Monday February 25, 2013

MCA: PAS will ruin country

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH and EMBUN MAJID
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Community service: Kek Lok Si Temple chief abbot Venerable Seck Jit Heng (left) handing over the temple’s hospital proposal to Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai. With them are (from right) MCA Economic Bureau chairman Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, Dr Chua, Penang MCA deputy chairman Datuk Dr Loh Hock Hun and temple trustee Datuk Steven Ooi. The temple plans to build a five-storey hospital for the poor.

GEORGE TOWN: PAS' Islamisation of politics will have a negative impact on a multi-racial country like Malay-sia, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

“PAS is so insistent on using Islam in a multi-racial country, obviously for political mileage,” he said. “Using Islam for political end is bad for the country.”

Dr Chua added that if the country practised what PAS wanted, the political, education, economic and financial systems would suffer negative impacts.

On issues affecting Penang, he said properties on the island would become more expensive in tandem with the price appreciation of land.

He added that there were 100,000 households in Penang with a monthly income below RM7,000.

“This group can only buy affordable houses.

“They will have to wait for a long, long time. You cannot find (landed) houses costing less than RM400,000 in Penang,” he told a press conference after a prayer session at the Kek Lok Si Temple yesterday.

In Gurun, Dr Chua said Pakatan Rakyat had failed to develop Kedah and keep its promises made before the 2008 general election.

“Simple promises such as allowances for single mothers and building nursery in factories and government offices had not been fulfilled,” he said after attending the Gurun MCA Chinese New Year open house in Padang Lembu on Saturday night.

He added that the state had also failed to increase its revenue, thus causing it to accumulate a deficit of up to RM1bil.

On another note, Dr Chua said the MCA in Kedah respected its fellow Barisan Nasional component parties in seat allocation, thus there would be no changes of seats in the coming general election.

“We are fighting for the people, so there is no need to fight over seats,” he said, adding that he was confident the party could retain the one parliamentary seat and one state seat that it won in 2008.

In 2008, the MCA won the Alor Setar parliamentary seat and Gurun state seat but lost the Padang Serai parliamentary seat and the Bakar Arang, Kota Darulaman and Kulim state seats.

News

Monday February 25, 2013

MCA: PAS will ruin country

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH and EMBUN MAJID newsdesk@thestar.com.my

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH and EMBUN MAJID
newsdesk@thestar.com.my