Govt Has The Right To Carry Out Projects At Any Time, Says Samy Vellu

KUALA SELANGOR, April 18 (Bernama) -- The government reserves the right to implement development projects including road repair and resurfacing works at any time for the benefit of the rakyat, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Wednesday.
He defended the ones being undertaken in the Ijok constituency, the stage of the April 28 state by-election, describing them as something routine.
"As a minister, I can order such works to be carried out for which the allocation has been approved some time ago. We are carrying out such projects in Ijok. It is at the request of the rakyat," he told reporters here when queried on allegations by the opposition that, in so doing, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was fishing for votes.
He jokingly said that the road repair works would also benefit opposition parties as it would be much easier for them to enter the villages and estates to campaign.
The by-election is being held following the death of BN assemblyman Datuk K. Sivalingam, of heart failure on April 4. Nomination has been set for tomorrow while polling is on April 28.
Tanjung Karang MIC secretary K. Parthiban is the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate-designate while Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is pinning its hope on former Permodalan Nasional Berhad chief executive officer Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan warned that stern action would be taken against those trying to create trouble in the Ijok polls.
He told reporters here that 1,000 police personnel would be stationed in the constituency to ensure security.
At a separate function, Puteri Umno chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad expressed confidence that the BN candidate would do well in the Ijok polls.
"The opposition candidate-designate is only known in the corporate world whereas the BN man has a wide experience," she said, adding that some 1,000 Puteri members would be mobilised to ensure a BN victory.
Meanwhile, returning officer Haris Kasim told Bernama that preparations for tomorrow's nomination process were going on smoothly.

tunku : you are right samy but why it is so obvious that only during elections it becomes so famous for this thing. every election you see there is land title given,houses,construction work, repair and maintenance works etc.i understand that during no election there are works going on but very slow and no publicity.i suggest that the government make it transparent and visible for the public to see what projects or work that have been approved so that people won't say that only when elections government is doing the work.you can have it advertise in the media what are the projects that have been approved in each parliament area.By the way there's RUMOURS RUMOURS RUMOURS indicating that the election will be held this august, just look at the share market magical uptrend.