Tag: Efficiency

Selangor and Penang PR Governments Step Forward to Strengthen Democracy

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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

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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.

KUIS to Establish Islamic Banking Training and Research Centre in January 2014

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BANGI, 24 Oct: The Selangor International University College (KUIS) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Jeddah Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to establish an Islamic banking training and research centre, latest by 2014.

The proposed establishment is aimed at expanding knowledge on Islamic banking systems which is currently growing in the market.

The Reactor of KUIS, Assoc Prof Datuk Dr Ab Halim Tamuri said the programme will be handled by the Muamalat (Arabic for financial transaction) Faculty in addition to cooperation from other Public Institutes of Higher Learning (IPTA).

“The Board of Directors agree for us to have the MOU with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Jeddah. Upon agreement, we will set up an Islamic banking training and research centre.

“The establishment will be led by the Dean of the Muamalat Faculty and the first meeting will be held in the near future, where the agreement will be signed, latest by 2014 January,” he said in a press conference yesterday.

He said that focus in training will be given to officers who do not have a background in Islamic banking but are working in the sector, as well as for non-Muslims.

“The proposal is seen as being able to expand internationally, seeing that Islamic banking currently controls 20 percent of the market. The study module will be done in the form of a bachelor’s degree and training certification, however the matter is still in the pipeline,” he said.

Shah Alam City Centre Developments Feature Islamic Elements

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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.

MACC Fails to Solve 99.3 Percent of Corruption Cases Despite Spending RM1 Billion

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KUALA LUMPUR, 23 Oct: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has still filed to solve 99.3 percent of corruption cases despite receiving provisions of almost RM1 billion since 2009.

Member of Parliament for Kampar, Ko Chung Sen said based on the statement from the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, only 75 percent or 1274 of the cases have been convicted compared to the 1692 c

He said, despite the increase in provisions and MACC staff, the number of prosecuted and convicted cases has decreased in the last three years.

“This is not a problem is there is no corruption in Malaysia. However, Malaysia has been identified as one of the countries with high corruption rates based on a report by the Wall Street Journal (December 2012) and Earnest and Young in September,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby this morning.

He said, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has also failed to eliminate corruption cases in Malaysia despite promising to do it in his speech at Commonwealth Club in San Fransisco, USA, in September.

“Reducing corruption is one of the six National Key Result Areas (NKRA) announced in January 2012.

“He promised to make corruption a matter of ‘the past’ in Malaysia,” he said.

Abolish AES: Do Not Confuse the People

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SHAH ALAM, 23 Oct: The proposal to cancel all outstanding summonses of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) by the acting Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, only adds confusion to the already burdened people.

The idea by the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government is claimed to be unfair to the people when they proposed to cancel summonses issued prior to 18 September and will only reduce the compound from RM300 to RM150 after that date.

The Legal Adviser for the Anti Postal Summons Campaign (KASE), Zulhazmi Sharif said that the government should wait until a comprehensive review on the implementation of the AES by the AES Steering Committee is complete before issuing any misleading statements.

“The proposal is premature and unfair. This is because the comprehensive review of the implementation of the AES is still pending and is incomplete. The announcement is only to reassure the people who already burdened and confused with the implementation of the AES since 22 September 2012,” he told TVSelangor today.

He was commenting on a statement made by Hishammuddin that there are other options that will be forwarded to the Cabinet by the Ministry of Transport to give justice and public interest on the issue of AES summons dated before 18 September.

At the House of Representatives yesterday, the ministry stated that 882,298 AES summons have been issued, and 91,457 from the amount has been paid involving the collection of RM27.4 million as of 8 October.

In relation to that, Zulhalmi said all summonses issued since 22 September should be cancelled and the entire execution should be halted until the review is completed by the committee, if the AES is to be cancelled.

“When all the summons are cancelled, the amount of compound fees and fines that have been paid should be refunded to recipients of the summonses. Until now, BN has failed to respond to my challenge to prove that there is a line in the AES summon, or the Road Transport Act 1987, that states that it is mandatory to pay summons and compounds.

“If there is, I will pay all the summons. But the government should cancel all summons and refund the collected money when it is proven what is claimed is true,” he said.

Two Corner Clash for Sungai Limau By-Elections

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SHAH ALAM, 23 Oct: The Sungai Limau State Legislative Assembly (DUN) By-Election will witness a straight fight between PAS candidate, Mohd Azam Abd Samad and BN candidate, Dr Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim.

