NGO: Mastura ‘hijacked’ promise to upgrade college
KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Kuala Kangsar by-election Mastura Mohd Yazid hijacked the Perak Government’s promise in 2013 to upgrade Kolej University Islam Sultan Azlan Shah to a public university, according to Kuasa Chief Praba Ganesan.
The promotion of the college’s status is one of the commitments that Mastura has made to the people of Kuala Kangsar in the run-up to the by-election on June 18.
Speaking at a press conference in Bangsar today, Ganesan said for three years neither the Perak Government nor the administration of the college were able to explain what happened to the 2013 promise.
“Out of the blue Mastura makes the same promise made by the State Government. And then Prime Minister Najib Razak announces, within 48 hours, on June 10, that the college has been promoted to a university,” he said.
Ganesan questioned whether credit for the college’s upgrade should be given to the Perak Government, Mastura, or both.
Praba also commented on Mastura’s promises to speed up approval for the Manong bridge, submit an application to expand Jalan Manong, upgrade the Kuala Kangsar Hospital to a specialist hospital and to develop Sungai Perak as a tourism hub.
“These promises are unspecific and appear put together by threading all the incoming changes in Kuala Kangsar regardless of the election outcome.”
He conceded that developments and projects would likely result if Mastura won in the by-election, “especially with no real policy from either the PAS or Amanah candidates.”
He applauded the RM49 million allocated for flood mitigation – apportioned to the Siput Chandan Flood Mitigation Plan (RM12 million), Kuala Kangsar Municipal Irrigation System (RM30 million) and the Sungai Perak Corridor Rehabilitation (RM7.5 million).
“This is a clear gain from the by-election for the people following flooding in late 2014 and early 2015 which left much of Kuala Kangsar inundated by water for weeks.”
Meanwhile, in Sungai Besar ,”not-BN” sentiments were high due to a positive track record over eight years by the Selangor Government, Ganesan said.
Even though the public perception of the Selangor Government is strong, he expects the BN candidate to win here by only a slim margin.
According to Ganesan, Budiman Mohd Zohdi is a familiar figure in Sungai Besar as he is the Assemblymen for Sungai Panjang, which is half of the Sungai Besar constituency. Also, he said, people could not differentiate between PAS and Amanah because both parties are linked to the Selangor Government. A split in votes between PAS and Amanah would be a major factor in the by-election result, he said.
He said that if the by-election was a straight fight the BN candidate would be “struggling” as Umno’s fortunes in the state had been dwindling. Kuasa also predicted a stronger than expected performance from the two non-BN candidates, and the BN candidate, if he were to win, may do it without a good majority.”
Kusas is a non-governmental organisation that focuses on the organisational development for politicians, activists and their groups through engagement processes utilising social media and strategic messaging.
Its members have been on the ground studying the political developments in Perak and Selangor since 2013.
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