Tag: Investment

SHAH ALAM, NOV 7: River that is the most essential resource to the treatment plant in Selangor is at a very satisfactory level with some rivers that have seen tremendous improvement in quality.

Selangor Exco, Elizabeth said that the water pollution in this state was still at a stable stage with its improving water quality index every year starting 2000 until now.

‘According to the report, the water quality index in three main rivers in Selangor namely Sungai Langat, Sungai Selangor, and Sungai Klang’, explained Elizabeth who holds a portfolio in the Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Exco.

According to her, based on the water quality index, Sungai Langat has improved tremendously from 68 percent to 76 percent under the ‘average pollution’ category.

In the meanwhile, Sungai Karang is under the ‘second class’ category after it has recorded a positive improvement from 81 percent to 86 percent.

Sungai Klang has recorded the biggest improvement with an increase from 53 percent which is considered under the ‘serious pollution’ category to 72 percent which is under the ‘average pollution’ category.

Such fact is derived in response to some allegations that the polluted river in Selangor has affected the treated water supply in Selangor.

Generally, Elizabeth said that every pollution case would be attended to by Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS) so that it would not jeopardise the need of the people.

‘There is no compromise in cases involving well-known companies as reported by LUAS and Department of Environment both of which shall be served with a legal suit’, she emphasised.

She further added that LUAS had set up the Selangor River Basin Management Committee and Pollution Prevention Board to conduct thorough observation.

SHAH ALAM, NOV 7: Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim welcomes any investigation by Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) against Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah Anwar over the allegation that she supports freedom of religion.

During a press interview after an EXCO meeting this evening, he expected that it would be a positive medium to promote healthy discourse among Moslems and to strengthen the understanding among them.

‘It is a duty of JAIS to be pro-active and understand the real meaning hidden behind her statement. This would eventually expedite the effort to solve the problem so that any misunderstanding can be avoided.’

‘One thing for sure is that no Moslem would want his dear brethren to defect his religion for other religion because it is a responsibility of a Moslem to ensure that the harmony in Islam is preserved’, he added.

He lauded Izzah’s willingness to come forward and clarify with JAIS regarding the real meaning behind her statement that had been manipulated by media and bloggers.

‘I find out that there are reports that are far misleading including Utusan Malaysia that makes it seem as though her statement would invite God’s wrath.’

‘I believe this is inaccurate and we need to solve this issue amicably for the sake of all Moslems’, he added.

Previously, in a forum in Subang Jaya, Izzah has allegedly made a statement that there should not be compulsion in Islam.

As a result of the statement that she made, Director of JAIS, Marzuki Husin said that actions could be taken against her if they believed that her statement had been issued with intent of leading Moslems astray.

KLANG, NOV 7: The State Government of Selangor will help those whose applications to open up a factory have been turned down by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) on the ground of insufficient water supply in Selangor.

Health, Plantation Workers, Poverty and Caring Government Exco, Dr. Xavier Jayakumar said that the State Government had never turned down any companies or new investors who intended to open up factories in Selangor.

They can liaise closely with the state government agencies for further clarification about the status of water supply in Selangor.

They are encouraged to meet with the District Council, State Authorities, Selangor State Investment Centre (SSIC) as well as Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri (UPEN) or State Economic Planning Unit.

‘If they wish to open up a factory, they can meet with them, or me in my office myself.’

‘We can provide them with accurate explanation because we have done thorough research on this.’

‘These factory owners do not have to come and see any NGOs or Syabas’, he said during an interview after officiating a prize giving ceremony for those excellent achievers of Sekolah Rendah Agama Sungai Kandis.

Previously, Director of Gerakan Prihatin Rakyat Selangor (GPRS), Datuk Sohaimi Shahadan said that more than 1, 000 applications to open up a factory had been turned down by Syabas because of the water crisis issue in Selangor.

Dr. Xavier said that based on the study conducted by the State Water Commissioner, the allegation about water crisis in Selangor was baseless.

KUALA LUMPUR, NOV 7: Dewan Muslimat PAS is of the view that Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah Anwar has been ‘punished’ without being duly investigated.

Deputy Head of Muslimat, Dr. Mariah Mahmud said that after having been clarified by Izzah and a representative from PAS, Dr. Mujahid Yusuf Rawa who was also on a panel, she believed that Izzah’s statement had been manipulated during the forum ‘Islamic State-Which Version? Whose responsibility?’

