Tag: Local Authorities

Company Accused of Polluting River Ordered to Vacate Premises

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RAWANG, SEPT 9: The factory which allegedly caused the oil pollution in Sungai Selangor has been ordered to vacate its premises by the President of the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) within 30 days, effective 9 September.

MPS Enforcement Assistant, C.Paramasivan said that MPS has placed their members on the premises to ensure that the owners comply with the order.

The seized premises was reopened for that purpose only. All equipment, facilities and goods have been taken out of the factory to be recorded.

“The factory owners can vacate the premises starting today (9 September), as early as 8am till 7pm. If this factory cannot be vacated in a month, we will wait for further instruction from the YDP (President),” he told Selangor Kini.

The factory which has been illegally dumping waste since 13 years ago was hit by controversy when they were allegedly responsible for disposing black oil waste into Sungai Gong, which flows out to Sungai Selangor recently.

In line with the State Government’s response, MPS acted quickly and seized the factory on 31 August. MPS also seized 20 devices such as welding equipment in addition to two tankers containing black oil.

Meanwhile, an employee of the company who declined to be names explained that the company has adhered to the decision by MPS and promised to vacate the factory within the prescribed time.

He added that all goods from the factory will be moved to several different locations including Ampang, Kundang, Klang and Ijok.

“It is hard to complete (emptying the factory) within a month, but we will try. The owner proposes to move next year but the factory was seized first,” he said.

Black Oil Disposal Cause of Contamination

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Rawang, 3rd Sept: Used black oil disposal practice by a factory that was contracted to process waste illegally is believed to be the culprit behind the recent water contamination of four rivers that triggered an unscheduled water disruption in several Klang Valley and Kuala Lumpur areas.

According to Selayang Municipal Council Assistant Enforcement Officer, Paramasivam Chelliah, his department was prompted to investigate the factory last August 30th after receiving a report from Lembaga Air Selangor (LUAS) about the contamination.

Investigation found that the oil spill in Sungai Gong had originated from the factory’s repair shop for waste lorry maintenance.

“The factory collected about two tanks worth of black oil from the repair shop that should have been recycled, but instead they were emptied down the drain.”

“We have ascertained that the two lorries were the cause of the contamination. The Department of Environment (JAS) of Selangor have impounded these tanks and they are now in MPS custody,” he said while performing an inspection on the factory.

The oil spill had caused four water treatment plants to shut down temporarily.

The MPS had deployed six Indah Water Consortium Ltd (IWK) lorry tanks to draw the disposed black oil out of the river as a clean-up method.

Is Oil-Spill Factory Owner In Hiding?

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Rawang, 3rd Sept: The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) has yet to track down the true owner of the waste lorry maintenance factory responsible for the recent oil-spill.

MPS Assistant Enforcement Officer, Paramasivam Chelliah revealed that during the raid on the factory, the owner had failed to appear.

How the owner was able to issue an open statement to a mainstream media two days ago with insinuations of being set up was a mystery to Chelliah.

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“During the operation, the MPS was only in contact with our superiors. We are unsure of how The Star managed to communicate with the factory owner.

“He (the owner) can produce any statements he likes claiming his innocence, but we have enough damning evidence to convict him,” he said, commenting on the factory owner.

Prior to this, the English-languaged newspaper reported that the factory owner had assigned blame on his employees for disposing used oil into the river.

The owner also claimed to have sacked four workers of the factory immediately.

Fourteen Citations For Sungai Selangor Oil Spill Factory

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Rawang, 3rd Sept: The factory responsible for the unscheduled water supply disruption in several areas in Klang Valley was hit with 14 citations amounting to RM34,000 for not complying with waste disposal regulations.

The factory was also found guilty for operating without a license for the last 10 years.

“They tried to worm their way out of the investigation by claiming that the factory only serves as a storage area for lorries. However, when we conducted a thorough search, we found there are more on-going activities than just storage.”

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“The factory owner is also a private contractor who had been having domestic waste brought in here for separation before being recycled,” said Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) Assistant Enforcement Officer, Paramasivam Chelliah.

According to Chelliah, Lembaga Air Selangor (LUAS), Land and District Office, and Department of Environment (DOE) of Selangor will also be taking stern actions against the factory owner.

Among the offences cited was the building structure does not meet industrial specifications. The factory operators also had previous lawsuit filed against them for odour pollution based on the complaints received from upset local residents.

The local authorities acted quickly by impounding the factory on 31st August last week. Twenty items were also seized including a welding equipment and two lorry tanks containing black oil.

The enforcers will remain on the premises to ensure there were no active industrial operations until the bleaching process was completed.

