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.
