Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng has ticked off MPs and state assemblypersons who ignore telephone calls from the public, cautioning that their inaction will be fodder for BN attacks that they are not reaching out to the rakyat.

NONE Lim ( right ), the DAP national secretary general, warned the peoples’ reps to be more responsive following public complaints that some of the YBs were not attending to their calls.

“Answer your calls. If you do not intend to answer them, then why do you give your numbers to the public?” he asked.

“And don’t just answer the calls, make an effort to assist the people,” he added.

There may be a grain of truth in Lim's concerns, as even reporters have on occasion met with a brick wall when seeking replies from local reps.

Last month, DAP's Sungai Pinang assemblyperson Koid Teng Guan also offended members of the public at Penang's Speaker's Square when he flatly refused calls to say a few words to those gathered.

wisma dap fund raiser penang Lim made the call during his speech at the party’s fundraising event ( left ) in Penang today to raise RM2.2 for their recently-acquired three-storey party headquarters in Rangoon Road, which they need to renovate and be ready by December.

The party has asked its parliamentarians, assemblypersons and municipal councilors to donate one month of their salary to the fund “to inspire” others to follow.

Building soft skills

In his speech Lim called for not just building a ‘Wisma DAP’ but putting more emphasis on building the party’s “software”.

He recommended that party members undergo proper training and development to energise and prepare them to better face the continuous onslaught from their rivals the BN.

He added that the party needed members who are “smart, brave and honest” to fight the BN, to give service to the people and to help the state government make Penang an international city.

NONE “We need to have one vision and be able to do ‘great things’... We must also face reality: don’t just dream. And we must not be overconfident,” he said.

“If we do not face reality we become very arrogant. Be humble, work hard but work smart,” he added.

“We must continue to work very hard, because there is no replacement for hard work,” he stressed.

Lim cautioned DAP members not to become like the BN, who he claimed was “constantly dreaming until they do not know why they have lost” in the last general election.

If the BN continues to dream and do not wake up to reality, it would definitely be good for Pakatan Rakyat, he said.

No place for dishonesty

Meanwhile, when asked about the party’s recent sacking of Klang municipal councilor Tee Boon Hock over alleged misuse of power, Lim declined to comment.

NONE He said the party’s central executive council has to listen to Tee’s appeal, which he is allowed to make within 14 days.

“It is not appropriate for me to make a comment now. If there were any comments, it should be made by disciplinary committee chairperson Tan Kok Wai,” he added.

Tee ( left in photo ), a DAP member for 26 years, was expelled from the party yesterday following allegations that he misused a Selangor exco member's letterhead to secure contracts for his cronies and family.

Earlier, Lim may have been hinting on the issue when he spoke that honesty was paramount for party members in all their dealings.

“Honesty is the best policy. If anyone is not honest in the party, action will be taken, and (it) has been taken,” he added.