Tag: Politics & National News

Sugar Price causes Price Hike in Food and Drinks in School Canteens

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SHAH ALAM, 31 Oct: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Bureau of Consumerism received complaints that several canteens in schools around the Klang Valley has raised their price for food and drinks.

It’s Chairman, Yahya Shari, said that they received the complaint after the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Najib Razak regarding the retraction of 34 cents in sugar subsidies.

He said, apart from school canteens, stalls have increased food and drink prices, with prices charged similar to that of coffeeshops.

“We have received many complaints about stalls and school canteens increasing the price of food and drinks at their premises.

“We receive a minimum of three complaints a day on the increase in prices. However, complainants did not provide detailed information and thus, we were unable to survey,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor today.

Yahya said, there are four schools that have raised the price of food and drinks, according to complaints received from parents.

In this regard, he called on the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to monitor and take action against school canteens throughout the country so that they do not raise prices at will.

“The price of food and drink cannot be increased at will because canteen operators are bound by contract of food prices, so the government should monitor this problem.

“We also want the central government to open more opportunities in the sugar industry so as to not only provide opportunities to duopoly companies by creating price competition in the sugar market.

He also urged for consumers to lodge complaints at the PKR Bureau of Consumerism if traders take advantage by increasing prices.

Previously, the Secretary-General of the School Canteen Operators Association, Hamzah Omar, said that they will ensure that canteen operators do not increase the price of canteen food and drinks because of the increase in sugar price by 34 cents, because it is stated in their contracts that they cannot raise prices at will.

MBPJ Adds CCTV to Enhance Security

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KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Oct: The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is taking proactive measures to add more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at pedestrian walks around the Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations near Taman Mayang.

The move is being made following the death of a student, Dickson Wong from Sarawak, who was attacked by snatch thieves near the LRT station two days ago.

The MBPJ Public Relations Unit, in a statement, said that the effort to add CCTVs at the area has received approval from the Mayor, Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad and will be done within two weeks.

“The Council will also require for commercial premises, in their renewal of licence, to provide and install CCTVs at their premises to help maintain security together,” stated the press release.

In addition to the installation of CCTVs, the Council will also work with the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) to patrol around the area.

Dickson, who is in a coma, was found covered in blood near the LRT station in Taman Mayang after being attacked by snatch thieves.

Malaysiakini’s Victory Good News for National Media Freedom

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SHAH ALAM, 30 Oct: The victory of the news portal, Malaysiakini, in the appeal case against the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), which did not want to issue a publishing permit to the online news portal, is good news thus opening a new chapter of media freedom in the country.

The former President of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mohd Hatta Wahari said, the decision made by the Court of Appeal today is an important point in preparing the people and national leaders towards a mentality that is equivalent to that of first world countries.

Mohd Hatta also hopes that Malaysiakini’s victory will encourage other media to publish a variety of media materials to convey more transparent information to the people.

“This is good news, the recognition of media freedom, because previously what was implemented by the current government does not follow the new world order in freedom of information.

“Freedom of information is also very important so that accurate information can be delivered and it is left to the people to evaluate the move by the government or the opposition.

“Through media freedom, our country can be led towards being a developed country, not just in terms of development, but also in its mentality,” Mohd Hatta said when contacted by TVSelangor today.

Mohd Hatta also considers the decision today as a protest against the leadership pattern of the government led by BN since 56 years ago towards the country’s media practitioners.

The Court of Appeal today unanimously dismissed the Home Ministry and government’s appeal against a High Court judgment that Malaysiakini portal operator Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd be issued a publication permit and also allowed a costs of RM5,000 to be paid to Mkini Dotcom.

The decision was made after the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the KDN’s order to not issue a publication licence to the publisher of Malaysiakini, Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd.

House of MIC Chief’s Widow Burned, Receives Support from Melawati CSC

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SHAH ALAM, 30 Oct: Despite her late husband being known for serving MIC when he was alive, the suffering due to a fire at the house occupied by Devi a/p Raman, 66, three months ago was ignored by the party representing the Indian community.

