The Truths of Hows and Whys

Points To Points  (11)

                             The truths of Hows and Whys

          Refering to Robert Lau’s discourse on his glorious rule as a SMC chairman,   (30th December, 2005, the Borneo Post) on behalf of the Sibu people, I would like to pinpoint out a few things as one of the helpless and frustrated residents in Sibu.

          Now let discuss how well-spent the tax-payers’ money was:

First, did he really spend people’s money wisely as chairman of SMC:  when he found the need of uniformity and classy-look of the floor tiles in the Sibu Central Market, he ordered the replacement of the floor tiles that had been laid down.  (i don’t know how many feet in length times how feet in width had been destroyed for replacement for a more fanciful ones.)  I wonder how much money had been wasted to make the changes.

          Second, I still don’t understand why the need of so many stainless steel of bar barriers planting all around our simple and humble town.  (Not so matching, lah:  too awkward to the sense of sight)  It is not easy to guess how much SMC had to pay for each bar.

          Third, I wonder how much SMC had to pay for each those big, big trees (look like coconut or palm trees to me) transplanting ‘artificially’ all over our so congested and crammed town at the expense of our narrow streets.  Hence our narrow streets became narrower and thus aggravated our traffic problems further.  (If i am not mistaken, it was so much self-glorifying act and show-off to perform because Sibu was then chosen to be a town of ceremony of some kind.  Please recall the occasion for me.  He was too eager to impress the guests of honour to this simple and humble town.  He wanted this simple-and-humble-looked town to appear sophisticatedly noble and attractive.)  Consequently, he made our simple and humble town look so unbelievably awkward and embarrassing.  The worst scenario he created was making our streets just too narrow to the traffic flow.  Alamat! What a curse! What a shame!

          No wonder “Counsellors get ‘hot’ over illegal parking” too.  (29th December, 2005 The Borneo Post. P. 4)

          Fourth, I don’t know how much money was wasted to pave the paths outside the five-foot ways and form patches of pavement here and there ( some in the middle of the roads!)  The pavements outside the five-foot ways are constant nightmares to the shop operators and customers.  They are deprived of the right demarcated parking units or bays to do quick transactions.  (Don’t misunderstand me: pavements along the streets for pedestrians  all round the Sibu town is absolute necessary but not pavements outside the five-foot ways.)

          So much about how tax-payers’ money was spent, now let’s talk about how people-friendly he was.  “He said he lost 40% of the Chinese votes in his last election just because he couldn’t please the few individuals.”  (31st December, 2005, The Borneo Post)  However, in my understanding, he lost at least 99% of the Chinese votes because the projects he implemented or the laws he imposed affected and offended the Chinese residents adversely.  It was too much one-man rule and show.  A great number of ‘numerous projects implemented during his years as chairman’ were not people-friendly.  That is why he was so condemned and unpopular as chairman.

          The following  5  factors were fatal to him as chairman of SMC:

          First, he shouldn’t have pavements built outside the five-foot ways.  It was really unnecessary waste in addition to inconvenience caused for the shop operators and the people to get transactions done in 5-15 minutes.  On top of this plight, he inflicted helfy fine or illegal parking.  (If i am not wrong, SMC really earned a lot in the first year when the law passed to fine illegal parking.  SMC is still earning in 2005.  Lau said its second biggest revenue was from the collecting of petty fines (RM50) for illegal parking.  Do the survey how many people in Sibu can earn RM50 a day.)  He indeed created avenue for earning $ for SMC with the $ collected from illegal parking.  (Look, he created illegal parking situation to earn $ for SMC!)

          Second, the charge on parking is 42 cents for half an hour which is 2 times plus 2 cents more that parking in Kuching.  At the beginning people were not used to this new ruling.  The fine for not placing a parking couple was RM20 (RM5 in Kuching) (4 times more than Kuching).  He also helped SMC earn a very large amount of $.  (If i don’t remember it wrongly, it was 200+ thousands in just 2-3 months’ time.)  He grinned in elation of his success and achievement at the expense of the drooping face with gritting teeth of the poor, poor, ignorant and innocent Sibu people.

          Third, he was too effective in dealing with the matters of cats and dogs.  He really offended and hurt many cat and dog lovers in Sibu beyond words (kong mei chu  nyie touyieng yi).

          Fourth, he took too speedy an action forbidding the people in Sibu to keep some chickens and ducks (with good control and discipline) with leftover food for own consumption in the coop in their compounds.  He smashed the Sibu people the little joy and fun of keeping some organic chickens and ducks for own consumption.

          Fifth, his ways of keeping Sibu clean was just too high-handed to be appreciated:  conceal the rubbish bins most of the time but only place them out on the garbage collection days;  the rubbish must be tied up in plastic bags (Look, not environmentally-friendly at all: create waste of plastic bag rubbish insensibly)  Calculate how many plastic bags have been abused in this manner.  (i am puzzled why rubbish can’t be disposed in the rubbish bins only.)

          He hurt and offended too many residents (mainly Chinese) in Sibu and ........................

          Now let’s see the by-product of his recreation:

          The  parking buses, lorries land cruiser or pajero, motorcycles or bicycles on the pavements has become a unique feature in Sibu.  This uniqueness is another point worthy making known to the world.  This phenomenon, i bet, only exists in our Sibu town. 

          The trap for illegal parking is everywhere in the sibu town and is exciting to adventurers too.  It is more than a game  for SMC and the people.  (If you can catch me, you win (RM 50).  If not, i win the ease of parking just right to the shop of my choice to enjoy my food and drinks for a while.)  The Sibu people thus form the habits as a result of the set-ups and the SMC chairman’s creation.  Now it has become blurred who is the cause of the problem. 

The poor Sibu people  lack of the critical and analytical thinking to tell the former SMC in accord:  Ged rid of the potted plants, those artificially planted trees and unnecessary pavements and make ways for parking and easy traffic flow.

          Our present SMC chairman definitely needs to cultivate some wisdom to ‘undo’ the mistakes the former SMC chairman committed to remedy the situations.  Otherwise, we shall hear the people repeating the story of how poorly managed Sibu is.  The former SMC chairman created the problems and the present SMC chairman continues the mistakes and makes life not so easy for the poor, innocent and ignorant Sibu people.  This voice of anger will echo far and wide.