“We are suspending all activities on this premises, and prohibiting any lorries from entering this area based on a strict directive we received from the Secretary of State,” said Paramasivam.

“We will continue to impound this area until a command for release is issued by Yang Dipertua MPS himself,” he said.

MDKL Receives 10 CCTV Units

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Kuala Langat District Council (MDKL) became the first local authority to benefit from the new equipment with the official handover of ready-to-use 10 CCTV units.

The CCTV system which utilises a combination of Cable and Fibre Optics has started operation 24-hours a day, connected directly to the ICT Unit of the District Police Headquarters (DPHQ).

223 Acres of Forest Fire Brought Under Control

KUALA LANGAT, 28th AUGUST: A forest fire which covered 223 acres in the Tanjung 12 North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite) towards Shah Alam was successfully brought under control. Some of the burned areas were successfully put out.

Deputy Superintendent of the Southern Selangor Fire Zone, Mohd Helmi Abu Husin, said his team is currently conducting comprehensive eradications in 147 areas that showed active hot spots.

“We will continue with this operation for the next two weeks to ensure that these hot spots are truly free from danger.

“The period of operation will also depend on the weather. The rain would be of great help in hastening the operation,” he said.

Three service equipments operated by 10 members of the Fire and Rescue Station in Banting, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Shah Alam have been deployed to the areas of operation since August 9th. The Paya Indah Wetlands and the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) are also offering their assistance.

The ‘Fire Break’ method, which involved digging trenches around the burning areas, have produced positive results. Helmi said amongst the Fire Department’s key mission is to prevent the fire from spreading towards North Kuala Langat Forest Reserve.

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Subang Jaya Requests Federal To Allow Auxiliary Police To Assist PDRM

SHAH ALAM 27th AUGUST: Member of Parliament for Subang Jaya, Ms. Hannah Yeoh, is urging the Federal Government to consider expanding the jurisdiction of the auxiliary police service as requested by the Selangor local authorities, to encompass public safety instead of exclusively safeguarding the properties and premises of the local authorities.

She said the Federal Government should understand that the State Government only wishes to assist the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) to maintain public order through the auxiliary police service.

“I was informed that the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has been approved for auxiliary police assistance, but their authority is only limited to safeguarding MBPJ properties. That sanction is pointless because we require approval for safeguarding public safety as well, not just MBSJ’s properties and buildings,” Hannah asserted.

Hannah is also urging the police consider relaunching Operation Umbrella (Ops Payung), which saw postings of police officers in strategic areas.

She also believed that the operation was not only effective in crime prevention, but it was also economical.

Commenting on the installations of CCTVs in the local authorities’ Selangor region, Hannah said the system should be reviewed and supervised often to ascertain its effectiveness in crime prevention.

“All local authorities must review their CCTV and statistically examine how the system can assist in crime-solving and prevention,” she said.

One Year Anniversary for MPSJ-Hioki Friendship

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SUBANG JAYA, August 23: The MPSJ President, Datuk Asmawi Kasbi, together with the Mayor of Hioki, Yoshinori Kozono, celebrated the one year anniversary of the ties between the two regions.

Yoshinori with a delegation of 12 people from the Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, visited MPSJ in a return visit for a week beginning 21 August to 29 August.

“We have learned much knowledge and experience from Hioki in city administration, particularly in waste management,” said Asmawi at the ceremony which was held simultaneously with the signing of the MOU with three synergy friends of MPSJ.

MPSJ spends RM60 million a year to manage domestic waste as well works involving grass-cutting and the cleaning of rubbish in urban areas.

“If our efforts manage to form a community of thought, they can manage waste properly, and we can channel the savings from the cost of waste management to infrastructure development and so on,” explained Asmawi.

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Hioki has been the twin city of MPSJ through the Friendship City programme since August 28, 2012. Hioki City, with a population of 51,819 people at a density of 205 people per square kilometer, was founded on May 1, 2005, from the merger of four towns — Fukiage, Higashiichiki, Hiyoshi and Ijuin.

“We will share our experiences by providing accurate information. What is important is community awareness about the importance of waste management,” said Yoshinori.

To ensure that the smart partnership between MPSJ and Hioki is always close, MPSJ has established a MPSJ-Hioki Joint Centre at the Ground Floor of the 3C Complex.

The joint venture centre, among others, serves as a reference centre in the sharing of knowledge, skills and culture.

YDP: Synergy Helps Enhance MPSJ Expertise

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SUBANG JAYA, August 23: The Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with three synergy partners to enhance the ability of the council in waste management, public service announcements as well as corporate social responsibility programmes.

