I’m out of KT since last night to attend to some urgent matters and to make ready for our anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative at the Kerling temple on the night of 10th January. Back to KT on Sunday.
No, I was not saddened because I was leaving KT, or because I was leaving behind RPK, Marina and Zorro and the others, albeit for a couple of days, to carry on the work.
It was what I saw enroute to the airport that hurt.
Staronline today reports Terengganu MB Ahmad Said as saying that “claims that the Terengganu Government is rich but its people are poor are all lies”, that “poverty rate had been reduced from 89.9% since independence to only 13%”, that the “Government should not be blamed for not doing enough for those who remained poor because in many cases, they possessed “very negative attitude” and that many “remain poor because of their own attitude and because they shun development”.
The following statement of the MB, though, reflects the total arrogance and contempt with which this man treats the common man on the street.
“Before you are born, each time your mother goes to the government clinic, she will be given the rubella shot to protect you for only RM1. So if someone says he or she has gone through life without receiving any aid or assistance from the Government, that person is a liar”.
The people of Terengganu, nay every Malaysian born during the reign of an Alliance and a BN government, must be eternally grateful to BN for the rubella shot our mothers received.
Yes, to this man and his ilk, you and I were born into servitude for that RM1 innoculation.
You have seen the pictures put up by RPK of the state of abject poverty of the masses right in the heart of Kuala Terengganu in contrast to the obscene display of opulence by the privileged few who happen to be well connected. The pictures below were lifted from RPK’s posts.
This is the official residence of the MB. Ahmad Said presumably lives here now. he has every reason to be grateful for that RM1 innoculation
This is the home of BN candidate Wan Farid’s brother, Wan Hashim, who was behind the RM300 million a year Terengganu Monsoon Cup.
BN candidate for the forthcoming by-election, Wan Farid, resides here
Does Ahmad Said mean that the occupants of this remain poor because of their own attitude and because they shun development? If so, one must ask why?
Does Ahmad Said suggest that the occupants of this should remain grateful unto death to BN for that RM1 innoculation?
On nomination day, I saw dilapidated houses as we inched towards the gleaming nomination centre.
On that same evening, as we drove through lanes to get to the meeting place for our discussion with Pakatan on certain strategies, I saw some of the most run down, makeshift homes I have ever seen in my entire life.
Then yesterday, as the rest of the Barisan Rakyat team took time out to send Gus and I to the airport, Marina pointed out to me two structures and their surroundings that left me in near tears.
The first was the Crystal Mosque.
From the highway, looking directly at this structure, one is momentarily awe-struck.
Until one dips one’s line of vision from the mosque and then one sees the state of the houses.
Does God command us to build Him opulence or to reach out to our less fortunate brothers and sisters?
Then, as we reached the airport, Marina said ‘Look left’.
Again, dilapidated houses.
Throughout the flight and the bus ride to KL Sentral, the one thought that kept running through my mind was how do we help the poor in Kuala Terengganu?
I have no quick solutions.
Through all the campaigns and ceramahs in the run up to the 8th March elections, when I was given the honour and privilege to speak, I always ended by asking the voters to dedicate their vote to ending plight and the injustice of every marginalised and neglected anak Bangsa Malaysia in this country.
I ask now that every Kuala Terengganu voter who does not have to live in the conditions depicted in the last two pictures taken from RPK’s posts to go to the polls on 17th January resolved that the good, honest people of Kuala Terengganu have endured enough at the hands of a regime that expects gratitude from the poor for the crumbs that are tossed down from their banquet tables.
I ask you to drive around town tomorrow and in the coming days, see for yourselves how some of your fellow anak Bangsa Malaysia are forced to live, and to then find it in your hearts to vote on 17th January to change their lot.
You are their hope.
The People's Parliament 
Estrelita Soliano Grosse
January 10, 2009
Oh Haris, you are such a champion of the people! You really inspire so many of us!
sampalee
January 10, 2009
Haris,you are wired differently from the umno guys.You can tune in and feel the love and care of Tuhan for his creations.
sampalee,
Actually, we are all wired to feel the love and care of Tuhan. Just need a little bit of fine-tuning.
Itu saja
Jarod
January 10, 2009
Haris, Your concern and highlight already win the heart of this nation. Yes, with so many plight gone unnoticed, you have shown how a MP should be. Humble and down to earth, and the most important thing is to put People in our eyes. BN lost their eyes.
KT folks shall get the wake up call and improve their life that they deserve and desire for such a long time.
tkterimakasih
January 10, 2009
sigh………
the manipulative maniac was selfish,greedy,mean n despicable.
he enacted the petroleum Act such that PM had SOLE control of the nation’s enormous oil revenue (pls correct me if i’m wrong )without accountability to the nation!
he enriched his cronies to hold on to power
next,
he rubbed the ego of ordinary Malays with crumbs n
tell them they r “privileged” ie Bumi,by depriving others of the crumbs.
to keep these recipients of Crumbs contented,he brainwashed them in programmes such as BTN so they become subservient!
