Tag: State Institutions

Tourism Selangor and MPS Committed to the Success of VMY 2014

3.1

SELAYANG, 7 Nov: Tourism Selangor and the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) are committed to the success of the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014 by taking the initiative to promote tourism and recreation places around Selayang.

3.2

The Manager of Tourism Selangor, Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din, said that they will seek feedback from the management of tourist areas beforehand to see if there is any need to ensure that the area has potential to attract tourists.

“We will determine the amount after we review and study the needs of a recreation area in order to add facilities to facilitate tourists or visitors who visit the place,” she told Selangor Kini.

She said that they are convinced that the state government would not hesitate to provide allocations, especially in efforts to make Selangor known internationally.

“If the place has real potential to attract visitors from the country and abroad, we are positive that the state government will help,” she added.

Among the focal points for tourism to be promoted are Damai Cave, Tasik Biru Kundang and the Selayang Hot Springs.

Promotional efforts are seen as a positive step to elevate Selangor’s tourism industry to a higher level.

Damai Cave which is located near Batu Caves, is a place for rock climbing enthusiast for a long time.

It first opened in 1998, and this cave is not a rock climbing location, but it is also a location for mountain climbing training.

This cave is ideal for beginners in mountaineering activities because most of the route is not too challenging.

Wira Adventure Consultant Manager, Mustafa Al Bakri Omar, said that he hopes that his efforts to promote this area internationally will receive support and assistance from the Federal and State Governments.

He said that this location has become a focus of an international diving programme each year before the country’s annual Kuala Lumpur Tower climb.

“More recently, mountaineers from 15 countries visited this place for training sessions and I believe if we focus on it, this place can become a major attraction for fans of outdoor activities, the best after Krabi, Thailand,” he said.

Mustafa who is also responsible for managing the Damai Cave Extreme Park, using his own capital to develop the area, said that it is now better after receiving RM1 million in allocations from the Federal Government to provide infrastructure such as parks, toilets, playgrounds and other facilities.

“An allocation of RM50,000 from the state government has also been received for next year. We hope that support from the federal and state governments will continue.

“It is our desire to widen the climbing area and of course, the maintenance will require a high cost, but it will be worth it for a tourist attraction,” he said.

PKNS to Produce 200 Retail Entrepreneurs

1

SHAH ALAM, 1 Nov: The ‘Retail 200’ entrepreneurship programme to be carried out by the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) is in line with the desire to produce competitive entrepreneurs who have high mental and physical endurance.

The entrepreneurship programme will generate 200 retailers who can compete in the market, thus positioning themselves in upscale business complexes in the near future.

The PKNS Division Manager for Entrepreneur Development, Azilah Arshad said that entrepreneurs, including new entrepreneurs, will go through two years of training before being placed in business complexes, those owned by PKNS in particular, and Datum Jelatek.

“We will equip them with entrepreneurship knowledge, and educate them with physical and mental endurance to get used to doing business in high-class places. We also do not want half-hearted business culture,” she said in a press statement yesterday.

She said that they target a period of two years to train and produce entrepreneurs with the required criteria because entrepreneurs will be given appropriate training in retail and receive free advice from experienced consultants appointed by PKNS.

“We are also considering to place them on a temporary basis at PKNS-owned complexes as part of the training module.

“We hope this effort will help them position themselves in selected complexes after competition of training. Prospective participants need to pass through a competency exam to test their endurance,” she said.

Selangor and Penang PR Governments Step Forward to Strengthen Democracy

5

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

CM: 3 Million Land Records Replace Filing System to Avoid Fraud

2.1

SHAH ALAM, 20 Oct: The Selangor Government managed to record a total of three million land ownership files in the state into a digital computerised system to ensure a more effective storing and retrieval system.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said through the ‘Land Bank’ problems of loss and difficulty in finding files on land ownership can be resolved because now it can be found quickly and accurately.

Abdul Khalid said the system which was implemented since a year ago also helps the State Government identify the land owned and also can plan land development better.

“Now I can know the actual number of land owned by the State Government which was previously unknown,” said Abdul Khalid.

He said this when he inaugurated the Land Convention and National Municipality which was held here at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Building Silver Jubilee Hall.

2.2

Abdul Khalid said that management of land using filing system was changed because it did not benefit the people and it was open to fraud.

“The three million files have been placed in that Shah Alam Stadium, so there are no more missing files and we can find out more efficiently.

“We are open and transparent on the issue of land ownership. Everyone deserves to know who the landowner is. Because of that, land ownership records are very important,” he said.

About 300 people attended the convention, which was also attended by PAS Vice-President, Salahuddin Ayub, Mahfuz Omar and the Exco in charge of Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlement, Iskandar Abdul Samad.

Zahid ‘Challenges’ Waythamoorthy to resign as Deputy Minister

6

KUALA LUMPUR, August 23: The Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi challenged the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, P.Waythamoorthy to resign from his current post because he is dissatisfied with the actions of the police.