‘There are many assumptions made by those who only want to prolong this issue even though they were not present during the forum. They based their assumptions purely on the report in Utusan Malaysia newspaper.’

She said that Nurul Izzah had already been punished before she was given an opportunity to explain herself as to what her statement sought to mean.

‘This is also a ludicrous allegation against a devout Moslem who observes her prayer, fasts, and covers her ‘aurat’ to encourage an act of apostasy.

‘This issue has been politicised and blown out of proportion. Izzah has never made such a statement to an effect that Malays are at liberty to profess a religion of their choice, nor would she support the act of apostasy itself’, she concluded.

KUALA LUMPUR, NOV 7: PKR alleges that there is yet another sinister contrivance to manipulate the voter registry by not going through Rang Daftar Pemilih Tambahan (RDPT) that is displayed in every quarter of the year.

This is revealed by Kuantan MP, Fuziah Salleh in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

According to her, such inconsistency in the voter registry can be regarded as a sheer failure on the part of the Election Commission (EC) while not ruling out the possibility that this has been manipulated by it (EC).

‘RDPT is an ‘audit trail’ in the voter registry and EC should be able to tally up the number of confirmed voters in the voter registry in every quarter of the year via this method.’

‘Instead, it is discovered that EC failed to do so. It simply takes in and out any names without first displaying their names’, she said in the company of Gombak MP, Azmin Ali.

For example, the outcome of the voter registry audit in the fourth quarter of 2011 and voter registry in the first quarter of 2012 as provided by the EC to PAC for Kuantan Parliament (P083) reveals that there are 155 names that have been entered into the voter registry without first going through RDPT.

‘We have discovered that the struck-out names displayed have been re-entered into the voter registry P083 despite no objection.’

There are 40, 000 names throughout the country. As many as 15 postal votes (police and army) have been entered without having their names displayed.

‘There are names that have been entered in without having their names displayed. Normally, they were voters from other areas previously’, she said.

According to Fuziah, there are 433 voters’ names that are not in the voter registry without first being displayed.

‘We found out that a huge number of voters are not in the record. Even if they had passed away, it would not possibly reach more than 400 names.’

‘Apart from that, a huge number have been moved to other parliaments without having their names displayed and the number of voters whose names have been displayed out of the record consist mainly of public and postal voters’, she added.

Therefore, she demands that EC come forward and clarify.

She said this proved that EC did not clear up the names and further hinted that it was likely that it was done intentionally.

SABAK BERNAM, NOV 7: UMNO-BN are being very hypocritical when it pillories PKR Deputy President, Nurul Izzah over her statement that is deemed insulting to Islam yet the party chooses to keep silent about the atrocity happening within the party caused by its leaders themselves.

The Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that UMNO-BN had made an unfounded allegation against Nurul Izzah and that he accused the party of pretending to be a defender of Malays and Islam.

However UMNO-BN itself are being cagey about others issues involving its leaders.

‘Go investigate and ask her (Nurul Izzah) if it is true or otherwise, if you must. I am wondering why they (UMNO-BN) are completely silent about the San Miguel factory belonging to Mahathir’s (former Prime Minister) son.’

‘They have been very critical of her and emphatically insist that the Islamic Religious Department take action against her immediately, but I am wondering what stand they are likely to be inclined to take if it is one that involves UMNO-BN leaders’, he said during a speech in Dataran Tanah Lesen Parit Baru, Sabak Bernam, last night.

While sitting on a panel during a forum ‘Islamic Country: Whose Version? Whose Responsibility’ in Subang Jaya last Saturday, Nuruh Izzah said that Malaysia should not impose on its citizens a specific religious values in spite of themselves.

When her statement was published in the front page of Utusan Malaysia newspaper, several NGOs such as Perkasa and Puteri UMNO had since endlessly urged her to repent and retract her misleading statement which could reflect badly on the society generally and Islam specifically.

However, Nurul Izzah insisted that her statements had been manipulated and that she had instructed her lawyers, Hanipa Maidin and Sulaiman Abdullah to file a suit against Utusan Malaysia newspaper, Berita Harian newspaper, and others.

Previously, MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had repeatedly made a confusing statement regarding the implementation of Hudud law in Malaysia. Nevertheless, UMNO-BN main leaders including Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had never said a word but instead remained completely silent about it.

