Tag: Councillors

Residents Representative Committee has Political Aims and to Seize Power from Local Authorities

7

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Nov: The Residents Representative Committee (JPP) which was established by the federal government to support community development programmes is deemed to have political aims and attempts a coup from the state government and local authorities.

Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru, Sim Tze Tzin, said that the function of the JPP which is proposed by the central government is similar to the duties of council members and may be in violation of the Constitution.

He said that the JPP which is concentrated in urban areas will target local authorities in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state and may be aimed at competing with council members appointed by the state government.

“The establishment of the JPP was decided after Barisan Nasional (BN) failed to win the majority vote from the population of urban areas during the 13th General Election.

“We suspect that the federal government wants to centralise power by establishing the JPP as ‘Appointed Council Members of the Federal Government’ which is clearly in contradiction with the Constitution because local authorities are under the jurisdiction of the state government.

“I urge for the local government and state government to take not on this initiative,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

He said that it would be better is the government allows for the implementation of local government elections to be held to give a larger mandate to the administration of local authorities.

He said that the election will be guaranteed to make existing council members more effective in administration and municipality.

“The establishment of the JPP is just a waste of time and provisions because it would limit the power of local authorities, which are actually under the jurisdiction of the state government. The federal government should take heed that the power of local authorities lies under the state government and avoid from breach of power,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a budget allocation of RM63 million to set up 24 JPP zones in every local authority on 2 October.

The JPP will act as a single entity consisting of representatives of the local community to support community development programmes, while addressing urban issues in local authority areas, and the latest initiative is the result of feedback indicating that most of the urban population do not clearly understand government funded programmes during the GE-13.

PDRM Urged to Improve Existing System

1

SHAH ALAM, 2 Nov: The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) has been asked to improve their existing system in order to curb crime.

Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar recommended it, in addition to requesting a review be done on all security officers.

Crime Analyst, Datuk Akhbar Satar, said that he welcomed Khalid’s recommendation. However, he said that it should be done holistically, significantly and tighter.

“In addition, the police should ensure that each member is given sufficient training, as well as to be equipped well with equipment and other needs such as weapons and logistics. If this criteria is met, the crime figures may go down,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor yesterday.

Yesterday, Khalid said that PDRM will be performing immediate checks of all security officers, as well as check their firearms licence as a short-term measure to curb identity fraud.

He said that PDRM will also design long-term plans in granting firearm licences to security officers, including tightening requirements for the renewal of licences, and the move will be made specifically to prevent occurrences of bank officers being shot in robberies from recurring.

In an incident, Norazita Abu Talib, 37, died after being shot in the head at close range by a security officer, believed to be an Indonesian national using a fake identity card, at USJ Central here in Subang Jaya at 6.20pm on 23 October.

Meanwhile, the Assemblywoman for Damansara Utama, Yeo Bee Yin, said that a restructuring of the police force should be carried out if we want rime statistics to go down.

“In cases of maddening crimes, it is time for the government to make changes in the division of duties by increasing police officers for crime prevention.

“At the moment, only a percentage of police officers are assigned to control crime, while the rest are assigned to other duties,” she said.

Government Should Reduce Fuel Price Following the World Market

8

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Oct: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) questions the government’s move to raise fuel subsidies to RM2.326 billion in the National Budget 2014 because the government targets savings of RM3.3 billion next year.

Member of Parliament for Tanjong, Ng Wei Aik said, the subsidy increase would increase the total expenses to RM22.341 billion, however, only RM20.015 was allocated in the National Budget 2013.

“Fuel subsidies for next year will increase by 11.62 percent, from RM20 billion to RM22 billion. Fuel subsidies should be increased, not reduced.

“So we have a big question, why does the subsidy need to be increased dramatically when the announcement by the Prime Minister explained in September that the increase of 20 cents for RON95 and Diesel would result in savings of RM3.3 billion to be recorded in 2014,” he said in a press conference here in Parliament today.

