I confess, I don’t know much about the man, but a former Gerakan-affiliated political analyst once oozed compliments about the man to me, so I suppose his reputation is fairly sound. This appointment also is occasion to make a few comments about some BN ‘good guys.’
All in all, I’m sincerely glad about the appointment, although of course, the mischievous bit in me can’t help a few playful jibes :) I was amused by this bit in theSun article:
Speaking after a press conference by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who announced his appointments, the former Jelutong MP and Gerakan deputy secretary-general, stressed that he was still a Gerakan member.
“I can be a voice within the state government. Check and balance need not be outside but from within,” said Lee who was offered the positions a week ago. He took just a few days to accept the offer and even “reported for work” at InvestPenang last Friday.
Hehe, I guess a Gerakan man can’t possibly be a stranger to “check and balance from within” eh? :) Better luck this time I hope!
Okok, enough busting his chops :)
But seriously, in the Malaysian context, it is statistically improbable that every single BN politician pre-2008 was lousy. Obviously, Pakatan should be a little wary about accepting into the fold politicians who have accepted and espoused racist ideologies, as well as are completely accountable for not speaking out against rampant corruption they could not possibly have been ignorant of.
Still, I suppose it’s a little foolhardy to discard them completely, *if* the nation is short on hands. Some service experience and prior good deeds should count for something I suppose. On the nearby front, for instance, I’ve heard decent things about the likes of Sharizat and Lee Hwa Beng. Based on what my friend said, I suppose Lee Kah Choon falls into that category as well.
(People like to point to Zaid and Shahrir.. Well, I suppose.. Though I’m a little disappointed they decided to ignore the writing on the wall and join this cabinet).
Basically, ensuring the best service to the rakyat is the bottom line. Precautionary measures are eminently fair, but all in all, partisanship is a distant second place.
LGE should 1st get the Gerakan man to resign from Gerakan, before giving him the post.
Lee Kah Choon is okay. He is a friend of my dad, a DAP supporter. My dad occasionally talks good things of him too. Besides, the positions he is appointed to just requires him to ‘do his job’. No need to discuss issues or make important decisions. Leave the decision making and policy setting to Barisan Rakyat. MCA and Gerakan people are more suitable to do these ‘service to the rakyat’ type jobs.
I think he will resign from Gerakan on his own. And will be followed by his supporters.
wHAT PEOPLE DON’T REALISE THE STORY OF sHARIZAT is this she basically was good at what she did but more towards the rich bansarians, another point to ponder is look at the husband, dig into his past, if there have been any manipulations for contracts look at the husband, I was part of sharizat’s campaign during the 2004 election, with 300-400 others who were paid RM200 for performing free taxi service for voters, by bringing them to the polling stations around bangsar with our private cars, sharizat’s husband was and assume still is one of the most arrogant people I have had the experience to have met, and beleive me when I say that as I have rubbed shoulders with many powerfull movers and shakers in my life, but this one takes the cake.
I think it’s a good move by LGE. Surely we must be learned enough to accept talent even if it comes from ‘other’ party. This should be the moral that we ought to incultivate into our political spectrum. Furthermore, Lee is not even a MP or SA, so his ‘crossover’ technically does not bring any benefit to DAP. I think this gesture will warm the hearts of many and hopefully more of such will follow. Let’s win over the rakyat through their heart and not their pocket like the BN devil.
When can our politicians from different parties and ideologies ever learn to close ranks and work together after an election? It’s still a sign of our political immaturity that our politicians cannot accept this.
nat: actually, seems like people so far are quite accepting of this move.. no major protest or uproar :)
I compliment LGE for appointing Gerakan’s Kah Choon for the two posts mentioned and I also compliment LKC for accepting the appointment. Like what Guan Eng said, he wants to set a new paradigm in Malaysian politics and his many earlier moves show that he’s really walking the talk. It is a sign of a good leader, as this decision carries great risk for him within his own party.
Malaysians have become so”polarised” by politics for the last 50 years and this I think is one of the reasons why we have descended so deeply in the governence of our nation. If we really care for our nation, we should try to tap the best of talents, irrespective of colour, gender or affiiations so as to move our nation (state) to a higher level of competitiveness. Malaysians must remember our enemies/rivals are our competitors outside our country, not our own brethens inside. So we should move forward utilising whatever talents we have, no matter what tribe they come from, provided they are sincere, clean and competent, and are committed to upholding the interests of rakyat Malaysia, always.
PR man is PM (BN) ‘s Chief Minister in one of the State of Malaysia. So what is wrong if an Gerakan man is one who look after Penang’s Investment? Is Mr Lee a crony of DAP or going to be a Yes man of PR? If he find PR men asking for favour, think what he is going to say? In the past, there are so many dogs tagging Mahatail when he goes overseas. What do you think about the chances of PR men tagging him?
Nat,
Judging by the news reports today, I think not!
NST:
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said members of Barisan Nasional component parties should not work for the opposition.
“I want to see Gerakan’s position on this matter,” Najib said after witnessing the signing of 19 deals worth RM1.129 billion between the Defence Ministry and suppliers at the 11th edition of the Defence Services Asia here yesterday.
Najib said on point of principle, members of BN component parties should not be encouraged to serve opposition-led state governments.
Nat,
Lee Kah Choon is a good guy, caught in a bad, racist BN system.
I think he will be good for the PDC.
But Gerakan will kick him out. Too bad.
Nat, while I believe that there are political elements in the appointment of Lee Kah Choon, I hope that this spirit of cooperation between parties does work.
Blogger Veritas has a good take on bipartisanship at http://savingyesterday.blogspot.com/