CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
PIG ABBATOIR DEMOLITION, KPG. TELUK YAN on 1/6/09
On 19/5/09, receive call from the Pig Slaughtering Assoc. Committee that MBAS will be destroying the abbatoir by latest 30/5/09.
I receive a personal phone call from MB himself late evening on an unrelated matter and I quickly took this opportunity to related the pig slaughterers plea to him, and the MB himself agree to me that they must not be relocated yet, until a suitable site for them to operate had been identified. He told me this matter can be solve and advised me to personally see the Exco for Housing /Local govt., Dato Phahrolradzi about it.
On 20/5/09 Mr. Liew, chairman of the assoc. visit me at my service center with a letter to notify that MBAS means business.
I decided to see Dato Phahrolradzi to explain the actual issue, and to put date of demolition of abbatoir on hold, while a suitable site is being in the process of being identified first but dato insisted to let MBAS to go ahead and said it is out of his jurisdiction and power. I can see by his words and negative body language that gave me no chance at all to explain to him. He said this matter is out side his jurisdiction and power.
I personally visited the slaughter house with my p/a Mr. Chow to see for myself and understand things better with members of the association, including Mr. Liew.
Mr. Liew explain to me that years back during BNs’ state govt. MCA rep. had told him the state govt. will look for and identify the right site prior moving out. That is why all this while they had been thinking that the MCA woudl be helping them and have all the while been thinking the govt. will be looking for a suitable site for them without realizing its an empty promise.
The association members had been waiting for so long until they began to realize that they have been bluff all these years with the unfulfilled promise, that the govt. is looking for aa suitable site for them.
I tried to cool them down and told them that , this had been the MCA habit of doing it, just to please the rakyat and make it through every G.E., just for their own selfish interest.
I then called Yb Tan Wei Shu, Exco for Chinese Affairs/ Transport to explain things over to him.
I received Dato’s personal call to me the same evening saying this can be discuss and added that he had informed the Dato Bandars’ Secretary about it.
On 21/5/09, the pig Slaughter Association held their emergency meeting to discuss things of their concern.
On 22/5/09, Mr. Liew see me again at 2.00pm and discuss things again and I told him that the association have to write an explanation and an appeal letter to Dato Bandar, while I wrote my personal appeal letter and bring the case to Kedah MB. with copy to Dato Phahrolradzi, Tan Wei Shu and Dato Bandar.
On 24/5/09, my personal appeal letter and also a letter from the Association were being prepared to be sent to MBAS and Wisma.
On 25/5/09, my personal assistance and me visited the Dato Bandar at 9.00 morning to discuss things over and handed to him my personal
appeal letter and also that of the Pig Slaughter Association.
Also, we visited YB Dato Phahrolradzi 10.30 morning, dicussed and explained things over together with YB Tan Wei Shu, my p/a Mr. Chow and Mr.Liew.
YB Dato only agreed verbally with us to delay the demolition,
without indicating any decision to really put on hold to demolish the pig slaughter house for a duration, until such time a new site found but instead his response is doubtful indeed !!
On 27/5.09, efforts were made many times to contact the MB thru his personal assistance failed to go thru.
On 28/5/09, I called a press conference with Chinese media, Sinar Harian and TV 9 were called at my service center, to explain the progress and latest development on the demolition issue.
On 29/5/09, information from hearsay that the demolition of slaughter house will definitely be carried by Dato Bandar but on 1/6/09 3.00pm instead.
On 30/5/09, my personal assistance decided to inform all Chinese media to be at the pig slaughter house by 7.30 morning, just to make sure in case anything happen but until 8.30 am, nothing happened.
On 31/5/09, I decided to see MB myself, so together my personal assistance Mr.Chow,and Mr. Liew we decided to meet the MB at WISMA
and by 2.00, I was told that he is not in yet, but we kept waiting
until 3.00 pm.
All Chinese press were also at the WISMA with us. By 3.00 we decide to look for MB at his home.
After discussion and appeal, he then agreed and called the State Secretary, Dato Wira Hj Basli B. Basir on the matter, and YAB MB told us to see him immediately.
