Tag: Management of Public Funds

Residents of PJS 9 Confused with the Change in Postcode

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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).

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

KSSB Intensifies Sand Mining Monitoring

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DENGKIL, 17 Oct: Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) will intensify monitoring of sand mining areas to ensure the quality of river water is preserved.

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The Chief Executive Officer of KSSB, Datuk Dr Azimuddin Bahari said that they have set up a Monitoring Committee tasked to monitor all sand mining activities by providing reports every two weeks.

“We will conduct tight monitoring to ensure that appointed contractors do not break the rules set,” he told TVSelangor at the Ibadah Korban (Sacrificial) Ceremony organised by KSSB here at the As-Shariff Mosque.

Azimuddin said KSSB’s role is to assist the State Government in maintaining the river water irrigation system from flooding.

“KSSB assists in terms of flood mooring and sand dredging to smoothen the river water flow,” he said,

Azimuddin said the three appointed contractors have been terminated for violating regulations.

The Korban ceremony was attended by over 300 staff of KSSB and local residents, with six cows being sacrificed.

Hishammuddin, Isa Samad and Ali Rustam to be Left Out?

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SHAH ALAM, 17 Oct: The incumbent of the Umno Vice-President post, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, is expected to be left out in the contest for the Vice-President seat in the Umno Elections 2013.

Among the contributing factors to Hishamuddin’s defeat is his failure to achieve good performance hoped for by Umno as both, the Vice President of Umno and as a Cabinet Minister.

Political analyst, Prof Datuk Mohamad Abu Bakar said Hishammuddin’s victory in the previous Umno election was assisted by the Umno President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is his cousin.

Apart from Hishammuddin, also expected to lose in the six corner contest are Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad.

“I cannot predict the exact outcome but I can say that some of the old members in Umno are being disliked by more and more parties from Umno and outside Umno, such as Hishammuddin, Isa Samad and Ali Rustam.

“Ali Rustam did not win in Malacca, Isa Samad was previously subjected to disciplinary action while Hishammuddin was said to be unpopular in the last Umno election but was saved by Najib,” said the lecturer of International and Strategic Studies from the University of Malaya (UM).

Elaborating, Mohamad said the three other candidates, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, are expected to win by a small difference in votes.

“For those who win, they will no longer be ranked like Umno leaders before this. Previous leaders, when they win, they are considered as leaders that not only shape Umno but those who shape BN internally and also the country.

“In the past, a victory in Umno, other BN component parties such as MCA and MIC would bow to it (their victory) and for the opposition; their voices are not taken into account because they do not have the majority support at the time.

But now, Pakatan Rakyat has obtained over 50 percent of support from the people, making them stronger than Umno,” added Mohamad.

EIDUL ADHA 1424H MESSAGE

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Every year, 10 Zul-Hijjah (literally means “Possessor of the Pilgrimage) is the day for Muslims to commemorate and celebrate the happy day. The Zul-Hijjah month is a month with its own significance.

Alhamdulillah (Thank God), we continue to offer gratitude for the gift of grace given by Allah S.W.T. which continues to give the strength of fraternity to enjoy the Zul-Hijjah month, especially the first 10 days.Ibn Abbaas(Radhiyallahu Anhu) narrated that Rasulullah(Aallallahu Alaiyhi Wassallam) said: “There is no day wherein any good action is more beloved to Allah Ta’ala than these ten days (the first ten days of Zul Hijjah), one fast during these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship of one night during this period is equal to the worship in the “Lailatul-Qadr” (Tirmizi).

The Ibadah Qurban is a sign of gratitude to Allah for his benevolence and creates the spirit of cooperation, sharing and mutual help in the community. Apart from the practice of charity, the practice of pilgrimage is maintained. This is the beauty of Islam when the Ibadah Qurban (religious sacrifice) is appreciated with sincerity.

Therefore, let us repent and wholeheartedly agree to the decision to what Allah has decided upon (redha) with this sacrificial gift. Verily, the Promise of Allah is true as the story of Siti Hajar (Hagar) and Ibrahim (Abraham), who were patient with Allah’s test and was blessed with a miracle to all humans, with an endless supply of Zamzam water.

Let us celebrate this Eid Al Adha with sincerity and sacrifice to seek the pleasure of Allah SWT.

Happy Eid Al-Adha.

Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail

President 

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party)

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

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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.

CM’s Reply to Anwar: Selangor’s Fund Management Strategy is Different from Penang’s

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KLANG, 13 Oct: Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim welcomes the views of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the management of State Government funds under his administration.

In fact, Abdul Khalid said criticism is a healthy practice which is cultivated by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership.

“That is normal, we (Pakatan Rakyat) always encourage discussion and the celebration of opinion,” he said.

Yesterday, while speaking on the open stage at a forum regarding the Auditor General’s 2012 Report in Petaling Jaya, Anwar said that Abdul Khalid had failed to make good on the state’s revenue and instead was proud to have surplus funds was a normal criticism.

Instead, Anwar likes the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng’s way, and examples of PR leaders who successfully managed a balanced budget.