Wei Aik said, the oil price has fallen as diplomacy aimed at Syria and Iran eased concerns about Middle East supplies after climbing to over USD110 in the late August, and the oil price even dipped below USD102 per barrel after parts of the US Government were ordered to shut down because of a budget impasse in Washington.

“The price of fuel is a major problem that burdens the people because they want the price to be lowered, not increased,” he said.

Among the countries that have reduced the price of oil are India, Taiwan, Ghana, Vietnam, Bermuda, South Africa, Georgia and China, in the last three months.

MBPJ Adds CCTV to Enhance Security

2

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Oct: The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is taking proactive measures to add more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at pedestrian walks around the Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations near Taman Mayang.

The move is being made following the death of a student, Dickson Wong from Sarawak, who was attacked by snatch thieves near the LRT station two days ago.

The MBPJ Public Relations Unit, in a statement, said that the effort to add CCTVs at the area has received approval from the Mayor, Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad and will be done within two weeks.

“The Council will also require for commercial premises, in their renewal of licence, to provide and install CCTVs at their premises to help maintain security together,” stated the press release.

In addition to the installation of CCTVs, the Council will also work with the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) to patrol around the area.

Dickson, who is in a coma, was found covered in blood near the LRT station in Taman Mayang after being attacked by snatch thieves.

Selangor and Penang PR Governments Step Forward to Strengthen Democracy

5

Youth Solidarity Malaysia (SAMM) congratulated the Selangor and Penang PR Governments for moving another step to strengthen democracy in their administration radar.

On 18 September, the Penang Pakatan Rakyat Government, through the State Government Exco meeting, approved in principle the provisions for Assemblymen from the Opposition in Penang (read: Barisan Nasional) and the subsequent approval from the Exco Meeting will be tabled in the Penang State Budget 2014.

Meanwhile, on 10 October, the Selangor PR Government announced special allowances and privileges for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly Opposition Leader.

For Samm, this are valiant efforts in strengthening and educating the meaning of true democracy in Malaysia, in fact, understanding in the long history of oppression in translating the BN-style democracy system, actions such as this is hard to be accepted by various quarters in PR itself.

But if we are talking about a mature democracy, this is the best time to show that PR is different from the oppression politics of BN. We see all this while how PR representatives, especially Parliamentarians, are denied the right to serve the people without even a single cent of allocation being channelled through PR representatives who were voted by the people.

Now, it is a tremendous blow for BN Assemblymen in Penang. Do they want to receive provisions given to them despite Do they want to receive their allocation to them despite their opposition?

If they accept it, then they acknowledge the practice of the BN Government in other states and even the Federal level BN government as wrong to not channel allocations through representatives of the people who were elected by the people. But if they reject it, they will continue to be remembered for their narrow partisan politics and they can no longer complain in front of their voters that they do not have allocations.

Through the Penang State Government, PR proved that political clash is a different matter, but in matters of democratic state governance, the people’s choice should be respected and Penang PR has acknowledged that.

The Office of the Leader of the Opposition in the House (be it the House of Representatives or the state legislative assembly) is very important. But since the independence of Malaysia, it has not been honoured like other countries of mature democracy acknowledge the post.

The Selangor PR Government made a tremendous stride when they allocated RM8,260 per month with plenty other privileges to the Opposition Leader in the State Legislative Assembly.

With this, this position which is upheld through the democratic pr In this position he also transported through the democratic process of the people’s voice can be used to jointly develop the state. Opposition leaders can have complete office efficiency with enough research officers and Opposition leaders can have a complete office efficiency with enough research officer and able to debate and make constructive criticism to state that ultimately benefit the people.

The question now is would the Opposition Leader from BN in Selangor receive the allowances and privileges or will he reject with narrow political party thinking.

If he accepts it, he would admit the wrong practice of the Central and State Governments under BN in denying the role of Opposition Leaders elected by the people.

This is how the politics of the nation should be practiced with policy competition and competition in improvements which will ultimately strengthen democracy and benefit the people.

SAMM has greats hopes to see the Prime Minister, who is also the Finance Minister, to make the word ‘transformation’ as his daily chant when tabling the Budget 2014 this Friday which can truly welcome the moves taken by the Penang and Selangor PR Governments.

