Tuesday March 10, 2009
By EDDIE CHUA and CHRISTINA CHIN
The man who used to be called SG (secretary-general) and now CM (chief minister) but actually only wants to be known as Guan Eng spoke to The Star on his family, his famous father and the challenges of his new role as a government leader. ONE year after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng landed the top job in Penang, he is still trying to get the hang of it.
He is still adjusting to changes, juggling his position between being an MP and state assemblyman as well as managing a team of executive councillors to run the state.
“It has been tough for my family but I marvel at their courage and determination to adjust. It’s definitely not easy,” Lim said.
Despite his busy schedule, Lim takes time off for himself to have his hawkers’ meals, especially the all-time Penang favourite, char koay teow.
“I have even conducted meetings in hawker centres while having such meals,” he said.
But what he really misses these days are reading and watching his favourite football team, Manchester United in action.
Doting dad: Lim kicking the ball around with his youngest son Ethan at his official residence Seri Teratai as his wife Durian Daun (Malacca) Assemblyman Betty Chew looks on. On being Chief Minister
It has changed my life but I am still the same person because I know where I came from. I’ve gone through the bitterness and pain. When I was languishing in prison, I always encouraged myself that this too shall pass. Even at your lowest ebb, always remember that this will pass if you persevere. Even when you peak, that too will pass, so take it with a sense of equanimity.
What is important when it comes to leadership is that you have to lead a strong team. You can be the best person but if you cannot forge a team of brilliant individuals to work as a team, you are a failure.
Being chief minister is the priority. I have my assistants to help me in my state constituency and if necessary, I’ll go down myself to keep close tabs on the ground.
Of course, I have to discharge my duties as MP and secretary-general but it’s a question of balancing. What’s important is to keep the ship on even keel.
I told my members when I was first elected as secretary-general where I want to bring them. My objective is not to make DAP the largest opposition party. My aim was to make us a full partner in power. I never expected that to happen within a few years but now that we have done that, being chief minister must be the priority because we have always said we wanted to be in power.
The most important thing is to provide the leadership and carry out the transformation of Penang.
An invaluable lesson
I’ve learnt in this one year is to have faith and trust in the people. A government can only be as good as the people and Penangites are good that is why we must trust them.
I cannot give the people everything they want but at least I can assure them that there is no corruption. Everything is for public benefit. We save money so we can use it to wipe out hardcore poverty. We are even-handed when we take action.
Faith, hope and love
These are not just words. These are values to me. I believe a government should have a soul. We are not cold calculating machines. A government can have a soul by having these values.
We want the people to have faith that the government is here to help, not harm you.
For too long, the government has been seen as a necessary evil. We want to be seen as a necessary good.
It sounds corny but love helps you get through the day. No matter how tired I am, when I go back and see my children, it gives me that “ooomph”.
In society, if there is no love, there cannot be national unity, if there is no caring society, there is no compassion.”
Tun Lim Chong Eu a leadership benchmark
I’ve met him several times. What the former Penang Chief Minister said will remain private but he has always been positive and encouraging.
We view him as a benchmark because he is one of the best leaders in the country. A decisive leadership, having a vision of where you want to take Penang to and never forgetting that the people are your masters – these are things from Tun’s administration that can be applied to this government.
I’ll never be embarrassed to seek his advice. I’m willing to meet anyone who can help Penang. I’m not a person who sticks to protocol. I don’t have a big ego. That’s why I even offered to meet Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon despite my obvious feelings about him.
Kit Siang’s son
Anyone would be proud to have Lim Kit Siang as a father but it is always difficult to grow under a banyan tree. Its big shade may be very cooling and comforting yet it can also stunt your achievements because it may not be seen as your own effort.
Any failure is magnified. It’s difficult. I was a young boy when he was detained under the Internal Security Act. At that age, you think your father is a bad person because only bad people are arrested by the police so it was an immense struggle for me to convince myself otherwise.
I remember my classmates jeering at me in school, saying my father was a bad guy. I could only kneel and cry – not because of the jeering but because I thought what was said was true and I could not defend him.
I never told my mother because I didn’t want her to be sad. I had caught her crying at night when my father was detained. It was then that I realised in this life, there is so much injustice and when you try to right the wrongs, you are punished.