Zahid issued the challenge because Waythamoorthy questioned the actions of the police in relation to the shooting case against five criminals who were suspected as being 04 triad members in Penang last Sunday.

According to Zahid, as a member of the government, Waythamoorthy should not be making statements that conflict with policies determined by the government.

“He should not think he still a leader of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), so I suggest for him (Waythamoorthy) to quit (the post of deputy minister) if he wants to speak out of his field,” said Zahid, quoted from a mainstream print media report.

Waythamoorthy previously questioned the actions of the police because he claimed that it is difficult to believe that a shooting incident happened after looking at the pictures of the bodies of those shot.

Prior to this, Pakatan Rakyat also made objections due to the same perceptions of what triggered Waythamoorthy.

AES: BN ‘laps up’ Pakatan’s Proposals

1

KUALA LUMPUR, August 23: Barisan Nasional (BN) how is forced to lap up all their reasons when they rejected Pakatan Rakyat’s argument of strongly opposing the move to surrender the implementation of the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) operations to the private sector in its early stages.

If BN was open to hear out the opinions of Pakatan Rakyat leaders and the general public before the implementation of the AES, the AES operational acquisition issue would have not come up, thus saving the people’s money.

The move to acquire the AES operations, as stated by the Acting Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein recently, will certainly involve a huge compensation payment to the two private AES operators.

According to the Communications Director of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the government should have conducted an in-depth study on all aspects, including the views of Pakatan Rakyat and the general public before implementing anything, including the implementation of the AES.

“One of the reasons why we are angry about this AES issue is because it is a private system where they will reap profits and the people question whether it would greatly affect road users, and now, the acquisition will certainly involve the people’s money.

“This was our argument from the beginning, when the AES was to be implemented. We asked why the AES should be privatised if it was really going to be implemented.

“We are not against road safety issues and so no, but it looks like it has gone back to the proposal which we first voiced out during the early stages of the implementation of the AES. If from the early stages of implementation a little of our opinions were considered, there would be no need to deal with this problem,” said the Deputy Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

Prior to this, during the early stages last year, when the AES was going to be implemented, in addition to disagreeing with the implementation of the AES, which was being done hastily, Pakatan Rakyat and the majority of road users also questioned the move for the government to pass the operation concessions of the AES to two private companies.

However, at the time, the government was adamant in going through with the implementation of the AES, with private companies operating it.

However, after the Economic Council Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday, Hishammuddin said that the government is considering acquiring the entire operation and enforcement of the AES from the current operators.

Local Authorities in Selangor have Started Installing 414 CCTV to Curb Crime

8

KUALA LANGAT, August 21: 12 Local Authorities (LA) in Selangor have started installing a total of 414 units of closed-circuit cameras (CCTVs) to fight crime and conduct other monitoring.

The President of the Kuala Langat District Council (MDKL), Mohd Azhar Mohamed Ali said that the State Government has allocated RM6 million a year for the provision of the CCTVs after signing a 20-year contract with the appointed private company.

He said that the 24-hour monitoring system is focused on locations identified by the police as being high risk in crime, in addition to helping LAs in other aspects.

“With the installation of the CCTVs, those who want to commit crime and so on will be fearful,” he told TVSelangor yesterday.

The official handover of the project, which started on 26 May 2011, happened yesterday, with MDKL as the pilot and first district to install the CCTVs.

The overall cost of the installation project for 11 Local Authorities, not including the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), is RM117,244,800.

The cameras are also linked with the Kuala Langat District Police Headquarters through a digital operating system.

In addition to the safety aspect, Mohd Azhar said that the Selangor Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) project will also be used to improve the quality of traffic control and monitoring of public facilities from vandalism.

Manifesto Implementation Forum, State Government Returns to the People

7

SHAH ALAM, August 21: The Selangor Government will hold a public forum to gather the people’s opinion in implementing the Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto which was launched in the 13th General Election (GE-13).

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said, the forum will be held at the local authority level and is expected to take place mid-September.

“This forum will involve the people’s representatives who will take part in discussions with the public. The public will be given the opportunity to voice their views on the implementation of this manifesto,” he said after chairing the Exco meeting here at the State Secretariat Building today.

The forum will be headed by the State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) in collaboration with the Chief Minister’s Office.

Abdul Khalid added that all responses from the people in the forum will be collected by each standing committee to be used in the preparation of the 2014 Budget.

“The Selangor Government is confident and believes that public opinion is important in ensuring all policies and plans outlined in the manifesto meets the target groups,” he said.

He explained that the forum will also serve as a platform for the State Government to identify the needs of the people in order to use state revenues to reduce the income gap and the poverty rate through Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES) agendas.

“Pakatan Rakyat takes serious responsibility in managing the assets of the state properly in the best interest of the people,” he said.

