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Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) councillor Ong Ah Teong’s excuse that he is “unclear” over the survey regarding the DAP-led Penang state government’s decision to ban foreigners from working as cooks is an attempt to distance himself from the problem whereby people were allowed to submit repeated answers to their online survey.

The state government’s attempt at covering up their mistakes by introducing an ‘email address’ column is also even more humorous and has made them a laughing stock.

It is clear that Ong is not technology-savvy, or else he would not have recommended that an additional ‘email address’ column be added to prevent the same person from handing in multiple submissions to the online survey. Not only does it reveal his lack of knowledge on science and technology, but it also reveals that there is a lack of talent within the Penang government.

This is because it is very common for Malaysians to have more than a single email-address, as it will enable them to be able to work better, faster, and more efficiently. Besides that, it is not very hard for someone to quickly sign up for another email-address, thus Ong’s suggestion shows his ignorance of this fact.

Thus it is laughable for the Penang state government to think that a hastily-made decision to simply add an ‘email address’ column can stop multiple submissions from a single person.

Even in DAP’s Red Bean Army which was set up to attack the federal government, the majority of its members use fake accounts to register for social media tools, thus allowing a single member to own multiple Facebook accounts. This is a widely-known secret, thus it is incredulous for Ong to think that an authentic submission can be based on an email-account.

Besides that, Ong’s claim that only MCA supports foreign workers to come in and take over jobs from locals is pure nonsense. MCA has always stressed that as long as the foreigners who enter Malaysia to work do so legally, we will not oppose it.

Among the many reasons why Penang hawkers prefer to hire foreigners includes reducing the workload of local employers, and that it helps save cost. However, the Penang government on the other hand had threatened to revoke the licences of food operators who are caught hiring foreigners.

Thus, it is clear that it is the DAP and Ong who are burdening the local hawkers as they did not conduct any proper study before coming up with their ridiculous ban. Thus it is clear that Ong has failed in his duties as an MPPP councillor.

What both DAP and Ong should have done instead was to do their homework beforehand, and to invite experts on surveys to conduct their online polls, instead of rushing to push their agenda through and then hastily trying to cover up their mistakes.


DR TAN CHUAN HONG is Penang MCA state liaison committee secretary.

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