When it comes to faults and problems, no one is willing to take the blame. This is hardly surprising, especially in the world of politics. It is an issue that exists in both political divide, which means that the rakyat is not spared from faulty governance no matter where their political preference lies.

Too many articles have been written on the faults of the Barisan Nasional government, to the point where faults of the opposition governments is unfairly ignored. Therefore, let’s have a look at the opposition’s best performing state, one that has been making headlines in recent weeks - Penang.

The Pearl of the Orient state used to rank first in the state investment ranking back in 2010 and 2011. Yet, Penang has now dropped to 5th in the rankings, trailing behind Johor, Sarawak, Malacca and Selangor. One cannot help but wonder what has gone wrong?

The Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, has long dodged the blame in the flight of foreign investments from the state; and I sincerely hope that this has got nothing to do with Lim Guan Eng’s systematic act of bad mouthing the country during his overseas trips. No investors in their right mind would be attracted to invest in your state if you keep on preaching on how corrupt and unreliable your country is.

As a chief minister to an important state, Lim Guan Eng is directly responsible and accountable to the rakyat. His actions in and outside of the country will directly affect the rakyat’s livelihood. If Penang is deemed less attractive to investors because of Lim Guan Eng’s actions, then he is no better than the Barisan Nasional politicians who will only put politics first before the people’s interest.

The latest political development in Penang has seen the chief minister flexing his muscles, channelling his inner Mahathirism. He chastised the DAP Tanjung Bungah assemblyperson Teh Yee Cheu who followed his conscience when he voted for a motion tabled by Barisan Nasional in the state legislature. Until today, Teh Yee Cheu has expressed no regrets in defending his principle in voting for BN’s land reclamation motion.

Issues on land reclamation is not a new issue to Penang. It has been brought up time and time again only to fall on deaf ears. Previously, the Sri Tanjung Pinang reclamation project at Tanjung Tokong had made headlines.

It is one of the largest land reclamation projects the country has seen (1000 acres plus an adjoining 131 acres at Gurney Drive), yet, the DEIA report was conducted by a third party appointed by the project proponent, creating doubts over the report’s credibility.

The previous Barisan Nasional government may have approved 1,311 ha for land reclamation projects but only 310 ha have been reclaimed. But Lim Guan Eng’s administration is the one that initiated the Penang LRT project that would involve the reclamation of 1,618 ha of land.

Issues such as this prompted concerned assemblypersons such as Teh Yee Cheu to support Barisan Nasional’s bill that all sea reclamation projects for development be subjected to public debate, wanting to ensure that sufficient scrutiny and studies are given on projects that would adversely affect the livelihood of the citizens.

Pressured to do so?

The said assemblyperson however, has curiously resigned from all party posts. Was he pressured to do so? What does this say about Lim Guan Eng’s leadership? Perhaps the secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) should spend some time to self-reflect and rethink his political philosophy.

Much has been heard about Umno’s dictatorial approach in its leadership, quashing dissenters who did not abide the party’s line; but I think Lim Guan Eng is guilty of the same crime. A fellow assemblyperson had to bear the consequences of voting according to his conscience, for putting the rakyat’s interest first and he ended up losing his party post as well as the DAP state elections.

To make matters worse, Teh Yee Cheu was not alone, five PKR assemblypersons were also chastised by Lim Guan Eng’s administration for abstaining from voting on the motion tabled by Barisan Nasional, for practising their democratic rights.

Stop hiding behind BN’s shadows, blaming the previous administration is no longer an accepted excuse. May I remind the opposition that they were voted in by the rakyat for the change and ideals they stood for. Yet they seem to be heading towards the same path that kicked out the Barisan Nasional government in Penang.

Projects over rakyat, Lim Guan Eng?