The announcement was made by the By-Election Management Officer, Abdul Rashid Othman at the nomination centre in Dato’ Madi Hall in Yan, Kedah, this morning.

The Sungai Limau DUN which is under the Jerai Parliament has 27,287 registered voters, with 40 percent of them being young voters, and the Election Commission (EC) has set 4 November as the polling day.

Mohd Azam in a Harakah Daily report said that he is ready to take on the responsibility entrusted by the party and will continue the legacy left by the former Assemblyman of the area, the late Tan Sri Azizan Abd Razak.

He said the responsibility is heavy and is large enough to continue PAS victory for five term in the said constituency.

“I am overwhelmed to be entrusted by the party leadership to represent PAS in the By-Elections this time.

“This is a heavy responsibility for me, especially to maintain the victory obtained by PAS for five terms,” he said.

Earlier, the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang led a procession with the top leadership of Pakatan Rakyat, which included the Kedah PAS Commissioner Datuk Mahfuz Omar, the Deputy President of PKR Mohd Azmin Ali and the Member of Parliament for Sungai Petani, Datuk Johari Abdul.

The Sungai Limau By-Election is being carried out following Azizan’s death due to heart disease and diabetes on 26 September.

Selangor Government Targets for 35,000 RMM in Five Years

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SHAH ALAM, 22 Oct: The Selangor Government is targeting for 35,000 affordable housing units (RMM) in the next five years.

The Executive Councillor in charge of Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlement, Iskandar Abdul Samad, said that the government will increase the number of affordable homes through the Housing & Development Board (HDB) or but existing affordable homes and place it under the HDB.

Through the Harakah Daily portal, he said the RM450 million allocation is aimed to involve the construction of 5,000 to 7,000 affordable housing units over the next five years.

“From the total projects of private and subsidiary companies of the state government, we target for 35,000 units of affordable homes to be built in Selangor in the stipulated period.

“We will not sell all the units because a part of it will be rented out to those who cannot afford to buy a house,” he said.

Iskandar said the State Government is focusing on private companies by placing requirements to build affordable housing in the first term of the Pakatan Rakyat administration.

“The housing problem is not just in terms of house prices, but the low income of the people. So to accommodate the number of people who cannot afford to buy a home, we will create homes to be rented to them, such as council homes,” he said.

Parliament: RM52 Billion Bumiputera Shares Issue ‘Trivial’

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KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Oct: The House of Representatives rejected an oral question by the Member of Parliament for Bagan, Lim Guan Eng, on the issue of the RM52 billion shares which were supposed to be given to Bumiputeras because the matter was deemed ‘trivial’ and ‘superficial’.

The refusal, as stated in a letter, was on grounds that a query cannot contain any argument, thought, accusation, praise or vilification or contain any misleading words, sarcastic or offensive, or regarding anything superficial or requesting information on trivial matters.

Guan Eng, who is also the Chief Minister of Penang, said that the reason for the refusal is unreasonable and contrary to the principles of democracy.

“What has happened pollutes the smooth operation of Parliament as the supreme body in the government. If they (House of Representatives) think certain sentences are inappropriate, they can filter sentences which they deem offensive.

“The issue of lost shares is not trivial, so why is the question rejected with the same reason? They gave their own trivial reasons to questions raised,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

Prior to this, Guan Eng asked the government to explain why a Royal Commission of Inquiry was not established to investigate the biggest scandal in Malaysia involving the loss of RM52 billion shares which should have been given to Bumiputeras.

“It is not because we want these shares, but it is a big issue which needs to be investigated so that the missing shares can be found and distributed to the poor,” he said.

He said that the application was made based on an article published by Bernama dated 20 June 2009, where the Prime Minister had been quoted as saying that of the RM54 billion in shares allocated, only RM2 billion worth of shares were left in the hands of Bumiputeras.

Hulu Selangor Member of Parliament not Transparent in Channelling Assistance

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RAWANG, 22 Oct: Residents of Anggerik apartments in Bukit Beruntung said that the Member of Parliament for Hulu Selangor, P Kalamanathan is not transparent in channeling assistance for reparation works for the damaged roofs of the apartment.

Most of the residents in the apartment claimed that Kalamanathan channelled the assistance for the reparation to only a few individuals.

A resident, Maheran Teop, 55, describes the MP’s actions as being ‘biased’ and only helped his cronies overcome the problem of leaking and totting roofs in all apartment buildings, which is a major problem because it can be life-threatening in addition to the growing problem of theft.

“I understand that the MP did make repairs but for only some of the residents. This action raises dissatisfaction among other residents because we are facing many problems due to leaking and rotting roofs.

