Teng dicalonkan Speaker, Haniza timbalan
 | OLEH ROSLAN BIAN SHAH ALAM, Ahad 20 April: Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) DAP, kawasan Sungai Pinang, Teng Chang Khim dicalonkan sebagai Speaker Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN)Selangor, umum Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, pagi ini. Semua Adun kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor juga bersetuju mencalonkan Adun Taman Medan, Haniza Mohamed Talha sebagai timbalan speaker. Menurut Abdul Khalid, nama kedua-dua mereka akan dicadangkan pada mesyuarat penggal pertama sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri bagi majlis mengangkat sumpah semua wakil rakyat (DUN) Selangor, Selasa ini. Speaker DUN kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) sebelum ini adalah Tan Sri Onn Ismail manakala timbalannya, Datuk Mohamad Satim Diman. Keterangan gambar: Imbas kembali, Teng sedang meneliti buku peraturan Dewan selepas beliau diusir daripada menghadiri Sidang DUN, kira-kira dua tahun lalu. |
 | Abdul Khalid menyatakan, pencalonan Haniza, Ketua Wanita PKR Selangor akan mencipta sejarah politik negara kerana seorang wanita dilantik ke jawatan timbalan speaker. Haniza, 46, yang pertama kali bertanding dalam pilihan raya umum lalu, menewaskan calon BN, Munaliza Hamzah dengan majoriti 4,433 undi. Beliau juga adalah pengarang dan seorang penulis sambilan. |
Teng,45, pula menjadi Adun di Selangor selama empat penggal bermula di DUN Bukit Gasing sebelum bertanding di kawasan DUN Bandar Klang pada 1999 dan DUN Sungai Pinang sejak 2004.
Pada pilihan raya umum lalu, Teng menewaskan Datuk Song Kee Chai (BN) dengan majoriti 7,361 undi.
Jika Teng terpilih Selasa ini, beliau adakan kalangan bukan Melayu yang pertama dilantik Speaker DUN di negeri-negeri yang mempunyai sultan.
Teng sebelum ini pernah digantung daripada menghadiri sidang DUN hampir dua tahun kerana melanggar peraturan Dewan.
Bagaimanapun, Teng yang ditemui berjanji, tidak akan membalas dendam mengenai perkara itu walaupun mendakwa kerajaan BN sebelum ini berlaku tidak adil kepadanya.
Menurutnya, beliau akan menjalankan tugas dengan adil tanpa mengira sama ada wakil rakyat itu mewakili Pakatan Rakyat atau BN yang kini menjadi pembangkang di DUN.
Tahniah diucapkan kepada kedua-dua ADUN di atas pelantikan. Terima kasih diucapkan kepada YAB Tan Sri MB Selangor kerana memberi kepercayaan kepada ramai kaum hawa untuk memberi sumbangan/menawarkan khidmat bakti kepada kerajaan dan rakyat Negeri Selangor. Semoga kami diberi kekuatan dan kesabaran oleh Ilahi dalam melaksanakan amanah yang akan dipertanggungjawabkan di akhirat kelak. Betulkan kami jika kami tersalah/tersilap, bantulah kami jika kami berada di atas kebenaran.
Key posts must go to the best people
THE appointment by Pakatan Rakyat Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng of loyal Gerakan member Datuk Lee Kah Choon as a director of the Penang Development Corporation and executive committee chairman of InvestPenanag is a very significant development in the politics of Malaysia.
This appointment – plus the impending appointment by the Selangor State Government of Teng Chang Khim and Haniza Talha as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively of the Selangor State Assembly – marks the dawn of a new politics in Malaysia that is non-racial, non-partisan politics and non-gender.
As a Malaysian, I salute Lim and Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for their courage, far-sightedness and integrity in going beyond partisan politics.
Key posts should be assigned to the best available person, regardless of his or her political affiliation, race or gender.
The late US president Ronald Reagan of the Republican Party appointed a Democrat to his Cabinet. Such appointments would be ostracized in Malaysia. You can bet that at the next party election, he would be kicked out. You can bet there would be howls of protest.
It would certainly benefit the country if the best available person is appointed because that person will do a good job and the country will benefit.
Appointing a less qualified person to a government post based on party, gender or racial affiliation will deprive the country of opportunities and lead to wastage. Our country is very rich – rich in natural resources from the environment, rich in diversity, rich in human talent.
Let’s make effective use of such resources.
I hope the Barisan Nasional and Gerakan will welcome the appointments of Lee with glee and not condemn him.
The Barisan and Gerakan had the foresight to recruit him to the party and to field him as a potential Chief Minister of Penang.
What better proof of his capabilities than your political opponents appointing him to significant posts to bring in investments.
I am hopeful that Lee can make significant changes to health tourism in Penang.
Already Penang is acknowledged as a state with excellent health facilities and talent.
Perhaps our health specialists practicing overseas will be lured back.
PHANG THIAM,
Puchong.