Name low-cost terminal after Tunku, says DAP

Humayun Kabir, Sep 3, 2010, 6:23pm

The DAP wants the federal government to name the proposed mega low cost airport as Tunku Abdul Rahman International Airport (Taria) to honour Malaysia's first prime minister, instead of KLIA2 as suggested by Premier Najib Abdul Razak recently.

DAP national vice chief M Kulasegaran (left) said, “This is to ensure that Tunku's name remains a living legend, not only among Malaysians but also with the international community.

"While the celebration of Merdeka is in the minds of all Malaysians, the memory of Tunku's contributions to the nation seems to be slowly fading especially among the BN politicians," he said.

"The former premier Mahathir Mohamad had preferred to name the nation's main international airport as KLIA to basically promote Kuala Lumpur ... instead of honouring Tunku," Kulasegaran said.

During the ground-breaking ceremony for the project on Aug 30, Najib was reported as saying that the terminal would be completed in 2012 and that it would be called KLIA2.

The DAP, however, hopes that Tunku's legacy will not be sidelined once again.

“I have received public feedback (asking) why the government has chosen such an unexciting and dull name for the airport,” he said.

Cat more important?

The party's state deputy chief concurs that simply adding a '2' to the existing name of KLIA did not sound “special” at all.

“I was surprised why the government did not ask for public suggestions to name the new airport,” he said.

After all, said Kulasegaran, Najib had taken the trouble this June to ask for public help to name his new pet kitten (left), announcing therefore that an era where "the government knows best" was over.

“When Najib wanted public opinion on the naming of his kitty, why could he not seek such public feedback for an important national issue such as the naming of the proposed new low-cost air terminal?" asked Kulasegaran.

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