Chow Kon Yeow: 曹观友

Friday April 11, 2008
Koh: Be cautious of info via SMS
By DERRICK VINESH
PENANG: Be wary of information circulated via SMS as it could be highly unreliable – this is the advice of former Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon who was implicated in a recent SMS rumour over a land deal.

Dr Koh, who was vindicated after the state government denied an SMS alleging that the previous state administration under him had transferred a piece of land in Rifle Range to the Prime Minister’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, said: “I welcome the state’s move to stop the misinformation being spread via SMS.

“The episode is a good lesson to all, although I became a victim. This shows that SMS allegations need to be taken with a pinch of salt.”

He added that many rumours were also spread via SMS during the general election.

“It was just impossible for us to lodge police reports over every other SMS allegation,” he said in an interview.

On Wednesday, the state government denied an SMS circulating here on the alleged land transfer.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow set things right when he said the land ownership records showed that the land lease was still fully held by the Penang Municipal Council.

Dr Koh’s former political secretary Mark Ooi had last week called on the new government to clarify the land ownership and put a stop to the false SMS implicating the former chief minister.

Saturday April 12, 2008

PENANG has lodged a complaint to the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board’s (CVLB) over errant bus operators who leased out their vehicles.

On Wednesday, a letter was sent to board chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran, state Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said in a press statement yesterday.

Among the points highlighted were that all bus operators on the island except for Rapid Pe-nang had admitted to practising the lease system; the problem was repeatedly discussed by the board and state and reported in the media; drivers who leased the vehicles could be spotted competing amongst themselves for passengers, parking at bus stops to wait for passengers and only plying lucrative routes; and that the CVLB schedule was re-peatedly ignored by errant drivers which bus operators have little control over.

Chow also urged Markiman to address the bus lease system problem in the state.

“The state will give the CVLB its full support and we are confident that with the commitment of the board and Entrepreneurial Development and Co-operative Ministry, the state’s public transportation system can be improved,” the statement read.

On April 7, it was reported that the CVLB had “not received any official complaint from any par-ty” regarding the problematic lease scheme among bus operators in the state.

Markiman reportedly said that if details including the name and number of the bus companies practising the lease system were disclosed, the board would take necessary action.