This move is also positive and everyone should move to strengthen democracy by acknowledging the role of PR members of parliament by taking into account the channeling of provisions through those elected by the people and uphold the role of the Malaysian Parliament by acknowledging privileges for Malaysian Opposition Leaders.

Without that, the ‘transformation’ chant will continue being a rhetoric laughed by those from the country and abroad.

Badrul Hisham Shaharin
Youth Solidarity Malaysia

Desire to Manage Lynas, Failure to Supervise Dam

3

SHAH ALAM, 24 Oct: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is disappointed with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in providing a proper early warning system before opening the dam gates, thus causing flash floods in Cameron Highlands early yesterday morning.

Member of the PKR Central Council, Chang Lih Kang said several residents informed that the warning siren sounded by TNB was not audible due to rain early yesterday morning.

He said it was worse because the siren was only sounded 10 to 15 minutes before the Sultan Abu Bakar hydroelectric dam gates opened, causing many residents to not have enough time to save themselves.

“The residents I met blamed TNB for failing to give notice, and the siren was sounded in too short a time, causing them to not have enough time to save themselves.

“Some told me that they could not hear the siren which sounded in the morning because of heavy rain last night (Wednesday). The government should be serious in this matter, if the dam cannot be managed, how can Lynas be supervised,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor yesterday.

He said this when commenting on the flash flood in Cameron Highlands when TNB opened the hydroelectric dam gates causing about 80 houses near Sungai Bertam to be hit by strong currents early yesterday morning.

In the incident, Lih Kang claimed that at least three were killed, while another victim is still missing.

Lih Kang who visited the scene yesterday also demanded that an independent inquiry committee be established to identify the cause of the incident, this ensuring similar incidents do not recur.

“This is a very sad incident. PKR will meet with the residents to see what assistance can be distributed to affected families. I estimate high losses to be shouldered by families involved based on the property damage,” he said.

Shah Alam City Centre Developments Feature Islamic Elements

7

SHAH ALAM, 23 Oct: The Shah Alam City Centre will be revitalised by featuring Islamic designs as the main thrust of development.

The move will touch on standardisation of colour, design, attractive building facade and identity, public facilities as well as other measures involving development around the city centre in Section 14.

The Mayor of Shah Alam, Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan said the development plan should be carried out immediately before property owners develop their projects.

“Since before, Shah Alam has been developed without following a real plan, so we must start the vision to redesign development in this city before it is too late.

“Usually, landowners do not want to bear costs for too long and wish to develop their projects immediately. So we must be quick,” he said after inaugurating the Shah Alam CIty Centre Development Workshop in Section 14 at the Grand Bluewave Hotel this morning.

The workshop organised by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) also touched on planning involving the issues of peace and prosperity, thus increasing the population’s joy index in Shah Alam in addition to the tabling of the work papers for the development of the city centre based on the concept of Islamic characteristics.

A total of 120 participants consisting of developers, landowners, government agencies, institutes of higher learning, Council members and the MBSA Technical Department took part in the workshop.

Jaafar said that they will discuss with the state government to establish guidelines that need to be enforced in effort to provide parking for women and additional lights in several locations identified.

“There are parking areas that are dark and scary, especially at night. These locations should have lights and special parking for women close to entrances. We will propose this to the state government,” he said.

Residents of PJS 9 Confused with the Change in Postcode

2.1

SUBANG JAYA, 18 Oct: The residents of Petaling Jaya Selatan (PJS) 9 are confused with the change in postcode by Pos Malaysia for Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya.

Based on the notice issued by Pos Malaysia earlier this month, the new postcode for Subang Jaya, which also involved PJS 9 and PJS 11, is 47500.

The change is due to the Election constituency division which set for PJS 7, PJS 9 and PJS 11, which is located in Bandar Sunway, to be placed under the Subang Jaya State Legislative Assembly (DUN) and the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ).

