TANJUNG Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu has repeated his call to the Penang legislative assembly to limit the tenure of the chief minister to two terms.

The two-term DAP rep has been making the same call repeatedly in state assembly sittings since the last term, even though his proposal never went far and had earned him brickbats from party colleagues.

Teh said limiting the chief minister’s tenure would be a greater reform by the House, which had already done well by extending the question time to one and a half hours everyday throughout the sitting.

“Pakatan Harapan (PH) at national level had pledged that it will limit the tenure of the prime minister to two terms, if the opposition coalition made it to Putrajaya in the 14th general election (GE14).

“This was announced by PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad and supported by other PH leaders. It is possible to amend the constitution (to realise this pledge).

“It is also in line with what I had been asking for, that the service of the prime minister, chief minister and menteri besar should be limited to two terms,” he said when debating the state’s Budget 2018 tonight.

Teh said limiting the leaders’ tenure would help reduce power abuse and corruption, urging Penang PH not to miss the “golden opportunity” to do it.

He said the current administration should add this reform to its legacy in Penang, a move that would also boost the people’s confidence in PH.

“Let us show that we walk the talk,” he said.

Teh also touched on the recent landslide tragedy at a construction site near a hill in his constituency that claimed 11 lives.

He said there was underground water in the area that should be taken into account by the authorities investigating the tragedy.

He also urged the developer of the affected project to compensate the families of the 11 workers who were killed in the landslide.

On the huge sinkhole which appeared in Taman Ratu, Tanjung Bungah following last weekend’s massive storm and flood, Teh said a commission of inquiry should also investigate how it had happened, even though nobody died.

“The development in Taman Ratu was objected by Strait Regency and Surin condo residents, who live below the new project, three years ago. But the project was approved.

“I think this is also a case where a commission of inquiry should be formed to investigate how the sinkhole on the road in the project happened, and whether there was negligence,” he said.

Throughout his two terms, Teh had ruffled feathers in his party due to his unbending stance on issues like limiting the chief minister’s tenure and his objections against developments that were unfriendly to the environment such as projects on hill slopes.

He recently told the media that he was quitting DAP the moment parliament and the state assembly are dissolved, citing unhappiness with the lack of reform. – November 10, 2017.