HOW CRAFTY n SCHEMING !
we must not allow the regime to put any of our citizens into wheelchairs,
we must help each other n look upon each other as equals,don’t allow the regime to divide us
WE R ALL ANAK-ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA !!!
mustafakanuar
January 10, 2009
Dear Haris (and friends),
Thanks for not being economical with the truth. Keep up the good work.
Patricia
January 10, 2009
These are obscence pictures – and it is wrong that this is the reality of how things are. And not only in KT. Around where I stay in PD, things are no different. Have these people too shunned development? To say this is sad is mere understatement.
wandererAUS
January 10, 2009
This man Ahmad Said, has nothing to be cocky about. Half a century of UMNO-BN rule, an oil rich State, he could not even provide all her citizens a tolerable and acceptable housing. Is he telling the subjects of KT, they do not deserve something even less than his garages?!
Just like the folks in Kampong Cina, 5 generations or 2oo years of residency, taxpayers, still deprive of a permanent home. These bangsat MCA have the cheeks to threaten these helpless folks year after year. OTK, you and your likes, you are not only a disgrace to the Chinese community, you are a disgrace to the nation.
KT electorates, be brave, you are not alone anymore, vote the UMNO-BN scumbags out!
Antares
January 10, 2009
All it takes is the taste of big money to turn a once humble man like Ahmad Said into yet another “Let them eat ketupat” spouting Marie Antoinette. Money is a drug, folks, and the Umno/BN flers are long-time junkies who require urgent treatment – even if it kills ’em 😉
Michelle
January 10, 2009
*virtual hug*
virtual hug back
GNN
January 10, 2009
The single most important factor that has kept many in poverty in Malaysia has been information…..or rather the lack of it….that is why the internet was a great help in ataining March 08. This media needs to be multiplied many fold to inform the public of the true situation in this country. All PR states in this country must find the budget to put in at least the wireless infrastructure or state sponsored internet cafes to get to the public…….the current BN govt will fall….it is only a matter of time…
Joshua
January 10, 2009
After reading and looking at photos that show a stark contrast between the rich and the poor, I feel sad inside me.
The poor is powering the rich because the rich is plundering the poor.
arianna
January 10, 2009
Dear Haris,
You ain’t see nothing yet, dear.
It’ll tear your heart to pieces if saw raw poverty in Sabah’s interior. Remember I told you about our host serving unseasoned frog soup in remote Kota Marudu? He happened to be the ketua kampung and that’s all that he had for his guests.
Incidently, K Marudu is Maximus Ongkili’s parliamentary area!
candlenut
January 10, 2009
Haris, It is your & your groups collective heartfelt despair that is doing the work of hope for the impoverished of Trengganu. 10 years ago I travelled that way & was shocked and ashamed of the abject poverty of the Malays then. Little has changed-but all the signs auger well for a more equitable distribution of Trengganu’s God given natural resources.
farida
January 10, 2009
Haris,
If you and RPK and Marina and Zorro and Gus and the others had not given of yourselves in KT to bring us the truth and nothing but the truth, none of us would know the hovels our brothers and sisters are living in. My heart is broken too.
What were those goons thinking? No,no, I’m wrong. They were not thinking. For any sane, thinking person would know God does not require the grandeur of buildings and lifestyles. What God wants is our hearts.
Haris, apart from the donation, the smses, the prayers, how can we help, pre- and post-elections? Let this be just the start of a long road towards freedom and equality for KT. As long as they, our people, are in chains, so are we.
Mobilise us.
Batu Ferringhi
January 10, 2009
Trengganu is Malaysia’s second richest state in terms of resources… this can’t be happening unless the revenue / riches have been siphoned somewhere else. This got to stop. What right has politicians to riches? They were there to serve or to be served? Pirates! Whole lot of them!
Batu Ferringhi
January 10, 2009
I almost missed a point. Is the MB admitting that there is a 13.8% poor which he ain’t gonna do nothing about them becoz they are stubborn and have the wrong attitude? Oh boy, I have not seen such arrogance for so long… AAB’s punya MB candidate choice kononnya!
A true Malaysian
January 10, 2009
Haris,
You may want to paste the below in your great blog so to remind KT voters to vote for PAS. Others can do the same, just copy and paste on your blog’s template. Thanks to a commentator of RPK’s open letter to KT voters.
rider
January 10, 2009
Yes, economic depression does affect the opulent living in their istanas, but people in these dilapidated huts live in abject poverty whether it is economic downturn or not. They live their whole lives in depression because people like Ahmaid Said and BN cows are equally depressed intellectually!
