Tag: State Assembly

Abdul Khalid Asks the Media to Stop Regarding the Chief Minister’s Position Issue

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KLANG, 1 Nov: The Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim asked the mass media to stop harping on his relationship with the Vice-President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Azmin Ali, on the issue of taking over office.

He described the action as being ‘disgusting’ and asks editors to immediately stop.

Abdul Khalid said that he has no problem if his position as Chief Minister of Selangor is replaced by someone else.

“If the approach (of the supposed clash) is a way to sell newspapers, then such mentality shows that we have reached the level of developed countries,” he said when met at the Deepavali Celebration Opening Ceremony here in Little India yesterday.

Prior to this, there were rumours that Khalid’s performance had declined and the position of Chief Minister will be replaced by a new representative.

Meanwhile, Abdul Khalid also denied that there were Assemblymen who are not satisfied with him in their meeting session on 29 October.

“Not only did I look into every suggestion they raised, but also the long-term effects.

“We need to see the current and future impact if we want to develop Selangor in the next 20 years, not just the current (impact). So the reason for every proposal should be strong,” he said.

Previously, several local media reports have given the impression that Azmin would be leading the state; however the Bukit Antarabangsa Assemblyman and the PKR de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, denied the rumours.

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.

No Change in Position for Selangor CM, Khalid Ibrahim Remains – Anwar

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KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Oct: There is no scramble for the office of the Chief Minister of Selangor as Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim will continue to lead the state government leadership, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

At the press conference today, the Opposition Leader also denies that there is a scramble for the position between Abdul Khalid and the PKR Deputy President, Mohamed Azmin Ali.

As the de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Anwar who previously gave his opinion about the performance of the Selangor government administration, would know is the allegations are true.

“If Azmin wants to take, I would surely know. But the matter is not happening,” he said at the Parliament lobby.

Anwar previously gave his views on the performance of the government administration and economic development of the Selangor and Penang Government, but his statement was misinterpreted by some quarters.

According to local media reports, there are rumours stating that Azmin, who is also the Selangor PKR Chairman, will replace Abdul Khalid on grounds of being ‘stingy’.

Instead, when Azmin was met at Parliament, he said that there was no struggle happening between him and Abdul Khalid.

“There is no crisis or efforts to replace the Chief Minister. I agree with Anwar, in fact the effort is pretty good for the interests of the state,” he said.

He did present his intention when meeting Abdul Khalid for almost four hours recently to urge for the role of the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat Assemblymen and Members of Parliament to be better used.

“We discussed the issue of state development based on the memorandum recently submitted. The discussion went pretty well,” said Azmin who plans to meet Abdul Khalid again tomorrow.

Selangor and Penang PR Governments Step Forward to Strengthen Democracy

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Youth Solidarity Malaysia (SAMM) congratulated the Selangor and Penang PR Governments for moving another step to strengthen democracy in their administration radar.

On 18 September, the Penang Pakatan Rakyat Government, through the State Government Exco meeting, approved in principle the provisions for Assemblymen from the Opposition in Penang (read: Barisan Nasional) and the subsequent approval from the Exco Meeting will be tabled in the Penang State Budget 2014.

Meanwhile, on 10 October, the Selangor PR Government announced special allowances and privileges for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly Opposition Leader.

For Samm, this are valiant efforts in strengthening and educating the meaning of true democracy in Malaysia, in fact, understanding in the long history of oppression in translating the BN-style democracy system, actions such as this is hard to be accepted by various quarters in PR itself.

But if we are talking about a mature democracy, this is the best time to show that PR is different from the oppression politics of BN. We see all this while how PR representatives, especially Parliamentarians, are denied the right to serve the people without even a single cent of allocation being channelled through PR representatives who were voted by the people.

Now, it is a tremendous blow for BN Assemblymen in Penang. Do they want to receive provisions given to them despite Do they want to receive their allocation to them despite their opposition?

If they accept it, then they acknowledge the practice of the BN Government in other states and even the Federal level BN government as wrong to not channel allocations through representatives of the people who were elected by the people. But if they reject it, they will continue to be remembered for their narrow partisan politics and they can no longer complain in front of their voters that they do not have allocations.

Through the Penang State Government, PR proved that political clash is a different matter, but in matters of democratic state governance, the people’s choice should be respected and Penang PR has acknowledged that.

The Office of the Leader of the Opposition in the House (be it the House of Representatives or the state legislative assembly) is very important. But since the independence of Malaysia, it has not been honoured like other countries of mature democracy acknowledge the post.

The Selangor PR Government made a tremendous stride when they allocated RM8,260 per month with plenty other privileges to the Opposition Leader in the State Legislative Assembly.

