The BN's election manifesto "is fundamentally incapable of transforming, much less reforming, Malaysia", even in the problematic area of tackling corruption, says DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

In a statement today, Lim listed out five areas as examples of how the BN manifesto would not lead to any of BN chief Najib Abdul Razak's boasted reforms.

bn manifesto launch 060413 01 najib "It is all well and good for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to have its own power to recruit through a service commission (as outlined in the manifesto).

"But if the institution itself and its heads are still not independent, these new-found recruitment powers are useless," said Lim.

Lim also pointed to the inaction against Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, "despite the stacks of evidence gathered and made public" as testament of the "stillborn nature of any initiative on the part of the BN to eradicate corruption".

Secondly, in the area of economic competitiveness, he said, the BN manifesto was "shockingly hypocritical", based on the present practices of the ruling coalition.

For example, the manifesto promises to reduce car prices but remains conspicuously silent on the "unfair and opaque system" of approved permit (AP) allocations, which he claimed were largely given to "BN cronies".

NONE Lim also said the promise to divest non-strategic GLCs was primarily to benefit a small, select group of beneficiaries, such as tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary ( right ), "who was allowed to buy over Proton, Pos Malaysia and the Penang Port, just to name a few".

Puncak Semangat, which is linked to Syed Mokhtar, has also been awarded the largest 4G-LTE spectrum, he said.

"At the same time, other GLCs have bought over private companies such as SP Setia (by PNB) and Sunrise (by UEM), thereby decreasing the role of the private sector in the construction and property industry," he said.

Lim also cited how prime land parcels in the future Tun Razak Exchange (T-REX) and the Sungai Besi TUDM airbase had been sold to 1MDB "at below market prices".

‘What environmental protection?'

Thirdly, said Lim, the manifesto gave "false assurances on the issue of environmental protection" as shown in the controversial industrial projects in Gebeng, Bukit Koman and Pengerang.

"The BN has no qualms about using the people in and near Kuantan as guinea pigs by exposing them to the potential dangers of the Lynas plant.

NONE "The BN has no serious plan to investigate and resolve the problem of cyanide poisoning in Bukit Koman in Pahang," he said.

"The BN has done no serious environmental impact assessment (EIA) or socio-economic impact assessment (SIA) study on the multi-billion ringgit Rapid project in Pengerang, Johor."

Lim also gave examples in Kuala Lumpur: approving the 118-storey Menara Warisan in the historic Taman Merdeka and allowing Bukit Kiara and Bukit Gasing land to be handed to private property developers as contradictions to the BN pledge on more green lungs in the cities.

And while the BN promises preventing deforestation, "aggressive dam building and illegal logging activities continue unabated in Sabah and Sarawak", he said.

NONE Fourthly, a serious omission in the manifesto is electoral reform, on which it is "deathly silent".

"This is clearly an issue that many Malaysians are deeply concerned about, especially after evidence from the Sabah royal commission of inquiry (RCI) revealed that hundreds of thousands of ICs were given out to foreigners for the purpose of padding the electoral roll.

"One cannot but think that the BN is fearful that if a free and fair electoral system is implemented, the chances for BN to remain in power would be reduced to zero," he said.

Whither state powers?

Finally, another serious commission in the manifesto is failure to address the issue of state rights, for example the disproportionate control over revenue and government policy by the federal government.

NONE "The BN promises to expand the Rapid Bus System to every state but does not allow the state governments or the local authorities to provide their own bus services," he pointed out.

In contrast, said the incumbent Ipoh Timor MP, Pakatan has promised to decentralise federal power to give more authority and autonomy to the state governments.

In contrast, he said, "BN wants to continue the tradition of dominating and dictating policies through Putrajaya."

Lim added, "They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

"While we have no problems with the BN trying to incorporate our (Pakatan's) ideas into their own manifesto, it is laughable to see that even this copying is half-hearted, like many of the so-called transformation initiatives of Najib Razak."

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