The MB then gave statement to the press immediately.
We then make our way to see the S/Sec., at 4.00, explain things over and he then call Dato Bandar but failed to contact him.
S/S then said he will contact me about it.
On 01/6/09, 10.30 morning I receive call from one Chinese media reporter,
that she saw an excavator machine already parked near the the entrance to the pig slaughter house.
I still have not receive any call from S/Sec or any letter from Dato Bandar to call back the demolition order.
Surprisingly no police personel were seen around except from the Special Branch.
By 1.00 pm crowds of people were around the slaughter house with more than fifty over people hanging around inside the slaughter house, waiting worriedly to see what happen next, and hundreds from members from the DAP, Pkr, Mca, and Gerakan and all Chinese ADUNs from Pakatan and BN were present.
The excavator was seen moving away from the slaughter house.
At 2.45 pm, Yb Tan Wei Shu arrived and then return to wisma to
see the MB.
We decided to get the MBs’ letter so my personal assistance, Mr. Chow went to WISMA to get the letter thru YB Tan Wei Shu.
The moment I received the copy of the letter from MB, I release it to the press immediately and the crowd were told to disperse at about 4.00 evening. The date to demolish the pig slaughter house was then extended until 1/7/09 instead of indefinite date that we have plead in our official letter to the MB.
It was a very hectic evening indeed that I have ever come
across ! !……But the question is, why all these unnecessary happenings ??? WHY ! WHY ! and WHY!
I have been asking myself, why are we not changing. The rakyat already want change. Is the PR Kedah government facing obstacles all along these 14 months to changes because of the many little Napoleans and the 50 years of BN mentality that is causing obstacles all along the way, to allow smooth administrative directive from the top? Pas leadership got to be very serious about this matter and to do something about it, otherwise it will give the voters a very bad perception towards the pas led state government
of Kedah. The real question is, are we standing on a common platform for clean, transparent, fair and just government now, where every government policies and directives in PR are seen to be fair and just ?
Pas led state government got to be firm on this before its too late. For 50 years already, we got to be different from BN, we got to seriously value the rakyat support. There will be another reverse political tsunami, unless Pas led PR leadership in Kedah do something about it.
The chronology of event that I had been experiencing, with a few other issues like the pending approval of the Kedah Buddhist Association Building plan, and the demolition of hindu temples are among the few examples of issues that need to be addressed, are being closely observed by the rakyat during these past 14 months under the PR govt.
The pig abbatoir relocation issue in Alor Setar was a more than 10 years old issue, where the previous BN government had promise to find a suitable site for them but all seems to be an empty promise, as I was told by the pig slaughter association committee members.
Our main issue about the Pig Abbatoir is not that the operators are against
the demolition, and they are willing to move out and that they know that location of the abbatoir there is not suitable anymore. The actual issue is to allow for more time to be given, because a suitable site have not been approved yet and that a total of seven areas have been forwarded by the Pig Slaughterer Association to the govt. to consider. The question is without a suitable site indentified and approved, where you expect the traders to operate, not to mention time required to built the abbatoir and the necessary facilities. This is common sense. This is the real issue.This is not a racial issue at all, as claimed. Dap is not favouring the minority community, but fairness is the issue. The Pas-led Kedah govt. got the see the actual issue with wisdom.
The Datuk Bandar should review and extend the date of demolition of the abbatoir for at least a few months to have the new site and facility operational. There is no compassion at all! The MB, the exco for local govt. and the Datuk Bandar should understand this. Afterall the abbatoir have been existed for about 30 years already, during the prevous BN govt. A few months delay also cannot be tolerated ? Why the rush to bring down the abbatoir?
It is very regretful and frustrating to me that this message fail to go through and MB Dato Seri Azizan and the Exco for local govt, Datuk Phahrolrazi,
failed to use their political will to solve the abbatoir relocation issue with wisdom. In fact the whole of the non-muslim community in Kedah are too disappointed for the action by MBAS on the evening of 1/7/09 at Kpg. Teluk Yan, Alor Setar.