Also present during the speech were Batu Caves State Assemblyman, Amirudin Shari, Director of Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), Badrul Hisham and the former senior lecturer in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari.

On another issue, Dr. Aziz Bari hoped that all residents in Sabak Bernam would give PR a chance in the upcoming General Election to implement beneficial policies that PR had been determinedly working on.

Previously, Dr. Abdul Aziz was declared his candidacy in Sabak Bernam parliament.

‘Even though there are some minor spats in the PR-led states, such spats are not due to projects.’

‘Rather, it is because of some discussion concerning the welfare of the people’, he said while delivering a speech in front of hundreds of residents who were present despite the torrential rain.

SHAH ALAM, NOV 7: Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA) or Shah Alam Municipal Council is offering RM 20, 000 to the winner of the short film video competition with its theme on cleanliness and environmental care.

MBSA Corporate Department’s Deputy Director, Shahrin Ahmad says that the competition is divided into 2 categories. The first one is open to all while the second one is open to all students from public and private universities.

He said that the competition commencing from 7th November 2012 until 7th January 2013 aimed at educating the public in general so that everyone would realise the responsibility of taking good care of the cleanliness of Shah Alam city.

‘For the first category, the winner will bring home RM 5, 000 cash, followed by the first runner-up with RM 3, 000 cash, the second runner-up with RM 2, 000 cash, as well as other 5 who will receive RM 500 cash each as a consolation prize with certificates of participation for all participants.’

‘For the IPTA/IPTS category, RM 3, 000 will be given away to the winner, RM 2, 000 to the first runner-up, RM 1, 000 to the second runner-up alongside other 5 consolation prizes worth RM 300 with certificates of participation for all participants’, he said.

He further added that the rules and regulations of the competitions were, among others, the duration of the video that must not exceed 10 minutes, and that all participants were at liberty to produce a video in a form of animation, short film, or documentary, whichever best suited to their creativity.

Each video must depict commendable elements of cleanliness and that it must contain a video-formatted synopsis in the form of mpeg, he explained.

SHAH ALAM, NOV 7: According to the State Government, it has so far relocated seven farmers whom it considers ‘critical’ while the remaining four are still awaiting to be moved to Hulu Selangor.

Those 11 farmers are regarded as ‘critical’ and will be relocated to a 100 acre land in Taman Kekal Pengeluaran Makanan (TKPM) at Sungai Nilam, Hulu Selangor.

Agricultural Modernisation, Natural Resources Management and Entrepreneurial Development Exco, Dr. Yaakob Sapari said that the relocation had involved 698 cows.

He said that out of the above-mentioned number, 563 cows had been relocated while the remaining 135 cows had yet to be moved.

The farmers who are under the ‘critical’ category involve those from Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya, and Subang Jaya.

For the record, 11 farmers involve those under the ‘critical’ category while a number of 282 farmers are under the ‘problematic’ category.

‘In a meanwhile, we are only relocating those who are under the ‘critical’ category. It includes those who have been rearing cattle in the housing areas, mosques, and other places that could potentially cause disturbance to the public’, he said.

Previously, approximately 300 farmers were faced with location issue.

Most of them are facing land and location problems to carry out their activities. This flows from the fact that they have been carry out their activities in the reserved land belonging to the government, developers and other government agencies such as Drainage and Irrigation Department.

They urge the State Government to grant them a piece of land as promised so that they can carry out their activities without let or hindrance.

Responding to that, Yaakob explained that the State Government would relocate the farmers in stages.

He further added that the State Government had already planned to relocate them to other areas.

‘They (farmers) must understand that in Selangor, the land is strictly limited. Therefore the process might be slightly time-consuming.’

‘Should there be other problem, we would consider other options which is ‘modern farming’. For the time being, it is only in Kuala Selangor. However, if we receive any complaints that the area is not suitable for them because of ravine, we would consider reclaiming the area.’

‘Furthermore, not all farmers fall under such ‘critical’ category’, he added.

Previously, Yaakob informed that the second phase would involve a relocation of other 20 farmers to two 120 acre lands in Sungai Gumut and Rasah respectively. Hulu Selangor is still under consideration due to some problems.

The allocation of RM 400, 000 to build and develop those two areas are still at the infrastructure development phase.