2.2

Meanwhile, the Desa Mentari area involving PJS 8 and PJS 10, is placed under the Seri Setia DUN and the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

The Deputy Chairman of the PJS 9 Rukun Tetangga (Neighbourhood Watch), Mohamad Noor said that he is confused by the change in the postcode as his identity card still uses the 46150 postcode, and states that it is in the area of Subang Jaya, while the same postcode printed on his driving licence but is registered as being in Petaling Jaya.

2.3

“The new changes to the 47500 Subang Jaya postcode will burden residents, especially in matters involving correspondence address,” he said in a press conference here at the PJS 9/14 field today.

2.4

The Chairman of the PJS 9 Rukun Tetangga, Goh Hai Thun said that his identity card and driving licence still uses the 46150 postcode which is registered as being in Petaling and can be contacted for correspondence.

“As a committee member for the residents, we would like to know the main reason for this postcode change which occurred without informing the residents. We live in PJS, which means Petaling Jaya Selatan and if we are to be put under Subang Jaya, it should be changed to SS.

2.5

Meanwhile, the Subang Jaya Assemblywoman, Hannah Yeoh, who was also present at the press conference, said that the latest announcement confused residents, especially when involving important documents because several agencies should be notified regarding the change in postcode.

“We have a sophisticated MyKad system and residents do not have to go to the National Registration Department (JPN) to change their postcode. Instead, JPN should automatically inform about the change.

“Pos Malaysia should inform the residents of this change, however, until now, we do not know whether they are changing it or not, including informing important agencies such as Bank Negara and the Land Office to change the postcode in their systems,” she said.

The ‘Allah’ Word: Not an Excuse to Create Religious Tension

3

SHAH ALAM, 14 Oct: The decision of the court of Appeal to prevent Catholic churches from using the word ‘Allah’ in their Malay-Language weekly, The Herald, is not an excuse for any party to create religious tension, hostility and hatred.

PKR Information Chief, Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty said tensions that have arose due to the use of the word ‘Allah’ which is racist and extreme should be stopped immediately so that the tension will not grow.

He said that there should be more frequent meetings between religious leaders, politicians and non-governmental organisations to enhance tolerance and mutual respect between the different religions in this country.

“Prior to this, not many meetings had taken place to alleviate mistrust between each other.

“If more meetings are held, this tension can certainly be reduced,” said Dr Manuty when contacted by TVSelangor.

Dr Manuty said inter-religious dialogues should be increased in aims to improve the space of tolerance allowed to better understand each other.

Member of Parliament for Parit Buntar, Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the court’s decision should not affect the good relations between religions in the country.

“When the court has decided, all parties should respect the decision.

“This is not a reason for relations between religions to become tense,” said Dr Mujahid when contacted by TVSelangor.

Dr Mujahid said when a meeting between religious leaders is held, it can avoid racist and religious prejudiced parties taking advantage of the situation to create religious conflict.

“The effect of the court’s decision will hopefully continue discussions and reinforce our determination for a peaceful atmosphere to increase dialogues and so on,” Dr Mujahid said.

MBPJ Holds Seminar to Improve JMB and MC

3.1

3.2

KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Oct: The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) held a seminar on Act 77 of the Management Strata 2013 to help Joint Management Bodies (JMB) and Management Corporations (MC) in Petaling Jaya to help offer the best service to apartment dwellers.

MBPJ Mayor, Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad said that Act 757 had repealed Act 663, which previously caused confusion and inconsistency in the management of strata development. She hopes that JMB and MC will make use of Act 747 to solve problems which have arisen before.

“Previously, Act 663 which was enacted in 2007 had many flaws. There were parts which were not connected to another act to solve multi-storey housing residents’ problems. Act 757 which was gazetted in February was formulated to ease JMB and MC in solving the problems of multi-storey housing dwellers,” said Alinah in her opening speech at the seminar which took place at the MBPJ Civic Hall today.

Act 757 allows for JMB, MC and Commissioner of Buildings (COB) to appoint a building management agent to maintain and manage strata development. Conflict resolution mechanisms have also been introduced for stakeholders to express their dissatisfaction, and the number of officers and staff at COB offices has been increased from five people to 16 people so that it can deliver services more proactively.

