DAP’s Rara Othman says toeing the party line blindly a thing of the past


(MMO) – Unlike the majority of her party colleagues who want the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) scrapped, DAP’s Young Syefura Othman is all for it.

Syefura or Rara, as she is better known, said a large number of her constituents in Ketari, Pahang, are supportive of the project, contrary to a widely-held opinion that the majority of the public is opposed the ECRL.

The 28-year-old said her constituents had bet on the promise of an economic spillover a modern transit infrastructure could generate; some have sold their land to developers while others have channelled their life savings into small businesses meant to cater to rail customers or workers.

“Many of my constituents believe the ECRL could be good business, which is why some of them had agreed to sell their land while some have also invested in things in anticipation of the project,” she explained further.

So in one way or another, many Ketari residents, mostly poor, have a stake in the ECRL and reversing the project might risk hurting the constituents instead.

But Syefura is quick to protest the project’s cost, echoing criticism by most senior Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders that the RM55 billion price tag is excessive. Still, the Ketari assemblyman argues that policy consideration must also include residents’ welfare.

The progress rate of the ECRL, which will run through Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and end in Port Klang, Selangor, has reached 13 per cent, with the first phase of construction in Kota Baru already underway, according to Bernama and The Edge reports in March and April.

New era

Syefura said attempts were made to portray her open support for the ECRL as a sign of division within PH. On social media, critics said the DAP assemblyman’s views had more in common with Barisan Nasional propagandists or PAS sympathisers. The latter party is also a supporter of the project.

But Syefura is unperturbed. Aware that her support for the ECRL risked unnerving colleagues in PH, the 28-year-old former nurse said the time of rigidly toeing the party line is over, and that BN’s defeat ushered in a more open era that celebrates differing opinions.

“As a young politician I am trying to bring in this new political culture, one that celebrates differing opinions,” she answered when asked to explain the DAP’s position on the matter.

“This is a new era, an era where we no longer have to toe the line rigidly. That is a thing of the past,” she added.

The defeated BN administration had envisaged the ECRL as a key socio-economic enabler for the less-developed east coast states, with the project expected to boost connectivity between industrial areas, economic centres and ports. It estimated 80,000 jobs would be created.

But even with all the public relations blitzkrieg to promote the perks, they were overshadowed by the scandals that plagued Prime MInister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration as critics effectively harped on the ECRL’s cost and dubious financing agreement to raise public suspicion.

PH leaders, alleging the Najib government had artificially inflated the cost, made the ECRL a key campaigning issue in the elections. PH had pledged to review all mega projects, including the ECRL.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who led the loosely tied four-party coalition to a stunning win at the May 9 polls, announced a week ago that his government would scrap the project if the Chinese refused to bring the cost down.

PH has imposed a prudent fiscal policy after taking office, cancelling several large-scale projects and sacked thousands of politically appointed civil servants linked to the previous government in what some pundits have described as an “austerity drive” to rein in the national debt.

The PH administration had also voiced its willingness to compensate companies affected by the cancellations. For the ECRL, Putrajaya would have to pay RM22 billion in compensation if it decides to junk the project.

The staggering amount has forced the government to rethink its approach to the project, and Dr Mahathir had said he would try and negotiate for a lower price, a point Syefura raised to justify her views about the project.

“It is already underway so imagine what would happen to those people who sold their land, or those who invested in the opportunity to earn a decent living,” she said.

 



Comments
Loading...