Speaking at a dinner organised by the developer of the Bintulu Port Housing project at a restaurant here Sunday, he added that he would continue to safeguard the BN's concept of transparency and openness to the views of the people.

"In BN, we always listen to the rakyat and hear their grievances so that we would be able to initiate solutions to their problems. We just do not want the rakyat to suffer just because of irresponsible act of certain groups," he added.

In the case of the Bintulu Port staff who had been denied of owning their own homes for about five years due to the abandonment of the housing project, he stressed that the Barisan Nasional was not to be blamed for the problem.

Instead, he pointed out that certain individuals holding senior management positions in the Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (BPSB) had been more keen to protect their own interests in the project and left a substantial number of the staff who made the purchases in financial difficulties.

Nevertheless, following Tiong's intervention and relentless calls to the Ministries concerned as well as highlighting the matter in the parliament, the project was eventually taken over by the Suruhanjaya Perumahan Negara Berhad and expected to be completed end of this year.

"I am very hopeful to see that all of you could move in to your new houses that you have waited for a quite a long time," he added.

Amidst the success of getting the problem addressed amicably, Tiong also regretted to learn that the individuals who were against his intervention in the issue were now plotting against him to win in this election.

"I have heard that these individuals had been directing staff working closely with them to collect names of other employees who are voters in Bintulu in the bid to offer cash in return to voting for the oppositions," he claimed.

Stressing that Barisan Nasional would not tolerate this act particularly when it is done in a public-listed company, Tiong believed that the voters should be given all the freedom to make their choice of who would be the best person to represent them in the parliament and able to solve the rakyat problems.

"One thing that I can assure is that if I win, I will make sure BPSB will be clean from money politics that not only could jeopardize the business but could also destroy our country and the future of our new generation.

Money doesn't mean everything and not always a wonderful thing. Money-politics could spread like cancer and deterring our efforts to bring the nation towards greater development," he added.