With this, this position which is upheld through the democratic pr In this position he also transported through the democratic process of the people’s voice can be used to jointly develop the state. Opposition leaders can have complete office efficiency with enough research officers and Opposition leaders can have a complete office efficiency with enough research officer and able to debate and make constructive criticism to state that ultimately benefit the people.

The question now is would the Opposition Leader from BN in Selangor receive the allowances and privileges or will he reject with narrow political party thinking.

If he accepts it, he would admit the wrong practice of the Central and State Governments under BN in denying the role of Opposition Leaders elected by the people.

This is how the politics of the nation should be practiced with policy competition and competition in improvements which will ultimately strengthen democracy and benefit the people.

SAMM has greats hopes to see the Prime Minister, who is also the Finance Minister, to make the word ‘transformation’ as his daily chant when tabling the Budget 2014 this Friday which can truly welcome the moves taken by the Penang and Selangor PR Governments.

This move is also positive and everyone should move to strengthen democracy by acknowledging the role of PR members of parliament by taking into account the channeling of provisions through those elected by the people and uphold the role of the Malaysian Parliament by acknowledging privileges for Malaysian Opposition Leaders.

Without that, the ‘transformation’ chant will continue being a rhetoric laughed by those from the country and abroad.

Badrul Hisham Shaharin
Youth Solidarity Malaysia

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.

Selangor Waits For Central Government For ADUN Allocations

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SEPT 24 SUBANG JAYA: Selangor will for wait Putrajaya to pave the way in providing financial support to all elected representatives before finalising their decisions.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the allocations for the Opposition’s Assembly will only be decided after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak has presented the National Budget next October.

“We will wait. Let the Central Government make their presentation first and we will see whether they will agree to give financial support to the MPs without taking political affiliations into account,” he said in a press conference after ending the Budget 2014 Dialogue at the Grand Dorsett Hotel, Subang Jaya, today.

Abdul Khalid further added that the Central Government’s actions will be an example for the State Government. He was referring to the Government of Pulau Pinang’s allocation of RM40,000 to the Opposition’s Assembly beginning of next year.

“If the Central Government is willing to do so, then we will be happy to follow their example. If they won’t, the State Government will hold discussions to think of a more appropriate action so as to demonstrate the validity of our party in giving an opportunity for all representatives to serve the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Hannah Yeoh, said the Committee of Rights and Privileges, which consists PKR and UMNO-BN Assembly, had met the previous week. They agreed to write a letter to the State Executive Council (MKKN) to obtain financial support for each DUN for as much as RM10,000 a month.

“So we will wait for MKKN to discuss first,” she said.

CM: KUIS Aims to Achieve University Status in 2016

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BANGI, SEPT 10: To continue efforts to strengthen knowledge, the Selangor International Islamic University College (KUIS) seeks to achieve full university status by the year 2016.

Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that as a move to realise the plan, efforts to offer graduate and doctoral degrees are being pursued.

“This effort will begin with upgrading works and adding several new programmes at the undergraduate level in order to be competitive and keep pace with the changing times.

“In addition, diploma and degree students are also expected to make KUIS their preferred institution to further their studies in their masters degree as well as their doctorate in philosophy,” explained Abdul Khalid who is also the Chairman of KUIS.

Abdul Khalid said this at a press conference after the First Session of the 16th time of the KUIS Convocation Ceremony today.

KUIS which is wholly owned by MAIS was established in 1995. KUIS offers over twenty courses covering a variety of subjects such as Islamic studies, business studies, Islamic banking, language and communication, information technology, multimedia, nursing and education.

KUIS is now actively improving the quality of learning at the institution in line with the entry target of 6,000 students next year.

This year’s edition saw a total of 1,896 students from six faculties eligible to receive their respective Diplomas and Degrees which was presented by Abdul Khalid.

Also present at the convocation was the Exco in charge of Education, Dr Halimah Ali, the Reactor of KUIS, Assoc Prof Datuk Dr Abd Halim Tamuri, members of the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) as well as parents and family members of the students graduating.

The convocation this time also awarded diplomas to 500 teachers of Al-Quran and Fardu Ain (KAFA) classes from around Selangor who were enrolled in the Teaching Diploma programme.

The Teaching Diploma for KAFA teachers is part of on-going efforts in promoting Islamic education for the children of Selangor.

RM100,000 to Repair Damaged Elevator at Desa Mentari Apartments

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SHAH ALAM, July 24: Residents of four Desa Mentari Apartment blocks can heave a sigh of relief when the State Government announced a RM100,000 assistance to repair damaged elevators.

According to the Executive Councillor in charge of Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlers, Iskandar Samad, maintenance and reparation works to all elevators will use provisions from the Overhaul Assistance Scheme with Apartments (Ceria).

He said, the State Government is taking the initiative to help the residents following feedback from developers saying that the collection for the maintenance of the apartments was not enough.