“In addition to the leaks, we fear that the roof might just come off in the event of high winds. I had also faced bad incidences when high winds caused roof debris to fall which really is worrisome for my family,” he said when met here today.

Previously, over 1,000 families residing in the area faced problems when the roof of their apartment was destroyed in a storm last year, causing many of them to move out, thus decreasing the property value in the area.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has approved an allocation of RM15.6 million to repair and refurbish the damaged roofs for 50 blocks of low-cost apartments in Bukit Sentosa and Bukit Beruntung after his survey session in 2010.

Another resident, Aris Jamian, 45, said that the said party only visited them when it was nearing the General Election by offering various promises since he started living in the apartment eight years ago.

“However, after the Election, all the promise ended up just as promises. We are very worried thinking about safety because this problem has caused our homes to be flooded every time it rains.

“Floods, which are common, cause our house to be dirty and our family is forced to keep important documents and electronics in a safe area. Residents would like to plead to the goodness of the State Government to repair our apartments which are getting rather dilapidated and we also do not have lights around the area,” he said.

TVSelangor found that five blocks of the five-storey apartment are damaged in addition to being dilapidated and ’empty’ due being unoccupied.

MPSJ Urban Poverty Eradication Programme Increases Participants’ Income

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SUBANG JAYA, 21 Oct: The step by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) to have the Urban Poverty Eradication (PKB) programme showed a positive development when s study found that the average income of the programme’s participants increased.

MPSJ found that the average income of the participants increased to RM1,153 compared to about RM793 per month prior to joining the programme.

Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that the programme should be continued and emulated by other Local Authorities, thus increasing the quality of life and education of participants.

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“This effort should be emulated by other local authorities because we must find a way to help them increase revenues; for example, single mothers. Children of every local authority participant should be monitored so that they are properly educated,” said Abdul Khalid at the MPSJ Urban Community Wellbeing 2013 Award Ceremony here at Sunway Hotel Resort & Spa yesterday.

The PKB programme involved coaching classes and skills training to help residents of MPSJ to improve their family’s side income by selling items that can be manufactured on a small scale but have a positive impact on them.

Among the training provided were sewing workshops, beading, making decorative food covers, repairing computers, jambu (water apple) entrepreneurs, making cupcakes, cakes and bread, and a Back To School Programme.

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In 2009, MPSJ allocated RM100,000 to implement the programme and the amount has been added to RM300,000 since 2010.

At the same ceremony, a beading business operator, Noor Ashikin Ramli and a decorative food cover entrepreneur, Rabitah Yusuf, were awarded the MPSJ Urban Community Wellbeing 2013 Award.

Noor Ashikin said the beading workshop was beneficial in diversifying attractive stitching, thus attracting customers to purchase.

Meanwhile, Rabitah said she did not think that the decorative food cover business she operated on a small scale could generate a decent income for her family.

Contributions in forms of daily necessities worth RM100, given to 20 orphans, single mothers and the needy was also held at the event.

PR Postpones GST: Help Improve the People’s Disposable Income

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SHAH ALAM, 21 Oct: The move to postpone the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Pakatan Rakyat’s Alternative 2014 Budget would allow for the people’s disposable income to increase, especially the low and middle income earners.

The increase in disposable income for the said group would cause the purchasing power of the people to be high, thus increasing production which would ultimately have a positive impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Assemblyman for Bandar in Pahang, Azan Ismail said the postponement in the implementation of the GST would directly help strengthen the country’s economic growth for 2014 by 5.2 percent, as predicted by PR.

“The postponement of the GST will not only help protect the interests of the people, but in reality, it can stimulate our economy,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor today.

Azan said this when he was asked to comment on the summary of the PR Alternative Budget 2014 by Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Parliament today.

Azan who also an economist said the implementation of the GST is often the preferred choice of the middle class because they assume that the GST can possibly reduce their burden in paying taxes to the government.

“The rich consider the GST system as ‘fairer’ because they want to transfer the tax burden to all, including low and moderate income earners.

“The reality is the rich often get various tax breaks, either legally or otherwise, in many ways. We also know that there are big companies that get huge tax breaks as a deduction for donations given to Barisan Nasional (BN),” he said.

Azan said the 5.2 percent GDP forecast made by PR is based on studies and forecasts of global economic growth.

“I was initially quite surprised with the forecast of 5.2 percent, but this evidence is seen based on responsible projections based on the global economic growth and for the positive growth of the country’s economy, not on a whim,” he said.