The President (YDP – Yang Dipertua), Datuk Asmawi Kasbi said the smart partnership between the local government and the private sector will have a meaningful impact on MPSJ and the community.

“This is not an easy process, this effort involves a time period of almost 12 years,” he said at the signing of the MOU at the 3C Complex at Bandar Sunway, here in Subang Jaya.

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The three synergy partners are; the Alumni Look East Policy Society (ALEPS), Online Dynamics Sdn Bhd and Mamee-Double Decker Sdn Bhd.

“Thanks to ALEPS, MPSJ and Hioki City (Kagoshima Region) in Japan have a binding cooperation to learn and share knowledge on waste management,” said Asmawi who seemed very pleased with the bilateral relations.

The agreement with Online Dynamics related to the development of public service announcement programmes such as awareness campaigns, while Mamee-Double Decker will help in the execution of CSR programmes for traders in the MPSJ territory.

MBPJ Asked to Upgrade Complex C Parking

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KUALA LUMPUR, August 23: The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has been asked to upgrade the parking facilities of Complex C, MBPJ immediately so that it can be utilised by the public.

Assemblyman for Bukit Gasing, Rajiv Rishyakaran said that the parking capacity of 100 cars at the four-storey complex can accommodate 400 cars if the college building which has been vacated is torn down and turned into a parking space.

He also urged for the maintenance and cleaning of facilities to be carried out immediately.

“This parking complex is in a very strategic location because it comes with a sidewalk, however it is unfortunate that is it not well maintained and is unsatisfactory for public use,” he said during a visit to the area.

Also receiving attention was the safety of the parking lot users. Rajiv’s survey found that the parking complex does not have floodlights at every level, and there are no security guards.

Rajiv asked MBPJ to immediately upgrade what has been approved, including the installation of closed-circuit cameras on every floor of the building, as well as to repaint the premises.

“I also suggest for a dialogue to be held between business operators here and MBPJ to abolish the monthly parking system at this complex and open it to the public,” he said.

Community Urged to Avoid Careless Attitude and Forget to Prevent Fire

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PETALING JAYA, August 4: The community has been urged to avoid from being careless, idle and often forget what usually happens when they want to leave the house as such attitudes lead to fire.

The Chief of the Jalan Pencala Fire Department, Zaidi Ahtan said that the people should always be aware of their surroundings so that no unwanted incidents happen, and at the same time, to be ready to be in the front line to prevent fires.

He said this when he was met at the Fire Prevention Programme at the Matahari Supermarket here in Taman Datuk Haron.

The programme which was held in collaboration with the Taman Medan State Legislative Assembly to double efforts by holding fire prevention programmes in public areas.

Zaidi also informed that according to statics, fires that happen when houses are unoccupied are still high.

Such things happen due to lack of knowledge and awareness on actions that should be taken before leaving the residence.

Meanwhile, Taman Medan Assemblywoman, Haniza Talha said that such efforts are being conducted on an on-going basis so that fires that happen in the absence of occupants can be prevented.

According to her, through field programmes such as this, she and the Fire Department can also visit farmers’ markets and public places to distribute flyers, especially in densely populated areas with high risk of fire happening.

“In conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid al-Fitr) celebrations, we distributed 4,000 leaflets to the public.

“I hope that with programmes such as this, the residents will be more aware of factors that can cause a fire so that it can be avoided,” she said.

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MBSA Distributes 370 Free Helmets

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SHAH ALAM, August 3: In an effort to educate the public, especially motorcycle riders, to be vigilant and prioritise safety especially as the Aidilfitri (Eid al-Fitr) celebrations draw near, the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) took the initiative to distribute 370 helmets for free.

The distribution of the helmets is in conjunction with the Safely Balik Kampung Campaign organised by MBSA in collaboration with the Selangor Road Safety Department (JKJR), Sirim QAS International Sdn Bhd and the Royal Malaysian Police.

Shah Alam Mayor, Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan said, this third campaign aims to create awareness to motorcyclists to use helmets that are safe in accordance with the prescribed standards.

According to him, this campaign is targeted at students of Public and Private Institutes of Higher Learning, industrial workers and individuals.

“Through this campaign, the helmets will be distributed to the public by means of exchanging old helmets that no long meet safety specifications with new helmets.

“This campaign received good response from the public and hopefully the public will remain vigilant while on the road,” he said in a press conference after launching the campaign at the Jalan Persiaran Kayangan bus stop here in Section 7.

He said that this campaign will continue to be strengthened in future through cooperation with agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In addition to motorcycle helmets, Mohd Jaafar also handed 500 packs of Lambuk porridge to motorcyclists and the public.

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