PETALING JAYA, NOV 6: Nearly 500 residents of Taman Desaria, Kelana Jaya have to endure the strong smell coming from an illegal refuse disposal site everyday. It is believed that the site is located less than 100 metres from their houses.

The said site is located near the Sungai Penchala riverbank and it is believed that it has been operating for a month and that it has been frequented by nearly 30 waste vehicles.

According to the Zone 24 council member of Petaling Jaya Municipal Council, Azman Yusof, the one who is responsible to open up the site is believed to have disposed off the garbage by fire in the evening thereby causing unbearable smell.

The garbage trucks are also known to have frequented the place at night to avoid suspicion by the authority.

‘The residents, especially the elderly are terribly disturbed by the smell which could jeopardise their health.’

‘I urge that immediate action be taken so that the illegal disposal site be closed down’, he said.

Kelana Jaya MP, Loh Gwo-Burne alleged that the site belonged to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and he hoped that TNB would take necessary action to solve the issue.

Gwo-Burne said when he went to the site after having received the complaint from the Taman Desaria PJS 5 residents.
‘We hope that TNB could cooperate to solve this problem as the land belongs to it’, he added.

He also urged the PJ Municipal Council to close down the site.

Also present was Seri Setia State Assemblyman, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and a group of enforcement officers from PJ Municipal Council.

According to Nik Azmi, residents are encouraged to cooperate with PJ Municipal Council by providing information on the garbage trucks that frequent the site.

It is hoped that it could be done so that appropriate action could be taken against them.

‘We hope that identification of the refuse vehicles through their registration number could be made at the PJ Municipal Council database.’

‘If they are registered under PJ Municipal Council, then immediate action could be taken against them’, he concluded.

KUALA LUMPUR, NOV 6: Pakatan Rakyat’s Education Committee urges the Education Ministry to explain about the contradiction in the budget between National Education Blueprint (NEB) and development expenditure 2006-2010 of the Education Ministry.

Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah Anwar said that such contradiction must be clarified because it would determine the success or failure of NEB.

In a press interview at the Parliament lobby today, Nurul Izzah explained that initially the development expenditure from 2006 until 2010 was RM 17.9 billion, but the actual expenditure was RM 8.6 million.

‘It is unfortunate that the figure is inconsistent with RM 19, 771 billion that had been allocated as development expenditure and therefore it must be clarified by the responsible ministry’, she emphasised.

She also expressed her concern over the failure to curb over-spending and other unnecessary expenses incurred.
She added that based on the World Bank Public Expenditure Review 2011, the management expenditure outweighed development expenditure at the rate of 10 percent from 2006 to 20120.

Therefore, she said that NEB had never indicated specific actions to be taken to deal with the issue of lack of spending in the development expenditure and over-spending in the management expenditure.

SHAH ALAM, NOV 6: Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) Selangor rails against the uncivilised attempt to instigate provocation during the Siri Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat program in Selangor recently.

Selangor SAMM Coordinator, Azhar Achil said that the attempts to throw a monkey wrench into the program by hiring some thugs to remove and put the PR flags on fire were totally irresponsible.

According to him, such acts were done at around 4 am in the morning while the program was being held in the northern part of Selangor.

‘As youths who reside in a developed state, they should work together towards expanding ideas among them which would eventually benefit the progress of both individuals and the state in all disciplines.’

‘Young people should not be fooled by some politically-driven quarters. They are advised to not cause provocation and disturbance in any program organised by anyone’, he said in a media interview here today.

Azhar urged the youths to join and be part of any peaceful demonstration with relevant issues to be championed upon such as insult against religion, corruption and misappropriation of money involving leaders in the country including those in the Scorpene case and the ‘dishonestly-secured’ contract of paddy seed purchase.

Despite the unwanted provocation, he said that Siri Jelajah Merdeka had received positive response as the event kicked off at Bandar Tun Razak Parliament (Pekan Sungai Besi), Tanjung Karang Parliament (Warung Ibu Nasi Ambeng), Sungai Besar Parliament (Tapak Uptown Sungai Besar), Sabak Bernam Parliament (Bagan Nakhoda Omar) Hulu Selangor Parliament (Felda Sungai Tengi, Bukit Beruntung, Pekan Rasa and Baru Batang Kali City Centre).

He further added that Selangor SAMM would urge the youths to stop doing such uncivilised action and that he advised them to work hard in order that the progress of the nation to a higher level would be possible.