However, Devi was fortunate when the Coordinator of the Melawati constituency Community Service Centre (CSC), S.Manikavasagam, together with the Api-Api Parish Headman, Husain Idris, came forward to offer help to the single mother.

Manikavasagam said, among the assistance provided includes a cash contribution of RM500 presented by the Kuala Selangor District and Land Office, as well as building materials such as wood and Nypa leafs from the Melawati CSC.

“The late S.Anandan, the former Kampung Telok Piah MIC Branch Chief, used to serve in the MIC and was previously given a medal of honour by Tan Sri V.Manickavasagam for his services.

“However now, when his wife encounters difficulties and her house was damaged by fire, not on of the MIC leaders came to visit or help out. Where is the slogan ‘MIC Cares’,” Manikavasagam said to TVSelangor.

Manikavasagam said, as a result of the fire which brought an estimated loss of about RM75,000, Devi also lost her source of income from a small food business she ran out of her house.

Devi, who will be celebrating Deepavali soon, has also been included in the ‘Jom Shopping’ (Let’s Go Shopping) programme in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration which is being held at the Giant hypermarket in Pasir Penampang today.

“All the assistance rendered is actually not enough, but at least it is able to ease the suffering and burden shouldered by Devi,” added Manikavasagam.

Anwar: Strengthen People’s Income before Implementing the GST

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KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Oct: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urged the Central Government to strengthen the people’s income and ensure good taxation infrastructure before implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The Opposition Leader said, when he held the post of Finance Minister, the idea regarding the implementation of the GST had been suggested, but it was not implemented.

“I support the GST review, it is an efficient move and taxing system, but we need to look at the people’s income.

“The people’s income has to be increased and the taxation infrastructure needs to be improved before implementing it,” Anwar said.

He said this at during a Forum keynote address on the GST in Parliament, which was also attended by panelists Dr Lim Kim-Hwa (Penang Institute) and Azrul Azwar (People’s Institute), and chaired by Ooi Heng (KPRU).

Anwar said, before the implementation of the GST, the government should also eliminate the monopoly system in this country because it will cause prices to rise.

“Monopoly should be stopped as well. It causes the price of goods to go up,” he said.

PR Urges Central Government to Revoke Protection of Companies Monopolising the Sugar Market

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KUALA LUMPUR, 30 Oct: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) urges the Central Government to revoke the raw sugar procurement system and the protection of companies monopolising the sugar market in this country resulting in the higher price of sugar.

Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua, said that the action to revoke would allow for the government to offer a lower sugar price for the people after opening up the market involving sugar companies in the country.

He said, with the elimination of the monopoly, the people will enjoy lower prices for sugar and sugar companies will become more efficient by not having to rely on government assistance.

“Pakatan Rakyat is of the opinion that the monopoly of sugar companies does not benefit the people at all.

“It is better to open the sugar market and let the price of sugar be determined by competition between companies and suppliers of sugar,” said Tony Pua in a press statement at the Parliament lobby.

Tony Pua said the method of importing raw sugar from companies abroad is just a trick to get a lower cost, enabling the company involved to gain handsomely.

“If sugar prices are set by the government, it should not increase their (companies) profits by so much.

“We suspect that the government is importing raw sugar to enable these companies to gain more profit,” he said.

Yesterday, Tony Pua revealed that the sugar price hike is not on the basis of subsidy cuts, rather it stems from the Central Government’s move to sign the raw sugar agreement at a high price.

In January 2012, the Minister of Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives (KPDNKK), Datuk Ismail Sabri, announced that the government has signed a three-year deal to import raw sugar at the price of USD25 per 100lbs.

As a result, the people are forced to enjoy sugar that is more expensive due to the agreement signed by the KPDNKK last year.

