DAP surely has Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah to thank for ‘rallying’ unison support which has been missing for the longest of time from the party’s once loyalists and grassroot members by admonishing former finance minister Lim Guan Eng and his then aide Tony Pua over the LRT3 Shah Alam Line delay.
Heeding the call not to be provocative towards the Selangor Palace, the duo had yesterday (July 2) come out with a seemingly ‘facts & figures-pack’ bilingual Bahasa Malaysia (781 words) and English (825 words) joint media statements to clear the air over grouses on their part by the Selangor ruler in his latest edict.
“We wish to respectfully and humbly clarify several matters which can be verified with Prasarana and MRCB (Malaysian Resources Corp) Bhd,” they gracefully kickstarted their eight-point statement.
One, the LRT3 project was never stopped, stalled or suspended during the Pakatan Harapan (PH 1.0) administration between 2018 and 2020.
We would like to also affirm that the then PH administration had fully supported the LRT3 project and deemed it a critical and essential project to improve the daily lives of Klang Valley residents.
Political victory for DAP?
Again, Guan Eng and Pua minded their demeanour well by ending their statement with grace and style by honouring concerns of the 80-year-old Selangor ruler on the well-being of his subjects.
We would like to reiterate the fact that these savings to the Malaysian government were not at the expense of the LRT passenger volume and functionality.
These savings in turn allowed the current and future governments to re-allocate funds to other welfare benefits for the rakyat and development expenditure.
We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation for Tuanku’s concern for the LRT3 project which as the Tuanku rightly pointed out and plays an important role in reducing traffic congestion, time travel and is an economic catalyst for development in Selangor.
Heaps of praises were left on the comment section of DAP disciplinary committee chairman Pua’s two Facebook posts of the Bahasa Malaysia and English joint media statements as the former three-term lawmaker and the party’s adviser Guan Eng silence detractors.
“If we’ve Tony as our finance minister, our government will be clean and can catch up our economy close to Singapore soon,” envisages a Sarawakian who now resides in Petaling Jaya.
“Precise and analytic statement. Hope all the rest whether in power or in opposition can keep up to this standard. Talk with fact and bersopan-santun (politeness). With/without Pendidikan Moral (Moral Studies) make the difference.”
One commenter stressed the need to have analytical mind and prudent fiscal management to move a country forward.
“Leaders with those qualities are rare,” she opined. “Tony Pua’s ability to analyse complex issues and focus on responsible spending sets him apart. Sadly, some critics choose to be keyboard warriors rather than challenge his ideas with facts.”
Taxpayers rejoiced as they paid tribute to Guan Eng and his then political secretary for what they perceived as “quite a clear and solid explanation with very solid facts”.
Over on Guan Eng’s FB page, there are even reader-friendly bilingual English and Mandarin Factsheets alongside the said joint media statements.
As detractors continue to harp on congestion stemming from the reduction of the original six-coach-trains to the current three-coach size and the much-shortened platforms, senior journalist-turned-political commentator Andrew Sia took a pot shot at the former for their wasteful spend-thrift behaviour.
“Many are too lazy to read the full explanation because it’s too long. So let me simplify it. We all know Najib’s (incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak) project was inflated to feed cronies, buy luxury Birkin handbags, etc,” jibed the former environmental editor at The Star in reaction to the joint media statement.
The original budget for LRT3 was RM9 bil in 2015 but by 2018 it ballooned to RM31 bil! That’s normal, bro. 😅
DAP are prudent Chinese managers who cut costs during 1MDB’s difficult times. Saving RM9.2 bil can build more hospitals, schools, etc.
More important than Birkin, right? When you have money, you simply spend.
I see this as a contrast between Chinese and Malay management styles. One is careful with spending, the other more … er … relaxed.
But seeing the DAP bashing, forget about jimat (saving). Let the plundering of money to happen till the country is bankrupt before they realise it. – July 3, 2026
Main image credit: IQI Global (LRT3); Another Brick in the Wall blog (Guan Eng, Tony Pua)
