Saturday 23 February 2013

GE13 a chance for Johoreans to take revenge for land grabs


GE13 a chance for Johoreans to take revenge for land grabs

Chua delivering his ceramah at the 1,000-people Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) dinner themed Ke Arah Perubahan pada PRU13 (Towards Change in the 13th General Election) outside Restoran Serambi Teratai, Pekan Kangkar Pulai, on Feb 23, 2013.

THE coming 13th General Election (GE13) is a chance for Malaysians, especially Johoreans, to halau (chase away) Barisan Nasional (BN).
Following the amendments to the oppressive Land Acquisition Act in 1991, Umno and its cronies have been grabbing the rakyat’s agriculture land for dirt cheap prices and then going for the kill by converting the land use to property development.
Land grabs are especially rampant in Johor because of Singaporeans’ seemingly endless demand for high-end property.
All sorts of “valid reasons” have been cited by then Johor Mentri Besar Muhyiddin Yassin and now Ghani Othman to forcibly force landowners, the majority of whom are Malays, to surrender their land cheaply.
So, GE13 is the opportunity for Johoreans to take revenge by giving Ghani and BN the boot.
Muhyiddin and then premier Mahathir Mohamd used the second-link as the reason to seize 32,000 acres of Nusajaya land for Umno’s property developers.
Today, Ghani and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak are replaying what Ghani and Mahathir did in Nusajaya.
Najib had soon after becoming prime minister proposed to his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong that a third link be constructed to connect Singapore to Pengerang.
This is the real reason for Najib and Ghani to use the Act to acquire 22,500 acres of Pengerang.
The non-sustainable Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project which requires only about 6,000 acres is not the real reason for the land grab.
Johoreans can stop the greed of Ghani, Umno and BN by using their ballots wisely in GE13.

The Kampung Simpang Arang Orang Asal Seleta community were also present to express their support for PR after their ancestral graves were desecrated by developers and their fishing ground polluted by 15km of coastal mangrove land reclamation from Sungai Pulai to Danga Bay, Tanjong Bin and Tanjong Pelepes.

I have been to Sabah with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim several times and we could feel the mood of Sabahans wanting change.
Their response to our visits was Ini Kalilah Kita Ubah! (This Time We Will Change!). And it is not only coming from the urbanites but the rural folk.
This is a good signal from the East Malaysians for change. If Johoreans also go for change, it will be the end for BN’s 55 years of abuse of power and misrule.