Tag: Government Bodies

Zahid ‘Challenges’ Waythamoorthy to resign as Deputy Minister

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KUALA LUMPUR, August 23: The Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi challenged the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, P.Waythamoorthy to resign from his current post because he is dissatisfied with the actions of the police.

Zahid issued the challenge because Waythamoorthy questioned the actions of the police in relation to the shooting case against five criminals who were suspected as being 04 triad members in Penang last Sunday.

According to Zahid, as a member of the government, Waythamoorthy should not be making statements that conflict with policies determined by the government.

“He should not think he still a leader of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), so I suggest for him (Waythamoorthy) to quit (the post of deputy minister) if he wants to speak out of his field,” said Zahid, quoted from a mainstream print media report.

Waythamoorthy previously questioned the actions of the police because he claimed that it is difficult to believe that a shooting incident happened after looking at the pictures of the bodies of those shot.

Prior to this, Pakatan Rakyat also made objections due to the same perceptions of what triggered Waythamoorthy.

AES: BN ‘laps up’ Pakatan’s Proposals

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KUALA LUMPUR, August 23: Barisan Nasional (BN) how is forced to lap up all their reasons when they rejected Pakatan Rakyat’s argument of strongly opposing the move to surrender the implementation of the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) operations to the private sector in its early stages.

If BN was open to hear out the opinions of Pakatan Rakyat leaders and the general public before the implementation of the AES, the AES operational acquisition issue would have not come up, thus saving the people’s money.

The move to acquire the AES operations, as stated by the Acting Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein recently, will certainly involve a huge compensation payment to the two private AES operators.

According to the Communications Director of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the government should have conducted an in-depth study on all aspects, including the views of Pakatan Rakyat and the general public before implementing anything, including the implementation of the AES.

“One of the reasons why we are angry about this AES issue is because it is a private system where they will reap profits and the people question whether it would greatly affect road users, and now, the acquisition will certainly involve the people’s money.

“This was our argument from the beginning, when the AES was to be implemented. We asked why the AES should be privatised if it was really going to be implemented.

“We are not against road safety issues and so no, but it looks like it has gone back to the proposal which we first voiced out during the early stages of the implementation of the AES. If from the early stages of implementation a little of our opinions were considered, there would be no need to deal with this problem,” said the Deputy Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

Prior to this, during the early stages last year, when the AES was going to be implemented, in addition to disagreeing with the implementation of the AES, which was being done hastily, Pakatan Rakyat and the majority of road users also questioned the move for the government to pass the operation concessions of the AES to two private companies.

However, at the time, the government was adamant in going through with the implementation of the AES, with private companies operating it.

However, after the Economic Council Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday, Hishammuddin said that the government is considering acquiring the entire operation and enforcement of the AES from the current operators.

Local Authorities in Selangor have Started Installing 414 CCTV to Curb Crime

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KUALA LANGAT, August 21: 12 Local Authorities (LA) in Selangor have started installing a total of 414 units of closed-circuit cameras (CCTVs) to fight crime and conduct other monitoring.

The President of the Kuala Langat District Council (MDKL), Mohd Azhar Mohamed Ali said that the State Government has allocated RM6 million a year for the provision of the CCTVs after signing a 20-year contract with the appointed private company.

He said that the 24-hour monitoring system is focused on locations identified by the police as being high risk in crime, in addition to helping LAs in other aspects.

“With the installation of the CCTVs, those who want to commit crime and so on will be fearful,” he told TVSelangor yesterday.

The official handover of the project, which started on 26 May 2011, happened yesterday, with MDKL as the pilot and first district to install the CCTVs.

The overall cost of the installation project for 11 Local Authorities, not including the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), is RM117,244,800.

The cameras are also linked with the Kuala Langat District Police Headquarters through a digital operating system.

In addition to the safety aspect, Mohd Azhar said that the Selangor Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) project will also be used to improve the quality of traffic control and monitoring of public facilities from vandalism.

Manifesto Implementation Forum, State Government Returns to the People

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SHAH ALAM, August 21: The Selangor Government will hold a public forum to gather the people’s opinion in implementing the Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto which was launched in the 13th General Election (GE-13).

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said, the forum will be held at the local authority level and is expected to take place mid-September.

“This forum will involve the people’s representatives who will take part in discussions with the public. The public will be given the opportunity to voice their views on the implementation of this manifesto,” he said after chairing the Exco meeting here at the State Secretariat Building today.

The forum will be headed by the State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) in collaboration with the Chief Minister’s Office.

Abdul Khalid added that all responses from the people in the forum will be collected by each standing committee to be used in the preparation of the 2014 Budget.

“The Selangor Government is confident and believes that public opinion is important in ensuring all policies and plans outlined in the manifesto meets the target groups,” he said.

He explained that the forum will also serve as a platform for the State Government to identify the needs of the people in order to use state revenues to reduce the income gap and the poverty rate through Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES) agendas.

“Pakatan Rakyat takes serious responsibility in managing the assets of the state properly in the best interest of the people,” he said.

Water Negotiations at the Last Stage, Selangor Ready to Present Industry Acquisition Proposal

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SHAH ALAM, August 21: The State Government is ready to present the draft proposal for the acquisition of concession companies in this state at any time as a step to implement the restructuring of the water industry in the state.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that they welcome discussions with the Federal Government on the matter as previously agreed.

“We are now waiting for the final stage of this discussion to present our respective draft proposals and hope that it can be expedited in the interest of the people who are burdened by water problems.

“The implementation will also need to be holistic and should be in the interest of all parties, instead of only profiting certain parties,” he said.

He said this when asked about the statement issued by the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili who said that the clean water supply problem in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya is expected to be resolved in three months.

Maximus, however, said that a solution of the issue will be met in the near future if the Federal Government and the Selangor State Government reach an agreement on various matters and are both willing to compromise.

Prior to this, the State Government, through its subsidiary company, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) made a bid of RM9.6 billion to acquire the four concessionaires.

The four concessionaires are – the Selangor Water Supply Company (Syabas), Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Konsortium Among the four concessionaires Water Supply Company Selangor (Syabas), Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd and the Company’s Water Treatment Plant (Splash).

FOMCA: Prices of Goods will Rise Drastically

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SHAH ALAM, August 20: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) is worried that there will be a drastic increase in the prices of goods and services when Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the government raises electricity tariffs.

The Communications Director of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA), Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said, the increase in electricity tariffs will affect industries which will pass on the cost increases to the consumers in the form of raising the prices of goods and services.

“We are worried about the effects that will happen to consumers who have to bear the price increase of electricity tariffs at home and at the same time, have to deal with the increase in goods,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor.

Mohd Yusof said that TNB needs to be transparent and provide answers to the people about the price paid to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) which may be among the factors of the increase in TNB’s operating costs.

“If the cost being paid to IPPs can be reduced, then TNB operation costs can be reduced indirectly and not burden TNB,” he said.

He added that consumers cannot do anything to overcome the problem when there is an increase in electricity tariffs because it is a basic need in everyday life.

He said that the lower income group will be severely affected if there is a rise in electricity tariffs.

He explained that social stakeholder companies like TNB should not only focus on profit alone without considering their social responsibility to the people.