One must be fair to Menteri Besar Dr Khir Mohd Toyo for his intention to declare Selangor a developed state . In his opinion, Selangor is a developed state and the evidence is everywhere for all to see.

Hasn't the state permitted the clearance and rape of large tracts of virgin forests at Bukit Cahaya and other places for housing development? Go to any large housing estate like Subang Jaya, USJ, etc, and you can barely see any greenery. Only hot, hot concrete and asphalt. Who cares about the rise in temperatures? After all, residents can afford air conditioners, and it is good for the economy.

Lat even drew a cartoon recently of a child in 2020 looking at a specimen of a tree in the middle of a concrete jungle.

And the water authorities just recently declared that one-third of Selangor's rivers are dead, heavily polluted, with industrial effluents, garbage, carcases of animals like dogs and cats. These are definitely clear signs of progress and development.

There is no need to wonder why the fireflies in Kuala Selangor, one of the very few in the world, are dying in large numbers. Incidentally, didn't Khir Toyo recently ordered his councillors to camp the whole weekend at the firefly colony to study why the flies are dying and to recommend remedial action? What has become of it?

There are no squatters in Selangor any more, never mind the statement recently that all these will be 'resolved' by next year. Does this mean that big boards will be put up to block the views of the many ugly settlements and ghettos that line the roads all over the state? Or may be there will be more rumah panjangs ?

Arne't there still a lot of requests from the 'hardcore poor' for assistance both in monetary form and in kind? Arent there many illegal settlements in the many hills and villages all over Selangor whose residents speak foreign tongues and who from time to time like to engage in vicious fights, not to mention indulge in their favourite past-time of crime?

As for social life, well, what have we got? No cinemas, no liquor advertising, strict licencing, only entertainment suitable for the whole family. And to ensure compliance and good morality, there is the ever eager and zealous religious police.

And Selangor's ever 'efficient' bureaucratic civil service can be depended upon to make many and regular costly mistakes in land registration, monitoring of projects, inaction, etc. And the MB says they (including himself) are learning from their 'bitter and costly' mistakes. No need for punishment, just a lot of continuous learning curves, like from the belly dancers in Egypt while cruising on the Nile.

But best of all, corruption is not prevalent in the state! No private allocation of choice plots to politicians, no allocation of low-cost houses to those who do not qualify, local council meetings are transparent, and politicians in high places did not receive gratifications like houses and plots of land.

Selangor shamelessly claims many national infrastructure projects as its own - like the ports, highways and international airports - and takes credit for the trade that passes through them, never mind if they originate for other states.

The list goes on.

Given all these 'achievements', the good Dr Khir should set up a consultancy to offer his 'expertise' (not in root canal treatment) to other mentri besars and chief ministers on to how to achieve a 'developed' state status in double-quick time.

Especially to Dr Koh Tsu Khoon whose Penang state, also the prime minister's home state, is still painfully 'undeveloped' even after 20-odd years.

Better still, there just might be a vacancy at the Ministry for Federal Territories and the PM just might be looking for a 'shooting star' to attend to the many urgent matters there.