E Contrario

The next day (25 August) at 09:00hr, I visited Perti Keadilan Rakyat Perlis office. I took the opportunity of my trip to give an one-hour briefing to the Perlis State Liaison Committee.

The premise has been used as the state office since 2005. I admit that KeADILan party organization in Perlis is still fairly small but we have a group of very dedicated core members. Although Perlis is a predominantly Malay state, we are gaining growing support among all ethnic groups, including Chinese and Siamese.

Perlis state chief, Sdr A. Ghani. He is the division chief of Padang Besar and has been appointed the chairperson of Perlis State Liaison Committee about two months back.

Ghani has been one of our party founding members in Perlis. Normally he was low profile and not outspoken, but known for hardworking and strong commitment.

After our discussion in the state office, at about 10:30hr we moved to Kangar town center where a press conference and meet-the-people session was organized in a coffee shop.

The traditional kopithiam was located on the main street of Kangar town. Recently Kangar Town Council decided to ‘upgrade’ the footpath in town. Unfortunately it was done without consultation.

The footpath or kaki lima along the shops has been elevated by 2-3 feet. This might be for the purpose of drainage. However it has caused considerable inconveniences to the shop owners and shoppers. Many old folks or senior citizens find it very difficult to walk up and down the stairs walking along the street.

Since the road and shop front are no longer on the same level, the shop owners complained that uploading and downloading of goods have become impossible.

Worse, perhaps due to negligence in construction, the drain ended up higher than the shop floor. This results water accumulated in front of the shop.

Beside the problems arising from unprofessional work, personally I feel the construction has neglected the aesthetic aspect of old building.

What a terrible job!!!