Johnny Cheah
January 10, 2009
Harris, what you and Marina saw was only the beginning. Try travelling into the interior, then you will see so much more of what you saw on your way to the airport. This problem is not only in Trengganu but in the rural areas in other states. The sad thing is that the rural folks have been brain-washed by BN for donkey years. Pakatan Rakyat must find the solution to undo this evil. Since school have just reopened, do you know that parents in the rural areas do not even have the money to buy a new pair of shoes for their children. Do go into the interior and ask and you will be surprised. If you talk about poverty of the Indians. The Malays are just equally bad. Just imagine after 51 years of BN rule we still have this
yh
January 10, 2009
yes, we have to be eternally grateful to BN. For every dollar spent on therakyat, they stole 1,000. and they have bungalows and properties to show in London, Singapore, Australia while a large number of fellow Malaysians live in squalid quarters. and for this, we must be eternally grateful.
haris, BN just steal, not UMNO alone. Look at the thieves in MCA, Gerakan and MIC! Oh, dont forget the White Rajah in Sarawak.
suresh
January 10, 2009
Morons poisoned by money and power. Money is opium to these morons whose senses and conscience are already numb. They lead meaningless lives with the obsession and greed for more of everything including excesses of every sort. What’s the point when these morons only have hot air in-between their ear-lobes instead of grey matter beneath their skulls. The grey has become black already!
Thong
January 10, 2009
Not the taxpayers money?
Kensan
January 10, 2009
Half a century ago,I lived in one of those houses highlighted by RPK in the heart of the Kuala Trengganu.Having left the town for more than 35 years on, these wooden/zinc houses are still standing maybe with different occupants.Kuala Trengganu folks,do not be the wild in the wilderness for another 50 years! Vote for change,vote for PAS!
Honest view
January 10, 2009
I reproduce what I commented in The Malaysian Insider,
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/wan-hamidi-hamid/15669-mampukah-dap-membantu-kemenangan-pakatan-rakyat
“DAP bukan parti perkauman
written by Honest view, January 10, 2009
Saya berpendapat DAP bukan satu parti ‘perkauman’ walaupun kebanyakan ahlinya kaum Cina Malaysia. Kaum Cina Malaysia suka DAP kerana ianya satu parti yang berasaskan kepada ‘meritocracy’ atau ‘kebolehan’ seseorang yang tidak kira orang itu Cina, Melayu, India, Kadazan dan sebagainya, dan tidak kira orng itu berugama Islam, Buddha, Christian, Hindu atau tidak berugama langsung.
Oleh itu, adalah tidak berasas jika orang kata DAP adalah parti Cina atau berbau perkauman. Kalau anda membuat analisa, ahli parliament India Malaysia dari DAP adalah lebih ramai daripada BN, dan ini bukan kerana kuota, ini kerana orang-orang yang terpilih adalah ‘berkebolehan’. Selain daripada itu, orang Melayu yang dihormati seperti Tunku Aziz telahpun memilih DAP sebagai parti yang sesuai dengan pemikirannya. Encik Haris Ibrahim, orang Melayu yang sangat dihormati saya, juga kata kalau beliau nak jadi orang politik, dia akan memilih DAP.
Contoh-contoh yang demikian adalah bukti yang ternyata mengapa Encik Lim Guan Eng sungguh diminati dan dihormati orang-orang Malaysia, termasuk orang Melayu.
Pemikiran orang-orang Malaysia sudah tidak kolot. Kami boleh menerima ‘meritocracy’ sebagai asas membangun negara. Pilihanraya kecil Kuala Trengganu pada 17 Januari, 2009 adalah mesej yang kuat untuk Umno dan BN supaya berinsaf akan polisi-polisi mereka yang kolot dan tidak membawa kemajuan tulin kepada Malaysia.”
Jong
January 10, 2009
Batu Ferringhi said:
Trengganu is Malaysia’s second richest state in terms of resources… this can’t be happening unless the revenue / riches have been siphoned somewhere else.
Should we be surprised? This is the same UMNO government when Kinta Valley was once one of the riches tin-ore producing area on the world map. Look at Perak today, near to bankrupt and nothing much has changed since Merdeka 1957 except that it can boast of transforming most number of Zakaria Deros into billionaires! Ask the former longest surviving Menteri Besar Ramly Ngah Talib(1983-1999) turned Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
storm62
January 11, 2009
i read that statement many times, i thought my eyes are giving me the wrong in put.
so we are born liars just because the govt. gives our mothers a rubella shot for rm1. thats how our govt. support and protect us?
no wonder many mothers in malaysia prefer the private maternity hospitals just to make sure that their new borns are not labelled as liars.
rm1 and we are called liars, but what about those who robbed us of millions?
please Encik MB of Terenganu, you can keep your rm1 rubella shots for your own use.