Several methods of improvement have been provided to solve problems concerning the collection of maintenance charges and the sinking fund. Before this, in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, thousands of residents or lot owners did not make payments thus resulting in the conditions of buildings of Public Housing Apartments (PPR) to be unmanaged and thousands of additional ringgit had to be provided to repair damages and building deterioration.

The Act also details the distribution of responsibilities and the period of enforcement for the power transition from developers, JMB, MC and MC committees, as well as actions that can be imposed on “free rider” owners of the lot/occupants who did not pay the charges and did not respect the law.

Over the past five years, MBPJ has also held various seminars to help the people in Petaling Jaya enhance their quality of life.

The Strata Management Act 2013 seminar today attracted an attendance of about a hundred JMB and MC representatives from around Petaling Jaya.

The seminar was presented by an advocate and solicitor, Andrew Wong, who is also the consultant in the drafting of Act 77.

Selangor Public Service Called to Practice Innovation and Creativity

7.1

SHAH ALAM, 30 Sept: Public service departments and agencies across Selangor have been asked to practice innovation and creativity in their work culture to improve the quality of services.

State Government Secretary, Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi said, when all work received recognition and is used by other departments, it will be a ‘wow factor’ for Selangor to be prided in public service, regardless if it is at the state or national level.

He said that Selangor, as the most prosperous state in the country, should show a good example to other states.

“As we all know, innovation and creativity are the main focus of the government in its efforts towards a developed country and people with high-income by 2020.

“Therefore, the public services must also respond to the government’s call by becoming a leader in the culture of innovation and creativity,” he said in a speech delivered by his representative, the Deputy State Secretary (Management), Datuk Tarmendi Omar at the Convention Ceremony of the Innovation and Creativity Group (KIK) of the 26th Selangor Level Public Services 2013 here today.

Also present was the Deputy Director of the Distribution and Development Section (UPEN), Mohd Hasry Nor Muhamad.

The convention was attended by 17 groups from the Selangor government departments and agencies from 26 till 27 September.

As a proactive measure, he said, all departments should provide a conducive working environment and encourage employees to join hand-in-hand in practicing the culture of innovation and creativity.

He said that participants should include people of all positions, from officers to the support group, with the team of leadership in the deportment so that teamwork in departments can be strengthened.

“We, as public servants, must constantly strive to increase efforts in providing the best services to the people. Parties with interests (stakeholders) with us are becoming increasingly complex when stepping ahead.

“Therefore, we should always think outside the box or be ready to leave our comfort zone so that we can compete with the private sector in providing services comparable to theirs,” he said.

7.2

MPSJ Breeds Toxo Mosquitoes to Overcome Aedes Population

2.1

2.2

SUBANG JAYA, 28 Sept: The Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) released adult elephant mosquitoes or Toxorhynchites mosquitoes (Toxo) at the Sri Tanjung apartment in USJ 16 to reduce the Aedes mosquito population.

2.3

The Aedes Breeding Control and Prevention of Dengue programme is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Science, Malaysia (USM) and CIMB bank, which allocated RM60,000 for the success of the programme.

The President of MPSJ, Datuk Asmawi Kasbi, said that the apartment is the second location after Kampung Sri Aman following findings that the population of Aedes mosquitoes were high at around 500 to 700 larvae per month.

He said, discussions between MPSJ and USM regarding the choice of the new site was held in May after a pre-study was conducted in around June.

2.4

“The habitat for Toxo mosquitoes is suitable because the apartment area has lush plants that produce nectar to encourage the breeding of Toxo mosquitoes.

“Hopefully, it will have a positive impact in the next five to six months,” he said in a press conference after the launching of the programme today.

Asmawi advised the people to maintain cleanliness and work together to preserve the greenery at the apartment to encourage the breeding of Toxo mosquitoes.

He said, the MPSJ Department of Health wants to expand the mosquito release programme to other areas to prevent the dengue epidemic.

“We are the first local authority to use biological methods of prevention to prevent the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes without the need to use chemicals,” he said.

2.5