I am inspired by his sacrifice and determination, ideals and principles.
But finally it’s my own faith and belief that has pulled me through. When I was in prison, who my father was didn’t matter. When I was in prison, my family was there to hold hands during the tough times. My children understand but in a way its not fair to them.
His relationship with the media
I’m a small town guy still getting used to the cameras and bright lights. Previously, we never had that. Nobody cared. We were lucky to get one reporter to cover our events and even then, we were not sure whether they would see print it or not.
The hurdles
It’s been a year now but there are still some obstructions. The Opposition is trying to derail and obstruct our programmes like the cancellation of summonses, putting up bilingual signboards and their unwillingness to come clean on land scams.
Some government officials are also not supportive of this government. I have reprimanded a few senior and mid-rank officials but those who deserve a second chance will be given it. Those who need to be transferred will face it soon.
We gave them a year to get used to the change and if they still cannot, they have to leave. I can work with anybody as long as they can accept that this government expects orders to be complied with.
We can’t expect Barisan to support us all the time but on measures which are critical and which are common to all political parties like wiping out poverty, they must work together with us. In areas which you claim is part of your agenda, why are you trying to undermine our efforts?
There are instances where we offer our hand, like when we invited the state Opposition Leader to speak at a government function against Israel in Gaza.
We also created the role of Opposition Leader. This is an indication that we can work with the Opposition if they are constructive.
DAP governance and the new premier
People’s hopes and expectations are a big pressure. Whether we like it or not, Penang will be a model of DAP governance. If we do well here, people can see that the DAP can govern well.
Thirty percent of the country’s exports are from Penang and 30% of foreign tourist arrivals are also from here.
We must impress on the Federal Government that they cannot allow Penang to fail because of political vindictiveness. They will become losers too. Let’s all be winners.
So far, we have a fruitful relationship where I’ve managed to get things done and hopefully I can get more ministers to come around. Penang’s interest is so closely intertwined with Malaysia’s interest.
I have spoken to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at impromptu meetings outside Parliament. So far, discussions have been positive.
Our relationship with the Federal Govern- ment is touchy at times but we must stick to the big picture which is national interest.
I am happy that at least the Second Penang Bridge is proceeding at full speed and the court house is completed. The Tourism Ministry’s Zoom project was also held here.
It is not that I want to wax lyrical on the potential and attractiveness of Penang but we have a natural advantage and brand appeal. Let’s leverage on this. That is why Penang must be made an international city.
We are pushing for free WiFi because Internet connection is considered a requirement like water and electricity. We want to introduce international benchmarks to solve problems of cleanliness, crime and congestion.
The Opposition mentality
You must look at the role I am playing here. I am the government here but at Federal level, I am the Opposition. When I ask for something for Penang, I ask nicely and humbly. But if refused, what do you expect me to do? Lie down and cry? That is not our style.
If you do not agree, I will pursue the matter forcefully because Penangites pay taxes and want to see a justifiable return. We are still learning but in one year, there are changes you can see, touch and feel. Look at Komtar now. We have revived it. We have put up multi-lingual signboards, attracted record investments and put in free WiFi. There may be some delay (in certain projects) but we are trying to make the administration leaner and faster.
CAT governance
We are Malaysia’s first Competency, Accounta- bility and Transparency (CAT) government and we are proud of it. The Oppo- sition keeps saying that we have failed, such as in the eradication of hardcore poverty programme. But it is not even the end of March yet.
Whether we achieve or not, at least we are trying to do what they never dared to. Even if there is a delay, it will be only be by one or two months but I am quadrupling my efforts to make sure it happens by the end of this month.
Most hardcore poor families are in the Opposition’s constituencies but they are not keen on helping us.
Last year, we got RM10.2bil in investments, double the amount in 2007. This is a record achievement. How can this be the effort of the previous administration?
The hardest part is closing the deal. Insurance agents will tell you that. The fact that we convinced them is evidence enough to show their confidence in us.
We have also managed to collect debts owed to the state which were not collected for years.
I will be announcing a few tourism projects soon but generally speaking, we have to source for private finance initiatives and public-private partnerships if we can’t get funding from the federal government.
The team
I have told my exco to improve on their communication skills and to be more accessible and friendly to the media. They have to come out and explain the rationale of actions. This is a learning curve.
