Press Statement by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town On 10.8.2014.
The Penang PR state government is willing to assume full responsibility if permitted to take over the National Park Advisory Council, the statutory authority that controls and manages the Penang National Park. It is self-contradictory and ridiculous for Penang Barisan Nasional chairman Teng Chang Yeow to blame the state government for trying to wash our hands off the nudist camp issue at Teluk Kampi inside the Penang National Park, when we have no final decision-making powers relating to the National Park.
I am surprised that Teng is so ignorant of the basics of governance as a former Penang EXCO member, when he claimed that the state has powers of authority over the Penang National Park solely on the basis of the State Secretary and 3 other representatives nominated by the state to the National Park Advisory Council under Section 5 of the 1980 National Parks Act. Teng is wrong because the Chairman of the National Park Advisory Council is the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and a majority of the members of the Council are appointed by the Federal government.
Following Teng’s perverse logic, is the Penang Development Corporation(PDC) under the control of the Federal government just because the Federal government can appoint 3 representatives on the PDC’s Board of Directors that is chaired by me? That is why on any matter related to PDC, the state government assumes full responsibility and does not blame the Federal government.
It is this perverse logic of Teng where the minority state government representatives in the National Park Advisory Council can control the majority Federal government representatives in the Council that is false and unacceptable. No wonder BN is running the Federal government even though they won a minority of the votes with 47% of the popular vote in the 2013 general elections!
However if the Federal government is willing to cede control over the National Park Advisory Council to us, the state government will take up the challenge and assume full responsibility. The state government has chosen not to politicize the nudist camp issue even though a former Gerakan Wanita leader is said to be one of the organizers.
Instead the state government has stated that both the federal and state government would not have approved the nudist camp. We have also urged the public to give the federal authorities time to complete their investigation, even though a Penang National Park Ranger(who is under Federal government payroll) has assisted the participants of the nudist camp.
However even though the state government has not brought up the involvement of a former Gerakan leader in the nudist camp, nor blamed the Federal government, Teng has decided to exploit the issue politically by blaming the state govenment. I wish to advise Teng that doing so would not help him reverse his two heavy defeats in the 2008 and 2013 general elections. The beauty in the wisdom of the people of Penang is that when you point a false accusatory finger, there are four fingers pointing back at you.
Lim Guan Eng
—- Mandarin Version —-
槟州首席部长林冠英于2014年8月10日在乔治市光大发表声明：
槟州民联政府愿意承担责任，如果当局允许我们接管控制及管理槟州国家公园的国家公园咨询理事会。
槟州民联政府愿意承担责任，如果当局允许我们接管控制及管理槟州国家公园的国家公园咨询理事会。槟州国阵主席邓章耀自相矛盾及荒唐，他指责州政府试图在槟州国家公园直落甘比举行的天体营事件推卸责任，问题是，我们在国家公园的事务方面根本没有最终决定权。
我很惊讶，邓章耀身为前行政议员，他对政府的基本治理结构如此无知，他声称，州政府对槟州国家公园有管理权，理由是在1980年国家公园法令第5条文下，州秘书及州政府提名的三位代表是国家公园咨询理事会的成员。邓章耀错了，因为国家公园咨询理事会的主席是天然资源及环境部的秘书长，大多数理事会的成员都是联邦政府委任的。
如果邓章耀的逻辑是对的，槟州发展机构岂不由联邦政府管理？因为联邦政府可以委任三名代表进入由我担任主席的槟州发展机构董事会。这也是为什么任何有关槟州发展机构的事务，州政府都会承担责任，不会责怪联邦政府。
邓章耀的错误逻辑就是国家公园咨询理事会内的少数州政府代表可以控制大多数联邦政府代表，这是错误及不能被接受的。难怪国阵在2013年全国大选中得票率只有47%，却可以执政联邦政府。
但是，如果联邦政府愿意把控制管理国家公园的权力交给州政府，我们会接下挑战，承担责任。就算是民政党的其中一名前妇女组领袖据说是主办人之一，州政府已经选择不将天体营课题政治化。
反之，州政府已经表明立场，联邦政府及州政府都不会批准天体营。我们也促请公众给予联邦政府足够的时间来进行调查，虽然一名槟州国家公园护林员（由联邦政府聘请）曾经协助过天体营的参与者。
不过，虽然州政府没有提及前民政党领袖涉及此事，也没有责怪联邦政府，邓章耀却决定消费这项课题，怪罪州政府。我希望提醒邓章耀，他这么做无助于他扭转2008年及2013年在大选中两次惨败的事实。槟城人民睿智之处在于，当你用一根手指胡乱指责时，会有另外四根手指指回你自己。
林冠英