Replying to Anwar’s view, Abdul Khalid said the process of accumulating surplus funds by the state government was something difficult to achieve and a careful strategy was necessary to expend the money.

“What sets it apart is the fund management strategy (between Selangor and Penang). I think that it is very difficult to raise funds compared to spending funds,”

“In Selangor, the spending of funds is done meticulously so that the people know where their money is being spent,” he explained to TVSelangor after handing over cows for the Aidiladha sacrifice at Masjid Kampung Pendamar, Klang.

CM: Train Youths to Repair Aeroplanes

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KLANG, 13 Oct: The State Government will be organising training in maintenance and reparation of aircraft mechanical equipment to youths in rural areas.

Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said, the programme aims to give exposure to new careers as well as enhance the skills ability among youths.

“Not only does it provide additional skills, but it also helps to create job opportunities with a good income for the youth of Selangor.

“With the certificates they receive in the training, they would have the opportunity to work with aircraft maintenance companies,” he said.

He said this to TVSelangor after presenting the sacrificial cattle in a simple ceremony at the Kampung Pendamar Mosque today.

Elaborating, Abdul Khalid said that the State Government is working with a company from Switzerland for this purpose.

“The company from Switzerland will start operating in January next year.

“The company owns a building in Shah Alam and approval in relation to this training is expected to be approved by next November,” he explained.

He added that the State Government will deal with all village heads across Selangor to track youths with the potential to be developed in the programme.

“We will hold a meeting with all heads of villages so that these village heads can recommend youths who are still unemployed to be incorporated into the programme,” he said.

PKR Urges to Establish IPCMC to Tackle the ‘Shoot First’ Issue

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SHAH ALAM, 13 Oct: The Inspector General of Police (IGP) should create an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to tackle the ‘shoot first’ issue effectively, stressed PKR Vice President, Azmin Ali.

Azmin said he was referring to the challenge issued by IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to Member of Parliament for Padang Serai, N.Surendran, to ‘accompany’ the police and experience first-hand a possible shootout with criminals.

“Instead of issuing the challenge, the IGP should address the problems of the people by (acting upon) the shocking statement made by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over a week ago,” said Azmin in a media statement.

Prior to this, Ahmad Zahid in a safety briefing to community leaders in Ayer Keroh, suggested the ‘shoot first’ policy to the police in dealing with suspected triad members.

PKR Vice President, Nurul Izzah Anwar said that the IGP should focus on improving police weakness by seeking a meeting with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders to address the issue.

Nurul Izzah said the IGP’s offer to N.Surendran to join in the operation is a violation of universal principles.

“Surendran, like every single Malaysian, has every right to request for the highest level of professionalism from the police and to be protected without bias, without the fear of threats and requests for an indemnity.

“No members of Parliament should entertain this police display of bias, uncouth and threatening behaviour, lest we all fall into a downward spiral of irresponsible conduct. I, myself, will not condone any of my colleagues pursuing such risky endeavours,” said Nurul Izzah in a statement.

Mukhriz Urged to Emulate Fairness, Wisdom of Selangor and Penang’s PR Government

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SHAH ALAM, 1 Oct: The Chief Minister of Kedah, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir has been urged to learn from the Selangor and Penang Pakatan Rakyat governments in providing welfare to all sincerely without political interests.

Member of Parliament for Penang Hill, Zairil Khir Johari said that the media has reported that the Kedah Government does not entertain any request for assistance from Chinese vernacular schools and only focuses its priorities on national schools.

“Such statements by a Chief Minister, as the supreme leader of the state, are not only irresponsible and vengeful in nature, but it is like no lesson has been learned from history,” he said.

Zairil said, that the Selangor Government had earlier announced that the Opposition Leader of the Selangor State Assembly will receive additional allowances amounting to RM8,620 per month, including the use of an official car.

Meanwhile, the Penang State Government announced an allocation of RM40,000 per year to be given to BN opposition Assemblymen for infrastructure projects.

“The move by the Selangor and Penang governments do not only respect democracy and the people’s choices, but it is also in line with the desire for national integration,” said Zairil in a statement.

219 Residents of Kampung Sri Indah Receive Land Grants

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SUNGAI BULUH, 12 Oct: The 20-year wait for 219 families from Kampung Sri Indah, Paya Jaras, to own the land grants for their residential land ended today when all of them received their respective land grants.

A recipient, Goh See Hai, 52, said that he had to wait so long despite submitting all the relevant documents to the previous Umno-BN Government, in fact the attitude of the previous government caused the issue of the land title to be delayed for years.

“I have lived in this village for over 20 years. All efforts made to obtain this grant, despite the previous government promising to settle it, was finally settled by the Pakatan Rakyat Government,” he said.

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Yap Kwai Loon, 52, was happy that this issue has been finally resolved after waiting over 23 years.

“Previously, MCA representatives promised to settle it. I have been waiting too long and now, finally, I have received the title to my land thanks to the Assemblyman and the State Government which has helped a lot,” said Yap cheerfully.