There are weaknesses but we will take the necessary steps to remedy them. If any of our exco members fail, it is considered not just an individual failure.
This is a team effort. We try to lift everybody together but if in the end, if there is still somebody left behind, we won’t wait until next general election to make any adjustments.
When it is crucial for the state’s development, changes can be made especially in portfolios. We will do what’s necessary. Our objective is to scale international benchmarks.
往后局势的发展再再显示我高估了阿都拉，他虽居高位，心态上却不过把自己当作高级公务员，谆谆告诫有余，殚谋戮力不足；就学识和视野而言，皆乏善可陈。尽管如此，马来西亚在他“治理”期间虽然没有在经济上取得长足进展，却意外地开拓了言论和结社自由的空间。
第 一宗交易，国家船务公司──马来西亚国际船务企业有限公司（Malaysian International Shipping Corporation Berhad, 简称“马国际船务”）将收购国油油船私人有限公司（Petronas Tankers Sdn Bhd），这是国油的独资子公司，经营液化天然气的运输业务。马国际船务将发出新股票给国油，以支付这项收购的费用；这一来，国油在马国际船务的股份便从 现有的29.3%提高到超过50%。
其 次，许多执政者和政治家的言辞，与他们的行为有很大的落差，大得足以妨害可信度。举个例子，马国际船务及船务集团的交易，是在政府经济顾问达因（Daim Zainuddin）及财政部长安华保证马来西亚政府不会拯救任何陷入困境的私人公司之后不久宣布。首相（马哈迪）甚至发表更荒唐的声明，他说所有马来西 亚商人都是他的朋党（cronies）。若真如此，他可曾不论大商人或小商人，也不论政治关系如何，都拯救这些人？多少名回教党籍的商人由政府机构解救？ 如果这就是政府如何重拾市场信心的计划，那我们还有好远的一段路！
英文原文原载1998年4月号的《激流月刊》（Aliran Monthly
这种研判有蛛丝马迹可循，毕竟早在去年10
马哈迪
40 年前，拉萨（右图）取代东姑阿都拉曼为第二任首相，实行激进的“马来人民主主义”（即单元化种族主义），巫统出现了历史上首位“强势领袖”。他违背对林连 玉许下的许诺，将“最终目标”变成当前执行议程，强行改制华文中学，以及推行“新经济政策”，培养马来人中产阶级及官僚资本家。他延揽人才改组巫统，将遭 “温和”的东姑阿都拉曼驱逐出党的马哈迪搜罗麾下，马来西亚走上巫统特色的马来西亚资本主义航道。
“ 快熟面”和纳吉（左图）个人的命运密切相关，但与国家／巫统改革没有多大关系。回顾历史，拉萨、胡先翁、马哈迪、阿都拉都以“辉煌”的大选成绩上台，纳吉 对此似乎甚无把握。如果未来大选（或补选）成绩差强人意，甚至大演滑铁炉，开巫统败绩先例，会发生什么事？——军事统治，纳吉先父那一手！
二零零九年三月十四日 凌晨十二时二十一分
雪兰莪州务大臣卡立依布拉欣昨天（3
政府计划从600亿元的振兴经济配套中拨出20亿元提供新工作，但是马来西亚人对20亿元是否足够充满怀疑。无论如何，如果国防部可以颁发价值24亿5000万元的合约给承包潜水艇拯救系统的公司，我的答案便是这笔钱根本不足以协助一百万个被裁的工人。
我也建议成立一个国会特选委员会，以监督振兴经济配套的落实，并每季向国会汇报。公众对政府如何使用三个月前宣布的配套一无所知。
今天的出席者，除了众多的马来群众及回教党支持者，在隆雪华堂会长黄汉良领军下，也有好些华教界人士参与其盛，也看到人民之声（
根 据身在国家皇宫外驻守的记者观察，警方和联邦后备部队在中午十二时左右就在国家皇宫前驻守。大约二时，便传出国家回教堂群众开始游行至国家皇宫的消息，警 方人员看起来很紧张，约五十名警员及三十名镇暴队员在国家皇宫门前一字排开，并封锁皇宫前的道路及驱逐游客和驻守的媒体记者。
五人呈交备忘录后，始终无法接近国家皇宫的群众陆续步行回到国家回教堂。