“The State Government is concerned about the fate of residents who have to use the stairs up to the 18th floor during the Ramadan month.

“We decided to accelerate the process using the Ceria Scheme without following normal procedures because it has to be repaired as soon as possible,” he told reporters after the Exco meeting here today.

At the same press conference, Iskandar also informed that the State Government will consider setting up a special team to monitor, improve and solve elevator damage problems at low-cost apartments across Selangor.

He explained that this team will serve to monitor the situation of elevators at apartment so that any problem or damage can be detected early.

“The State Government takes the matter of elevator damages in Selangor very seriously, thus, by setting up this special team, any damage can be detected before it becomes serious,” he added.

Application for Additional RM105 Million to Pay for Free Water Scheme from May to December

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SHAH ALAM, July 6: The Selangor Government applied for an additional allocation of RM105 million to continue giving 20 cubic metres of free water to the people of Selangor for the period of July till December this year.

Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that the provision is necessary because the previous provisions only covered the cost of the programme till last May, before the 13th General Election (GE-13).

Therefore, he said, the State Government will pay for the cost of free water to the Selangor Water Supply Company (Syabas) for January till May.

The decision was made for the 2013 budget because if another State Government took over after the GE-13, the administration will not be forced to continue the policy.
“If we won the election, we will continue this free water programme. This decision was made because we do not want to make decisions for others.

“However in the PR manifesto, we have listed our effort to continue this free water assistance,” he told the media after the Selangor State Assembly (DNS) was adjourned today.

The RM105 million application was part of the application for additional expenditure of RM761 million made through an enactment in the DNS.

From the RM105 million, RM83 million is to cover the free water programme for July till December 2013.

Meanwhile, RM22 million is to support the existing programme which has been used for the programme payments for May till June.

Selangor Entrepreneurship Programme Participants’ Income Increases Up to 40 Percent

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SHAH ALAM, July 5: Youth and young women entrepreneurs who have joined the State Government business coaching programme reported that their income has increased by 30 to 40 percent when they practice the lessons.

Exco for Entrepreneurial Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Daroyah Alwi said however, the participants did not produce records of the increase because their enterprises are village industries and they do not have cash flow or bank statements.

Daroyah also said that the entrepreneurial workshops and programmes recorded encouraging demands when the number of participants increased from 220 in 2008 to 7,706 in 2013.

Among the programmes provided includes certification courses, packaging, basic entrepreneurship and business plan.

Programmes that do not involve training are Village Industries Fund, Entrepreneur and Product Promotions as well as visits to manufacturing sites conducted once a year.

She said this while answering questions from Permatang Assemblyman, Sulaiman Abdul Razak (BN) during the Selangor State Assembly session today.

In the meantime, Daroyah informed that Selangor is currently the champion in halal certification where 40 percent of halal certification application in Malaysia comes from Selangor.

Selangor Government Allocates RM9 Million More for Agricultural Development

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SHAH ALAM, July 5: The State Government has allocated RM9.141 million for the development of agriculture and agro-based industries throughout Selangor for the whole of this year.

Islamic Affairs, Agricultural Modernisation and Rural Development, Sallehin Mukhyi said that the allocation covers a wide range of agricultural activities in order to increase Selangor’s economy and the income of farmers.

Among the activities include the development of an agro-technology park which costs RM1.4 million, the development of crops (RM5.04 million), crops industry development (RM300,000), the development of the flower industry and ornamental plantation (RM200,000).

Also, the allocation if for the development of agro-based industries (RM1.251 million), integrated agricultural development (RM700,000) and wasteland development (RM200,000).

“It is an effort to increase the downstream industry in Selangor,” he said when answering oral questions from the Assemblyman of Tanjung Sepat, Mohd Haslin Hassan (PAS) during the Selangor State Assembly session yesterday.

He said that the State Government will also mainly focus on increasing the rice yield.

Other efforts include food production parks projects, the development of vegetable crops as well as to help farmers grow other crops.

Selangor Wants Jail Sentence, Seize Property of Illegal Cyber Cafe Owners

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SHAH ALAM, July 5: The move to imprison or seize property is being looked into by the State Government to curb illegal cyber cafe activities or those running gambling machines.

Executive Councillor for Local Government, Studies and Research, Datuk Teng Chang Khim acknowledged that the current legal action is not very effective in preventing illegal cyber cafe owners from continuing to operate.

“Previously, we only seized and issued compounds to the owner of the premises, however they still do not follow the rules. The action is seen to be less effective.

“So we should conduct a detailed survey for us to impose a heavier punishment to owners by raising the compound, imprisonment or confiscation of property,” he said at the Selangor State Assembly session today.

Teng said this in response to an oral question from Lembah Jaya Assemblyman, Khasim Abdul Aziz (PAS).