Both of them were met during a ceremony to hand over the grant approvals presented by the Executive Councillor in charge of Investment, Industry, New Village Development and Whitening of Illegal Factories, Ean Yong Hian Wah here at the JKKK Hall in Kampung Sri Indah A, Paya Jaras today.

Also present was the Assemblyman of Paya Jaras, Mohd Khairuddin Othman and the Member of Parliament for Subang, R.Sivarasa.

Meanwhile, Mohd Khairuddin when interviewed said that five more villages under the Paya Jaras constituency are still waiting for their land titles and hopes that the issue will be resolved in the next three years.

“Firstly, I want to thank the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, who vigorously accelerated all matters regarding the land title.

“For the Paya Jaras constituency, there are 15 villages and five more villages are still waiting, and I hope that the State Government will help in all dealings so that all of them will receive their respective titles,” he said.

All residents will receive the grant to their land after settling the premium amount of RM1,000 as required by the State Government.

The Term ‘Allah’ Can Be Used, But Not Abused – Hadi Awang

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SHAH ALAM, 12 Oct: In the wake of the “Allah” word case which will be tried in the Putrajaya Court of Appeal on 14 October, the President of PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang reiterated his stand that the word “Allah” can be used by non-Muslims.

Speaking to the media after finishing his keynote address at the Seminar on the Implementation of Islamic Shariah in Malaysia, Abdul Hadi said that there are many strong arguments in terms of religion, language and history that allows for the use of the word “Allah” by Christians.

“We cannot prevent non-Muslims from using the word “Allah”, in fact even the Prophet (Muhammad) allowed for non-Muslims to use the word “Allah” in an agreement (Medina Charter),” Hadi firmly said, adding however that the word “Allah” should not be misused by any party giving rise to conflict.

The Court of Appeal will decide on 14 October whether the publication of the Catholic Christian weekly, The Herald, is allowed to use the word “Allah”.

On 10 September, the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal, consisting of a Federal Court judge, Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali, and two judges of the Court of Appeal, Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, postponed the decision after hearing from the parties involved in the case.

The panel will decide on the Ministry of Home Affair’s appeal and the government regarding the decision of the High Court to allow The Herald to use the word “Allah”.

Previously, in January 2010, Abdul Hadi submitted a research paper in a seminar organised by the Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM).

Through the book entitled ‘Allah: Kalimah yang Benar, Tujuan yang Salah’ (translated to ‘Allah: The True Word, Wrong Purpose’) published in January 2010, Abdul Hadi explained that Islam does not prohibit people of other religions from using the word “Allah” in their practices, however, it does not achieve the meaning of the original language of the Quran.

“The word “Allah” is a word according to the original Arabic language (He is One), cannot be translated into any language accurately,” he explained in his book.

Seminar on Implementation of Islamic Shariah in Malaysia took place at the Pro-Chancellor’s Hall, University of Selangor (Unisel) near here, today.

Themed ’56 years of Independence: What is the direction of Islamic Shariah in Malaysia’, the seminar organised by the Selangor State Government, the Majlis Permuafakatan dan Institusi Pendidikan Islam Selangor (Mappis) and the University of Selangor (Unisel), opened a space towards finding a solution for the implementation of Shariah in the context of a democratic country.

Also present was the PAS Information Chief, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the Selangor PAS Commissioner, Dr Abdul Rani Osman, Selangor Executive Councillors Dr Halimah Ali and Sallehen Mukhyi.

Budget Surplus During Anwar’s Era, Severe Deficit During Najib’s Era

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KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Oct: It has been reported that Malaysia has been enjoying a surplus between years 1993 to 1997, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was appointed the Minister of Finance, said the Executive Director of the People’s Institute, Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin.

He said, in that period, the country managed to record a surplus of RM6.6 billion, the highest value ever achieved in the annual budget.

However, he said, the country’s financial performance plunged into a severe deficit in 2009, when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over the reins of the government administration.

“The worst deficit ever recorded was in year 2009, at a total of RM47.4 billion, while in terms of the percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it was at 9.7 percent.

“Since 2009, we have seen the lowest additional supply two times per year, resulting in the increase of overall spending up to nearly RM260 billion to date,” he said in the National Audit Report Forum: Biased Governance, Leakages and Corruption at the Petaling Jaya CIty Council (MBPJ) Civic Hall just now.

The audit report which was presented recently, showed some extreme wastage and leakages, including the upgrading project of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport; the Malaysian Emergency Responses Services (MERS) 999 project by the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture; the national sewerage project and the delay in tax collection by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).

Last August, Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency, placed Malaysia’s credit rating at stable to negative, and questioned the government’s move of ignoring financial reform, especially after the recent election ended.

Azrul said, the national debt now stands at RM500 billion with the GDP percentage being at 35 percent as of the end of year 2012.

According to him, there is no guarantee from the Central Government to spend prudently because additional supplies are released at least twice a year since 2009.

“It will be difficult for us to keep the national debt below 55 percent at all times because the government is not implementing any fiscal reforms,” he added.