Rep sees red over Guan Eng's water bill expose
Susan LoonePublished: May 9, 2011 5:25 AM | Updated: May 9, 2011 5:29 AM
An Umno state representative is incensed over a YouTube recording showing Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng revealing details of his water bills.
An Umno state representative is incensed over a YouTube recording showing Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng revealing details of his water bills.
The recording was based on a press conference called by Lim on Friday to rebut allegations by Shabuddin Yahaya (BN-Permatang Berangan) that Penangites were burdened by the state’s implementation of a water surcharge to prevent wastage.
Today, Shabuddin (right) fired a series of salvoes accusing Lim of attacking him personally after he asked a valid question about the water surcharge at the Penang legislative assembly last week.
Shabuddin is so upset that he has called for Lim's resignation as Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chairman as he had acted “unprofessionally and unethically for exposing” his private life.
He also questioned the integrity of PBAPP, a public listed company, for not protecting the privacy of its clients.
He said he is considering legal action against the water corporation, but would wait for its response before he proceeds with the matter.
He claimed that after Lim’s latest antics, the commercial sectors would lose faith in the PBAPP as they would no longer be assured that their privacy can be protected.
“If he (Lim) can reveal my private bills, there is no guarantee that he will not do it against others, especially those who have become his enemies,” he said.
“As a CM, it is not impossible for him to expose any information he wants to from any state institution under him,” he added.
“This is one of the clearest items of evidence that Lim does not practise the CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) principles... he is a liar and cheat,” said Shabuddin at a press conference at the state assembly today.
On Friday Lim (left), who is DAP national secretary-general had lambasted the Umno rep in a press conference for uttering lies and claiming that the surcharge was a burden to the people.
He revealed that Shabuddin, who raised the issue of the surcharge, had in fact been found to be paying high bills for water consumption.
He was responding to Shabuddin who complained that the state had imposed a 27 percent hike in water tariffs for trade consumers as well as a water conservation surcharge of 24 sen per 1,000 litres for domestic users who use more than 35,000 litres of water.
He claimed that Penangites were now paying more for their bi-monthly water bill since November last year when the surcharge was imposed.
‘Lim abused his power’
Meanwhile, Shabuddin expressed regret that Lim had failed to respond to the question of water surcharge but “abused his power instead as PBAPP chief” to dig into his personal details and expose it without his permission.
He added that he had used the example of his water bill last week during the assembly proceedings to drive home the point that many Penangites have to pay a surcharge when the bi-monthly bills are issued.
“What I most regret is that in the YouTube recording, I hear that Lim had accused me of pretending to be stupid... that as an Umno man, I like to lie,” he lamented
Shabuddin went on to complain that he had been unfairly persecuted, adding that if not for PBAPP’s monopoly of water supply in Penang, he would have chosen to get it from another company.
He added that he had never missed paying his water bills, further questioning Lim if he was aware of what he (Shabuddin) does privately at home to conclude that he was wasting water.
“I thought we had an intelligent chief minister... I was wrong. As an accountant, he is not smart at all. He is emotional,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Penangites are unlucky to have a such a chief minister,” he quipped.
He then demanded that Lim respond to his query about the allowances paid to PBA board directors, adding “why is he afraid to answer my question?”.
The recording was based on a press conference called by Lim on Friday to rebut allegations by Shabuddin Yahaya (BN-Permatang Berangan) that Penangites were burdened by the state’s implementation of a water surcharge to prevent wastage.
Today, Shabuddin (right) fired a series of salvoes accusing Lim of attacking him personally after he asked a valid question about the water surcharge at the Penang legislative assembly last week.Shabuddin is so upset that he has called for Lim's resignation as Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chairman as he had acted “unprofessionally and unethically for exposing” his private life.
He also questioned the integrity of PBAPP, a public listed company, for not protecting the privacy of its clients.
He said he is considering legal action against the water corporation, but would wait for its response before he proceeds with the matter.
He claimed that after Lim’s latest antics, the commercial sectors would lose faith in the PBAPP as they would no longer be assured that their privacy can be protected.
“If he (Lim) can reveal my private bills, there is no guarantee that he will not do it against others, especially those who have become his enemies,” he said.
“As a CM, it is not impossible for him to expose any information he wants to from any state institution under him,” he added.
“This is one of the clearest items of evidence that Lim does not practise the CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) principles... he is a liar and cheat,” said Shabuddin at a press conference at the state assembly today.
On Friday Lim (left), who is DAP national secretary-general had lambasted the Umno rep in a press conference for uttering lies and claiming that the surcharge was a burden to the people.He revealed that Shabuddin, who raised the issue of the surcharge, had in fact been found to be paying high bills for water consumption.
He was responding to Shabuddin who complained that the state had imposed a 27 percent hike in water tariffs for trade consumers as well as a water conservation surcharge of 24 sen per 1,000 litres for domestic users who use more than 35,000 litres of water.
He claimed that Penangites were now paying more for their bi-monthly water bill since November last year when the surcharge was imposed.
‘Lim abused his power’
Meanwhile, Shabuddin expressed regret that Lim had failed to respond to the question of water surcharge but “abused his power instead as PBAPP chief” to dig into his personal details and expose it without his permission.
He added that he had used the example of his water bill last week during the assembly proceedings to drive home the point that many Penangites have to pay a surcharge when the bi-monthly bills are issued.
“What I most regret is that in the YouTube recording, I hear that Lim had accused me of pretending to be stupid... that as an Umno man, I like to lie,” he lamented
Shabuddin went on to complain that he had been unfairly persecuted, adding that if not for PBAPP’s monopoly of water supply in Penang, he would have chosen to get it from another company.
He added that he had never missed paying his water bills, further questioning Lim if he was aware of what he (Shabuddin) does privately at home to conclude that he was wasting water.
“I thought we had an intelligent chief minister... I was wrong. As an accountant, he is not smart at all. He is emotional,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Penangites are unlucky to have a such a chief minister,” he quipped.
He then demanded that Lim respond to his query about the allowances paid to PBA board directors, adding “why is he afraid to answer my question?”.
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