Student: Government in a Hurry to Implement GST

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SHAH ALAM, 30 Oct: The Central Government is in a hurry to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will burden the people when there is no mechanism to increase the people’s income.

The President of Student Solidarity Malaysia (SMM) Safwan Anang, said that the Central Government has been urged to first solve the problem of corruption, leakages and improvidence occurring in expenses, as reported in the Auditor-General’s Report before the GST is implemented.

He said students will be affected and impacted from the implementation of the GST at the rate of 6 percent starting from 1 April 2015 because they are also consumers who buy goods and necessities.

“If the federal government does not want to hear the sound of protest, together, students are ready to mobilise this voice of protest,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor.

Safwan hopes that students will enhance awareness and understanding of the implementation of the GST so that they are able to be the people’s spokespeople.

“When the campus elections are still hot, it is hoped that the GST will also be debated. But unfortunately, this did not happen due to external political interference which has caused the GST issue to be quiet,” he said.

The introduction of the GST at a rate of six percent will be more burdensome for the young people because 82.5 percent of them earn RM3,000 and below.

The impact will be felt by the young people when the rate of inflation rises due to the increase in price of goods and services while income has not changed much.

RM3.14 Million Allocated to Improve Traffic Flow at Jalan Othman, Petaling Jaya

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PETALING JAYA, 30 Oct: The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) decided to spend RM3.14 million to demolish the roundabout at Jalan Othman and replace it with traffic lights to solve the traffic congestion faced by motorists.

Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Selatan, Hee Loy Sian said the project which will be completed within the next 10 months is expected to improve traffic flow in the area.

“Originally, this project would take eight months. However, because technical issues caused by piping and wiring in the area, we expect for the project to be completed in September (next year),” he said.

“Currently, motorists in the area would need to take an hour to pass through the roundabout.

After the project is completed, we expect motorists to save 80 percent of the time taken currently,” said Loy Sian.

Hee Loy said this during the ground breaking ceremony of the Jalan Othman Roundabout Upgrading Project, together with the Assemblyman for Bukit Gasing, Rajiv Rishyakaran.

He said, this upgrading project will benefit residents of Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 18, as well as those using the road leading to Puchong, Kota Damansara and Serdang.

Loy Sian urged the public to be patient at this point while waiting for the traffic lights to be set up in the specified period.

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FOMCA: Health Reason an Unreasonable Excuse for Rise in Sugar Price

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SHAH ALAM, 30 Oct: The move by the central government to increase the price of sugar by RM0.34 cents on grounds of curbing diabetes among Malaysians is a frivolous and unreasonable excuse.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) Communications Director, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, said that health reasons to raise price of sugar is not accurate because diabetes stems from an individual’s lifestyle.

He said, healthcare awareness campaigns should be increased and intensified instead of increasing the price of the essential good, if the central government wants to care for the people’s health.

“We fear that the same excuse will be used by the government to raise the price of other goods such as flour and rice, which causes an increase in food calories. The government may use the excuse of the increase (in food calories) to raise the price of flour,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor today.

Yusof said that the price increase is too drastic and may hugely affect the price of food and drinks based on sugar consumption.

“It should have not been done drastically and dramatically because the adjustment in sugar price should be carried out in stages so as to have a tremendous impact on the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, he also urged the federal government to inform the people if they intend to raise the price of cooking oil following the withdrawal of subsidies.

Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim questioned the central government’s move of deliberately hiding the increase in cooking oil and instead chose to publicly announce the cut in sugar subsidies during the National Budget 2014 debate session at the House of Representatives yesterday.

He also questioned the move because palm oil production is currently surging and the people are shocked by the sugar price hike.

CM Visits SP Setia Bhd Housing Project

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SHAH ALAM, 30 Oct: Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim spent over half an hour visiting the latest apartment housing project using the ‘prefabricated’ method which is being developed by a leading property developer, SP Setia Berhad.

During the visit to the project site, Abdul Khalid, who was accompanied by Selangor State Excos, was given detailed descriptions regarding the housing project by the Chief Operating Officer of SP Setia, Datuk Voon Tin Yow.

