KOTA KINABALU:
LDP Deputy President Datuk Chin Su Phin said yesterday expressed sadness that the protracted issue over the controversial Goddess of the Sea or Mazu statue project in Kudat has forced Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat to bring the matter to the court. In fact, he said, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself has disagreed that the location of the Mazu statue project was against the Fatwa. The issue of Mazu is not a matter of not supporting the project and its location, but the most important is that there must be a strong reason acceptable to the people as to why the project has to be relocated elsewhere; and why the Kudat District Council withdrew its approval earlier on the project when the project was already halfway through completion, said Chin. According to him, Chong Kah Kiat, who is a senior lawyer himself, must have ensured that the application for building the Mazu statue was done properly and commenced the project after it was approved by the district council. Chin said that it is illogical for the State Government not to recognise the building plan submitted by the Mazu Foundation headed by Chong after the project was half-completed with the excuse that the project was started without going through the proper procedure..“If the building plan was merely about technical problem, then it would have not forced the foundation to go to the court. It must be the so-called authority behind the matter that led the Kudat District Council to withdraw its initial approval that halted the project,” he stressed. As such, Chin urged leaders from the Chinese community to make their own assessment to determine as to who are correct and who are wrong in handling the project. He strongly believed that the majority from the Chinese community, including the Chinese Cabinet Ministers, know about the whole thing very clearly by now. “But I feel sad that certain Chinese leaders have to bow down to the so-called authority and dare not stand up and speak up for the truth. They must bear in mind that as the elected Wakil Rakyat, they must not protect their own agenda only and forget about the interest of the people,” said Chin. After the Kudat Mazu statue issue, there is another Chinese organization which applied to build a Mazu Temple, said Chin, adding that no matter what, the Kudat Mazu project is already regarded as part of the Chinese community history, a fact no body could deny.Chin also agreed with former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had made a call recently that the people should vote out the elected representatives who did not carried out their responsibility in serving the people. He expressed the hope that in the coming general election, those picked as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates are trustworthy and not corrupt and are fully supported by the people to ensure a big victory for the BN. As for the LDP, Chin noted that party has been firmly loyal to the BN since it was formed 18 years ago and today the LDP remains with the BN in facing the coming election. Nevertheless, he said this does not mean that if the Government has a weakness, the LPD would not speak up and criticize and offer suggestions to correct the Government policies. “The LDP has been doing this all this while since Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat time as President up till now under the leadership of Datuk VK Liew as we feel that it is for the good and betterment of the BN and the people,” said Chin, who conveyed his Chinese New Year greetings to the people.
