Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal expressed disappointment today for being barred from using a community hall in Kampung Selisek, Ulu Bernam.

shafie apdal and mps no defection pc 280808 01 Shafie said the move by the authorities showed the unfairness of Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government.

“ Bila kita buat (tindakan serupa ke atas Pakatan), tidak boleh. Tapi bila dia buat, tidak apa ,” (When we do it, they say we shouldn’t. But when they do it, it’s okay), he lamented.

“Being stopped (from using the hall) is not a problem. We just want to show how unfair they are,” he told a press conference after distributing RM580,500 to settlers from the area.

The money was dividend payments for 253 rubber and oil palm smallholders who owned a total of 70 hectares of land.

Being unable to access the community hall forced the organiser of the event, the government’s Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda), to hold the programme in a school football field adjacent to the community hall.

abdul rahim tamby chik interview 030805 responding Risda chairperson Rahim Tamby Chik ( left ), in his remarks on the matter, told the press conference that the local authorities’ move had inconvenienced many of the 1,000-plus people - a number of whom were senior citizens - participating in the event.

“The toilet doors were locked. Pity the people, lah . Many of them are elderly people,” he said.

Also present at the event were MIC deputy-president G Palanivel, Ulu Bernam state representative Idris Abu Bakar and heads of departments in Shafie’s ministry.

Earlier in his speech, Shafie said the BN had never discriminated against those that did not support the government.

“We’ve helped the state of Kelantan under the opposition... But sadly, today, we can’t even use a hall that we had built,” Shafie.

hulu selangor by-election bn campaign at behrang 100410 01 He also lashed out opposition figure Lim Kit Siang, who he accused of questioning the position of the institution of the Malay rulers.

“Even the royal address of the (Yang di-Pertuan) Agong, Lim Kit Siang wants to change... and if that’s not enough, he even left the hall. I saw this with my own eyes,” he said.

Shafie also urged the people of Hulu Selangor to support the BN in the upcoming by-election.

“How can we continue to tap rubber if chaos occurs (under the Pakatan government)?” he asked.