The media have reported that the PH government had successfully recovered 1MDB’s debts but they were not reflected in any reduction in the national debt.
“We need to ask Wong and his DAP where the recovered funds have gone to. Were they used to lessen our national debt? What is the total debt of the country now?” he asked.
It is well acknowledged that the national debt during the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had only reached RM686.8 billion at the end of 2017. PH has been in power for a year and a half and the national debt has shot up to RM800 billion including the government loan of RM51 billion and the samurai bond of RM7 billion.
But the government had only repaid RM17.7 billion of the debt. Where did the rest go?
Furthermore, the government’s investment arm, Khazanah Nasional, had achieved a pre-tax profit of RM2.896 billion compared to 2017. It did not make a profit in 2018 and the loss before tax was RM6.3 billion.
He then asked whether Wong dare to admit that the government is facing losses for the first time in 10 years.
“The numbers do not lie; only politicians do. For these lies, Wong must apologise,” he said.
Jawi calligraphy
Tiong noted that Wong had joined the chorus of those who repeatedly blame the previous government for the Jawi calligraphy controversy.
“Yet the Education Minister himself had personally confirmed that the former government had abolished the policy. What does he have to say to that?
“His contradictory statements only show his lies and highlight the lousy and conflicting communication within the Cabinet of the PH government.
“Moreover, during the previous government, the three major languages were allotted one page each equally. There were no discrepancies. But now, with the Jawi text being introduced into the primary school textbook, there is definitely a gap,” he stated.
He found it even more ridiculous that Wong dared to point out that the DAP had tried to find consensus in the matter.
He added that this is very misleading. Was it not due to incredible public pressure that the DAP fell all over itself trying to fix the situation?
Even worse now, the responsibility of implementing the calligraphy module is pushed to the parent-teacher associations (PTA) to alleviate the pressure on teachers and students.
“Even though there is no test for the Jawi calligraphy now, who is to say that there won’t be one in the future? There is no way Wong can guarantee this would not happen,” he said.
United Examination Certificate (UEC) recognition
On the recognition for the UEC he recalled that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said the government must take into account the feelings of the Malays and that there was a need to close the wealth gap in the country.
Tiong stated that these are the reasons why PH has not been able to be firm on UEC’s recognition. Tun Mahathir has manipulated ethnic issues for such a long time now that when racial discord gets worse, it is extremely difficult for PH to honour their commitments without attracting more opposition.
“And now, I ask David Wong (who claims to defend Chinese rights) why not stand up to Mahathir? Are there no Chinese people living in poverty?”
He predicted that for the DAP to retain the remaining Chinese votes in the next general election, expect them to give some small rewards here and there.
He said it must be cost-effective for the PH to give out “little scraps”, just enough to divert attention away from the UEC issue.
Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63)
“How is it possible that David Wong still has the face to talk about Sarawak’s sovereignty? He needs to be schooled on the matter. Let me remind him once again as he seems to be forgetful these days,” said Tiong.
Wong had proudly stated that he had established the MA63 consultative committee after he took office but in fact the issue of Sarawak’s sovereignty had been raised far back during the BN era.
“The late chief minister Pehin Sri Adenan Satem championed this issue many times. The new committee under PH was set up for research and consultative purposes. Why should Wong take all of the credit for himself?” he said.
“Has he forgotten that it was the PH government that refused to present a Bill acceptable to Sarawak before amending Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution? The Article is supposed to provide for the definition and status of Sabah and Sarawak as granted under the MA63.
“Which part of the amendment to the constitution included the wording of the MA63? How could the status of the Bornean states be restored if they are not recognised by the highest law? Wong should present his explanation to the public.”
Tiong believes that if the constitutional amendment was passed at that time, Sarawak might even lose its autonomy.
“Wong’s selective memory is great at picking stories that are good for himself, which he further embellishes to present a great front.
“If he sincerely wished to safeguard the sovereignty of Sarawak, he should go ahead and fight. Better yet, ask his Sarawak DAP chief to fight for the same. There is no need to complicate the issues and trample on the people’s expectations and test their patience,” he said.
Rights over oil and gas
Tiong then asked about the 20 per cent oil sale tax that Sarawak PH chairman Chong Chieng Jen had promised to return to Sarawak and disbursed at RM2,000 per person.
“Why has he not mentioned that this topic has been roiling on social media? This kind of talk makes people suspect that it is a prelude to a PH plan to take over all of Sarawak’s resources,” he said.
Sarawak has been fighting tooth and nail for the oil royalty but has not been getting help from the party with “Action” in its name. As far as Sarawak is concerned, the Democratic Action Party is just hot air and empty slogans.
“Where is the promised 20 per cent royalty? And where has decentralisation of federal power gone to?” Tiong asked.
