PKR has blamed the New Year’s Day family suicide in Pengerang on the BN”s “usual indifference” in steamrolling its mega projects regardless of the locals affected.

NONE In a statement today, the party vice-president N Surendran (left) blasted the RM60 billion Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project for having a direct hand in causing the suicides.

“The BN government's usual indifference to the human cost of mega projects and failure to alleviate poverty has directly led to these deaths.  

“In their massive land-grab for the Rapid project, the BN showed complete disregard for the great hardships suffered by the residents.

azlan “Cut off suddenly from their livelihood and way of life, and ordered to relocate to a barren land without proper infrastructure, it is no wonder that some have chosen suicide,” he said.

Yesterday it was reported that a 62-year-old man and his 57-year-old wife, along with their 20-year-old son suffering from Down’s syndrome, were found dead in their home in Kampung Jawa, Pengerang.

The family allegedly chose suicide over their suffering due to inadequate compensation for their relocation over the Rapid project.

However, the brother of the deceased had at a MCA press conference yesterday denied that the relocation was the cause of the family suicide.

Poverty figures 'manipulated'

Surendran said the tragic suicides should serve as a wake up call to the government to recognise the serious problem of poverty in the country that he said the administration continues to play down.

“The Pengerang suicides were completely avoidable, and should be a wake-up call for Malaysia.

pengerang himpunan hijau 300912 supporter 04 “The BN government must stop pandering to rich cronies and favoured businessmen, whilst neglecting the mass of poor Malaysians.

“Why is it that in Malaysia the gap between the rich and the poor is the second highest in Asia?” he said.

He added that the official poverty figure of 3.8 percent was “absurdly low”, citing Japan’s 15.7 percent and the European Union’s 16.4, and alleged that the government was “clearly manipulating poverty statistics for political reasons”.

“The government must now reveal the actual poverty figures and urgently tackle the root causes of poverty, whilst rendering relief in urgent cases.

“We must ensure that there is no repeat of the Pengerang suicides,” he said.