Side Views

Is DAP the New Labour? — Gavin Khoo

APRIL 9 — The DAP is a member of Socialist International (SI), which is an association of political parties and associations seeking to establish democratic socialism. Democratic socialism seeks to become a counter weight to corporate capitalism with the aim to ensure that no one is marginalised or excluded from the process of societal transformation and development.

It recognises the impact of social and economic structural transformation on the society. According to SI, the social cost of these transformations — unemployment, regional decline, destruction of communities — has affected not only the very poor but also working people in general.

The process of development in the name of modernisation has brought additional challenges to the society. It has often benefited the haves but marginalised the haves-not. Some of the side-effects are profound e.g. rising inflation, escalating property prices through speculation and the creation of a new class of urban poor. These side-effects are manmade.

Some of these signs are evident in Malaysia. REFSA, a research arm linked to the DAP, revealed that more than 74 per cent of the total Malaysian workforce received up to only Form 5 education (11 years). More than 86 per cent of our total workforce earn less than RM3,000 a month. Some observers even called for it to be made an urban poverty line.

It means corporate capitalism, if not managed and controlled, will exacerbate the situation. The rich will become richer and the poor will end up poorer. This is where good public policy and responsible governance comes in. A good government has to ensure that our human resources who are being tapped and utilised by the capitalists to achieve their profit targets and business objectives are aptly rewarded and not being marginalised by the contribution they brought to development.

Hence, the debate on Bayan Mutiara should not be subjected to merely the issue of transparency or price. It questions the policy direction and ideological orientation of the DAP and its continuous commitment to democratic socialism.




However, in the Bayan Mutiara case the DAP -led state government has acted precisely in “the-government-knows-best” mode. It has decided arbitrarily on the sale of Bayan Mutiara land to fund the affordable housing scheme on the mainland.



What is the DAP’s vision for the PWC? How can the PWC create jobs and opportunities for the average people?


The development of PWC is not without its risks which are associated with the highly fragile global economy. Most of the developed economies, which are Malaysia’s most important trading partners, such as the US, Europe, the Middle East and Japan are facing unprecedented political and economic challenges since post-World War II.

It is believed that Tropicana Ivory Sdn Bhd (TISB) will be taking over the Bayan Mutiara land in phases in accordance with the payment schedule. Since the project will be dependent on foreigners to purchase a big chunk of the development, it is not insulated from the impact of a global economic slowdown.

What will happen should TISB fail to complete the project? Did the state government conduct any scenario planning to avoid and prevent the project from being abandoned half way? Does the state government have a back-up plan if the project is abandoned?

In the face of criticism, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had announced it is mandatory for TISB to ensure 30 per cent of residential property built must be low-medium cost (LMC) valued at between RM72,500 and RM220,000. TISB had earlier announced its intention to build 15 per cent of residential property valued at between RM300,000 and RM500,000 in every phase.

It is pertinent for TISB to identify precisely where it is going to build the 30 per cent LMC residential property in every phase before being given all necessary approvals to start construction.

Even if the 30 per cent quota for LMC has been honoured, does the state government have any plan(s) to help ensure that those who cannot afford the downpayment or qualify for a bank loan can own a place too?


Apart from giving out social grants ranging from RM100 to RM1,000 in Penang, the chief minister had promised to give out RM1,000 to all Malaysians should Pakatan win federal power.


Critics have accused the state government of sugar coating its decision to sell state-owned prime land by announcing that proceeds from the sale would be used to build low-cost residential property. They had pointed out the chief minister had said there is enough surplus in the state’s coffer to fund the low-cost housing scheme when the latter presented a RM500 million cheque to the Penang Development Corporation.


Furthermore, the state government had announced its plan to fund the building of four mega infrastructure projects totalling almost RM8 billion through land swap. There is little the party can do to justify its democratic socialism credentials if such massive amounts of funds are going to be used to help private vehicle owners.