Pegasus
January 11, 2009
Bro.Haris,You certainly gave a reality shot of the country on the whole,the same I believe could be found in Kedah,Selangor,Sabah, Sarawak ,Kelantan and other states in Malaysia.
The people are a lot wiser and mature now,this is reflected in 8/3/08,12th GE but there are still more to be done to change the rakyat’s mindset especially in the rural area…of course the SMS and the Internet is a big help…BN can’t lie all the time by controlling the MSM.BN is party which has lost its direction and focus,its irrelevant,its a party to enrich themselves and their cronies.The Malaysian public has been cheated all this while and the last 30 years has been rampant and escalated sky high with corruption, mismanagement,scandals,fraud cases … just too much to write about,All Malaysians knows what they are..Its time to change the government, we want a good clean government with the Rakyat’s interest in heart..Lets get Pakatan Rakyat to form the government,..hope the KT people will vote the PAS guy in and kick BN out for good in the coming 13th GE!!. Enough of BN ,enough of cheating the rakyat,Bro.Haris ,you are a gem and captures the true essence of our multi-racial country,keep on going bro…my full support for you and all fair minded citizens of this country who wants a good clean government.Lets start 2009 with full steam ahead to form a new government..starting with KT!!!!
nspirasi
January 11, 2009
strange that nothing happenning in malaysia surprises me anymore…
another idiotic comment or response from the govt…from the MB’s retort on massive aid of $1 rubella jabs to the minister who suggested the ‘straightening of rivers in the country as a flood prevention strategy’….
but what i cant understand is why we malaysians r so blind and ignorant not to see the abuse and manipulation that is occuring before us?
(or do we see it…but cant be bothered to do anything about it)
we get all hetted up during/before by-elections..feeling the sufferings of the poor…and after that we go back to our merry ways..allowing the hoodlums to carry on with the pillaging of our resources…
it is amazing therefore to have champions like u and RPK..LKS & Karpal…fighting the cause…indefatiguable in your pursuit for justice…
a mere mortal would have just turned over and died!!!!…but not u guys…
u r a better man than me Haris Ibrahim…we salute u and pray that u have the strength of a lion to take the country to its ultimate victory!!!
anna brella
January 12, 2009
My hat’s off to you again Haris for this poignantly powerful post.
You remind me of that rare creature that is often said to roam the high plains of human imagination and which is apparently only glimpsed occasionally when one is usually somewhat inebriated or otherwise spaced-out.
A fearless and powerful tiger with the soaring vision of an eagle and the courageous heart of a lion.
You, Haris, have a unique ability to inspire with your writing. It must be a gift from God.
So I think if you keep writing the simple truth with such sensitive empathy with that helping hand of yours for all those poor and downtrodden anak-anak Bangsa Malaysia in KT and elsewhere, who need someone to speak up for them, I am sure that you will somehow help turn the tide, along with others, in their favour.
Sorry about the broken heart, but as you well know by now, it’s a natural hazard that comes with the energy and fragile nature of the idealistic territory you say you inhabit.
I will be watching the by-election with interest and lighting up some extra candles over here, for whatever they’re worth, for all those of you now walking in the light at Kuala Terengganu.
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
foodforthought
January 12, 2009
The Umno dirty tricks have started
http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/16838/84/
queequeg
January 12, 2009
I disagree with Ahmad Said’s statement about the poor having negative attitude. It is the MB himself that’s having the negative attitude. Being an UMNO party goon has inoculated him from opening his heart to the reality of the poor in Terengganu. I strongly believe that in the event BN loses (and I’m pretty much sure of it!) he would say that KT folks are ungrateful S.O.Bs & take steps to “punish” them. That’s the modus operandi of BN in the past, present & future. Keep it up Mr. MB coz the rakyat will hate you even more…
I know we don’t have all the answers to the abject poverty in KT but at least we can try thru the work of NGOs & caring individuals by starting a microcredit scheme similar to the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Let’s see how many negative minded beings who will reject this scheme. I’m confident it is on the contrary. Grateful smiles & hugs are more like it.
Keep up the good work Haris!
Fair
January 12, 2009
Dear Haris ,
Don’t even have to travel to KT and just watch TV’3 reality program “Bersama-mu” and we will find out how our destitute Malay brothers and sisters live.
It is so outrageous that this blessed land still got so many poor people, I blame this on BN government for their mismanagement and corruption .
Wysam
March 14, 2010
I can see people think that this mosque is build with malaysia’s money ,, but this mosque was funded by Saudi Arabian prince Wilid Bin Talal, the treasurer of KSA.