Former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo is more of a ‘gentleman' compared with menteri besar-in-waiting Agriculture Minister Noh Omar, should the BN retake the state in the coming general election, says Sekinchan assemblyperson Ng Suee Lim.

"These two leaders have one thing in common: both are Selangor Umno leaders.

"Both of them are greedy, but the difference between Noh and Khir is that Khir is not as vicious. He is not a gangster," he told Malaysiakini during an interview on Aug 8.

NONE Ng had previously helped to expose Khir's ( right ) Balinese style mansion in Shah Alam, eventually leading to Khir's conviction for graft.

Ng's sights are now trained on Noh, who he claims has abused his powers , and the Tanjung Karang Umno division , which he alleges has bought land well below the market price.

Coincidentally, Ng noted, his state constituency is sandwiched between Noh's Tanjung Karang parliamentary constituency and Khir's Sungai Panjang state constituency.

Noh had previously denied the first allegation, and declined comment on the second. Meanwhile, Khir has appealed against his conviction and the proceedings are still under way before the Court of Appeal .

Both have sued Ng for RM10 million each as damages for defamation.

"So now my market value is RM20 million," Ng quipped.

Cordial relations still alive

He said that even after he had exposed Khir's mansion scandal, considered beyond his means as menteri besar, the two still greet each other when they meet and Ng has attended several of Khir's open house functions.

khir toyo mansion 060709 08 "He treats me well and this is ‘healthy politics'. There is no unhealthy political culture or gangsterism here.

"But Noh is unusual. Greedy is one thing, (but also) he is also egoistic, arrogant, fierce, violent, thuggish and a gangster. That's enough, at least six-in-one. Not three-in-one (like instant coffee) but six-in-one," he quipped.

Ng recounted an incident early this year when he and Noh Omar sat at the same table during a banquet hosted by a local NGO.

"Although we were just sitting at an NGO function, we argued," he said.

The banquet was hosted by the Sekinchan Fishermen's Association to mark the end of the year's work and as part of the run-up to the Chinese New Year celebrations.

NONE He said that as soon as Noh ( right ) arrived and sat down, he asked whether Ng had received his letter.

Noh: Hey! Have you got my letter?

Ng: No, what letter?

Noh: Summons! I want to sue you!

Ng: Not yet. If you want to sue, hurry up with the letter. Don't just tell me about it.

Noh: Don't worry, it will get to you.

Ng: If it gets here, I will fight it.

Noh: I want to sue you for RM10 million!

Ng: So sue me.

Info tech to the rescue

After that heated exchange, Ng said they ignored each other for the rest of the dinner.

"We did not speak. He played with his Blackberry and I fiddled with my handphone. No more talking. It was a little tense," he recounted.

He also recalled another ‘bad experience' , this time with Noh's political secretary Mohamad Safie Asnawi, who, Ng claimed, had led at least 30 people to attack him in 2010.

NONE Ng said he was invited to Tanjung Karang to hear the grouses of local padi farmers when he was attacked. He was hospitalised for two days, with concussion from the Nov 4, 2010, incident.

When asked his response at that time, Noh claimed that Ng was attempting to start an illegal demonstration, and it served him right that the locals had made him pay for it.

"Is this the standard of a minister? His response seems to mirror his ego and thuggish-ness. As a minister, even if an opposing assemblyperson or anyone gets beaten, we should express sympathy and urge the police to investigate...

"Therefore, I labelled Noh  ‘Menteri Samseng' (gangster minister). From then on, he became my main target," he said.

"Khir has the characteristics of a gentleman leader. Noh, not at all. He is more dangerous than Khir and I have never been (to Noh's open house), not even once," Ng laughed.

"I am not confident of going there for security concerns," he added.

Ng said another reason why he had his gun trained on Noh was his responsibility as the agriculture and agro-based industries minister.

Sekinchan's economy is largely based on rice-farming and fishing, part of Noh's ministerial portfolio. Ng said both industries are in jeopardy because of the former's policies.

NONE For the farmers, he said they had to deal with Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas), a government-linked company tasked with regulating Malaysia's rice industry.

"Now it (Bernas) is owned by Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. It is a monopoly, meaning that if the farmers want to sell their rice to outsiders from Kedah, there are barriers and obstructions. Therefore, they cannot raise their prices," he said.

He noted that the Agriculture Department's records would show Sekinchan has the best quality rice in Malaysia, as well as being the region with the highest output.

  Monopoly policy backfires

"We worked hard to achieve a high quality and large output, but we do not get a fair price for our efforts. The farmers are angry to this day, all because of the monopoly," said Ng.

Meanwhile, fishermen in Sekinchan face another problem: the lack of human resources.

"Fishermen with boats with Zone B permits make a living between eight to 12 nautical miles (from the coast). The Fisheries Department forbids them to hire foreign workers," said Ng.

Despite their best efforts to hire locals, there is a lack of interest in the fisheries industry and advertising vacancies proved unfruitful.

"In the end, many fishermen, whether they like it or not, and not for the lack of patriotism, were forced to hire foreign workers on the quiet, although this is illegal.

NONE "If they hired (foreign workers) and get away with it, fine. If they were caught, they would be arrested, their boat would be confiscated, and they would be taken to court.

"For three months, their source of income is gone. What about their families?" Ng asked.

He also said he was confident his efforts to expose Noh would eventually topple him.

"I see that the people's response and support are getting more positive with each passing day, even though Noh has a large allocation for his constituency as the minister of agriculture.

"I heard that he continues to distribute that allocation and aid, but mostly to his cronies," Ng claimed.

"Although Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak paraded his transformation plans, the leaders under him are not following (him).

"If that is the way it is, I think we stand a chance of breaching BN's fortress in Tanjung Karang," Ng added.

VIDEO l 11.50 mins

This interview was conducted by Koh Jun Lin, Ahmad Fadli KC and Lee Way Loon.

THE NG SUEE LIM INTERVIEW

Part 1: Sekinchan rep's baptism of fire in politics

Part 2: Suee Lim: DAP leaders should accept state titles

Part 3: Khir the gentleman, not Noh Omar, not by a long shot