On Wednesday 8th April, the MCA president went on record to

publicly declare his intention of wanting the PM to retain

MCA's four ministerial and 6 deputy ministerial posts.

The president, Ong TK, should instead be grateful for just

any number of jobs the PM want to give to him and his party.
There is no need for Ong to demand for a specific total due
to the reason that the MCA did not do well in the March '08
general elections.

The reason why the MCA did not do well was because the voters
regarded the party as largely untrustworthy.

There is a very huge number of reasons why the party is seen

as untrustworthy but a few should suffice here.

The MCA has always held the post of Housing & Local Government.
And we always hear about stories of the numerous problems the
people have to face night and day, all the time. These problems
relate to housing and issues concerning local government.

Many wage-earning people have often been swindled or cheated

by unscrupulous housing developers and building contractors
and the Housing & local Government Minister has done little
to help these unfortunate people.

Many contractors made themselves scarce once they had obtained

enough cash deposits from buyers and the housing projects that
they were supposed to be working on are left abandoned. The
would-be buyers do not only lose their precious money but now
have to face possible punitive action from moneylenders or banks
if they fail to pay back loans taken.

Just as unfortunate are the house buyers who move into their
new dwellings only to find numerous defects confronting them.
There are leaks during rainy days and there leaks even when
it is not raining. The sewer pipes are often made from poor
quality material and the pipes are not properly installed.
Water leaks when someone upstairs is taking a bath. It's most
unacceptable.

The minister in charge is directly responsible for such problems

affecting the people although the PM's Cabinet is not altogether
blameless either. Bad policies implemented by the Federal and
local authorities have allowed unscrupulous and irresponsible
contractors and businessmen to run amuck and dupe the innocent.

The MCA should hung its head in shame and not salivate over how
many posts that they could be getting in the forthcoming Cabinet
reshuffle. Think of the horrible heartbreak innocent citizens
are being forced to endure all this while.

Another equally serious problem is how poorly designed our typical

local house or apartment is. Many houses and apartments have their
main doors literally right next to each other. This is going to
cause a lot of unnecessary stress for one or both of the occupants
of the two adjacent dwellings. Architects should never totally
forget the saying about good fences helping to make good neighbours.
Another thoughtless feature often found between adjacent houses
is the wall separating the immediate properties. Many irresponsible
houseowners often like to place potted plants on top of the wall.
Imagine what could happen if one pot were to fall on a child's
head next door. who should be held responsible ? There should be
laws or regulations forbidding or outlawing such situations.

Yet another useless feature is the common method of having two

neighbours share a common gate pillar. This should have never been
allowed at all. No house gate should be located right next to
another house gate. Many filty rich people often install expensive
lights on top of the gate pillar without even bothering to ask if
their neighbours were agreeable to their self-centred actions.

Has the minister in charge of local government and housing ever took
the trouble to look around ? ?

The country right now is experiencing a very severe crime explosion.

Has Ong TK ever thought about the sorrow and pain felt by crime
victims in this country ? The community that he represents or supposed
to represent comprised only 23% of the general population but formed
the majority of crime victims in this country.

Has Ong ever put the safety and interests of the community first over
those of his party members ? He should stop thinking of the posts and
the lucrative salaries and perks that he could get and instead start
thinking about the welfare of the people.

Ong and the MCA should now get up, dust their backsides and start
thinking about how to be more responsible to their people that they
claim to represent.

Explain how individuals who have been convicted of multiple offences

are able to drive or ride around looking for yet more victims. The
transport minister is surely one who is sleeping in his job.

Ong who is the transport minister should study how the US suppressed
crime by introducing and using the 3-strikes statute. The US has one
of the highest crime rates in the world with over eleven million
crime cases annually. But the rise of crime has been reduced to a
very much slower rate due to the introduction of the 3-strikes law.

The MCA ought to push for a similar punishment for those who commit
repeat crimes that involved violent robbery, using dangerous weapons,
bodily harm, illicit drugs and kidnapping. Forget about posts and
huge salaries. These are meaningless if the voters regard you as
untrustworthy and give you the foot at every election.

Right now, the MCA is very very untrustworthy. And Ong himself is
also very untrustworthy.