The housing project, among others, is being built near the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) and Jalan Meru, Klang, with house area estimated at 850 square feet each.

A total of 3,960 apartment units at the 11-storey buildings are being offered at the market price of RM220,000, and has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and other facilities such as a swimming pool.

The medium-cost apartment project commenced building over a year ago and targets families with a household income of about RM3,000 per month.

It is understood that the housing project has been fully sold to the public.

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Najib ‘Dishonest’ in Tabling the National Budget 2014

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SHAH ALAM, 29 Oct: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is deemed as being dishonest when deliberately hiding the increase of cooking oil from public knowledge when presenting the National Budget 2014 on 25 October.

The Chairman of the Teras (Teras Pengupayaan Melayu – Malay Capacitation Core), Azmi Hamid said that Najib’s move is regrettable because it is like not keeping the people informed about the real situation.

He said that Najib, as the Minister of Finance, should not take light of the matter simply because of wanting to entertain certain quarters in raking in handsome profit.

“This is a dishonest way of tabling and it has all become mere rhetoric when what is said by the government previously to strengthen economic transformation and fulfil promises, is not done.

“The increase in the people’s essential goods such as cooking oil should not be hidden because consumers will know and it will be a huge issue they will raise. Do not think that this matter will not be detected despite attempts to keep it hidden,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor today.

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed that Putrajaya is deliberately trying to hide the increase of cooking oil and chose to publically announce the subsidy cut of sugar when presenting the budget.

Meanwhile, when Azmi was asked to comment on the statement by the World Bank economist, Dr Frederico Gil Sander, who predicted that the government would cut fuel subsidies for the second time next year, he also stressed that the matter has been already predicted to happen.

He said that the central government’s move to retract the subsidies is because Malaysia is no longer capable of managing resources well and is forced to follow the increase in oil price in the world market.

“Barisan Nasional should consider Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) suggestion to rationalise cost, not subsidies. The whole country would be impacted from this mismanagement when subsidy funds saved have been misused,” he said.

Selangor Provides Opportunity for University Students to be ‘Representatives of the People’

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SHAH ALAM, 29 Oct: Students of institutes of higher learning (IPT) have the opportunity to experience the real proceedings at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (DUN) as ‘representatives of the people’ through the Selangor Young Assemblyman 2013 Programme from 16 to 18 December.

The programme, which is being organised for the first time, is a state government initiative to educate the younger generation on the role and responsibility of an Assemblyman, as well as provide exposure to the political world at an early stage.

The Selangor State Legislative Assembly Speaker, Hannah Yeoh, said the objective of the programme is to foster the attitude of leadership and cooperation between participants as well as to produce future leaders who have calibre and are responsible.

“The Selangor Young Assemblyman Programme organised by the Speaker’s Office and the DUN Office is especially for IPT students around Selangor to provide them a chance to experience real proceedings of the council,” she said in a press statement at her office this today.

Also present was the DUN Deputy Speaker, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad; the Assemblywoman of Damansara Utama, Yeo Bee Yin; the Assemblyman for Bukit Gasing, Rajiv Rishyakaran and the Assemblyman for Gombak Setia Hasbullah Mohd Ridzwan.

Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi said the programme is open to students between 18 to 24 years from public and private institutes of higher learning, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and student associations.

“This year, only 30 students will be chosen to participate in this programme. If the response is encouraging, we plan to run this programme two times a year,” he said.

He said participants will be given the opportunity to voice their opinions and ask the government about policies, especially those impacting the younger generation, in addition to providing the opportunity to bring up suggestions to introduce new laws in Selangor.

“Participants will play the role of an Assemblyman in the council session, together with the Speaker and I, the Deputy Speaker. The programme also received the attention of state government executive councillors who are expected to take part in the session.

In relation to that, those interested in participating in the programme can apply online at www.adunmudaselangor.com before 8 November.