The battle of wits between Penang Chief Minister and State Development Officer

The recent media outburst between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Nik Ali, the State Development Officer had been highlighted in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the issue is getting juicy and certainly needs to be resolved properly in the public interest. I hope both parties involved the Federal and State authority should the issues professionally, without fear or favour. As I see it after having analysed the issues raised by Guan Eng and his sparring partner Nik Ali, the matter had been politicised by some concerned penang political warlords from both the political divide. I wonder who actually is telling the truth of the issues, DAP or UMNO?

The Sun reported today that KSN Sidek Hassan clears the air and ironically it is about "the chair issue" that had resulted in the recent flare-up. Lim Guan Eng said it was a non issue concocted by certain individuals to discredit him in order to divert public attention on the scandalous issues that had involved certain state projects that are funded by the Federal government through the office of the SDO.

As reported by Guan Eng, he would not have stood so low in his capacity as a Chief Minister to fuss over a protocol issue, when he was late for an official function in last October and having his chair removed in the first roll of VVIP before his arrival. I believe Guan Eng is the least protocol conscious politician around, and said that he did not make a big deal about it and could be seated somwhere at the back. KSN probably was in a dilemma as Guan Eng had no opportunity to brief him on th real issues that flared up between himself and Nik Ali. I believe the administrative issues should have been handled professionally between the Chief Minister and the SDO authority, even before the intervention of the prime minister himself as well as the KSN.

In conclusion, the following issues raised by the Chief Minister are of public interest, namely the sand theft in Balik Papan, the botanical gardens arches that had been declared unsafe and resulted in the losses of RM150,000 should not be ignored. Under any circumstances, the Chief Minister has the right be involved in the administrative process of the State government and the local authorities within the approved laws and regulations. It is no longer seen as a minor spat between two powerful individuals in their battle of the wits, in order to justify their respective authority but without the political will to resolve the more important issues. Senior civil servants should not be over zealous or challenge the state authority under the administration of the chief Minister, that may affect the political scenario of Penang in the coming PRU13. I believe the DAP will try everything possible to retain it's supreme political base in Penang and BN will continue to destablise the administration of Penang in order to recapture the state in the next election.