Ops Cantas: 211 Criminals Apprehended in the 4-Day Operation

4

SHAH ALAM, August 20: The Selangor Contingent Police has apprehended 683 people suspected to be involved in criminal activities in the Special Ops Cantas which was launched on Saturday.

The Acting Chief of the Selangor Police, DCP Datuk A.Thaiveegan said from the amount, 211 of them were found to be involved in various criminal offences.

“Through the four-day operation which ended early this morning, we have found 211 people to have been involved in a number of criminal offences and some of them are indeed wanted by the police in addition to those of them who own dangerous weapons and drugs.

“All of them have been remanded for further investigation while others have been released from the investigation,” he said in a press statement at the State Contingent Headquarters in Shah Alam today.

All of them were arrested after the police carried out surprise inspections at entertainment premises, 24-hour restaurants, through road-blocks as well as locations where criminals were suspected to gather at.

Through the operation, the Selangor Contingent Police also confiscated 11 machetes, 5 knives, 1 toy gun, burglary tools, 92 batons, 7 cars, 5 motorcycles, 10 mobile phones and drugs of various kinds.

All of them were arrested under the Prevention of Crime Act and complete investigation will be conducted prior to submission of prosecution.

Thaiveegan added that they have appealed to the court to issue a remand order to enable investigations to be carried out before submission of prosecution against them.

“Every day we will appeal to the court to issue a remand order to enable us to apprehend and conduct investigations.

“We will inform in the near future on the decision of how many people will be charged with this offence,” explained Thaiveegan.

Elaborating, Thaiveegan said that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) will intensify this operation throughout Selangor.

From the results of the investigation, PDRM found that recent shooting cases have been happening due to revenge while other factors include being hired to carry out the crime.

“We hope that the public will cooperate by channelling information if they happen to know or suspect any criminal activity to help us combat these activities,” he said.

Through a statement released in the PDRM Official Facebook Page yesterday, the operation will be conducted throughout the country and in the early stages, the Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan Police Contingents will pioneer the operation.

“Umno Has Even Tried to Ban PAS” – Idris Ahmad

8

SHAH ALAM, August 19: The attempt by the Egyptian interim government which took power to ban the Muslim Brotherhood party which won the elections in the country has previously been done by Umno against the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) in this country.

PAS leader, Ustaz Idris Ahmad said that during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era, Umno tried their best to ban the use of the word ‘Islam; in organisations, including for PAS.

“But Umno’s evil effort failed because the Council of Rulers rejected Umno and Dr Mahathir’s efforts,” said the Member of Parliament for Bukit Gantang.

According to Idris, the riot tragedy which is taking place in Egypt may not happen in Malaysia if PAS and Pakatan Rakyat rule the country.

“The scenario of overthrowing the Egyptian President, Dr Morsi by the country’s military is quite unlikely to happen in this country because Malaysia has a relatively unique government system.

“The system of constitutional democracy in this country, with the King, is part of a democratic system that will prevent such things.

“In terms of a military overthrowing this country like that is greedy, the violent ways which is happening in Egypt will probably not happen,” he said when contacted.

He said this when asked if PAS managed to govern Malaysia, will the scenario happening in Egypt happen in this country.

He said that the violence of the Egyptian Army did not fit in the context of this country in many ways.

He added that what could happen would be like the change of government in Perak by ‘jumping parties’.

In the meantime, Idris hopes that Malaysia will make a stand regarding the tragedy which is happening in Egypt.

“We also call on all Islamic organisations to have strong character and stay steadfast, and we are confident that we will win eventually,” he said.

After Anwar Criticized the Court, the Kota Merudu Petition went on Trial

5

SHAH ALAM, August 14: Only after Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made ‘noise’ criticising the rejection of the election results petition, the case by the People’s Justice Party (PKR) went on trial.

N Surendran said that the development was believed to be due to Anwar describing the court’s decision in relation to the election petition as giving an ugly picture.

The PKR Vice-President was referring to the Election Court’s decision today to accept the petition for the Kota Merudu Parliamentary seat to go on trial, two days after the PKR De Facto Leader’s press conference.

The Padang Serai MP hopes that more petitions filed by Pakatan Rakyat will go on trial at the Election Court because it is believed that most of the cases are strong.

“We hope that there will be changes after this is done by the judiciary because petitions are made accompanied by convincing evidence.

“It should be heard and not outright rejected,” he told TVSelangor this afternoon.

The Election Court allowed for the PKR petition for the Kota Merudu to go on trial – the first time for a seat won by BN in the 13th General Election.

The seat was won by BN candidate from PBS, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, who defeated the PKR candidate, Datuk Maijol Mahab and two other candidates.

Ongkili won with a majority of 842 votes after securing 15,168 votes against Maijol (14,326 votes), Majamis Timbong (2,228 votes) and Yuntau Kolod (444 votes).

This is the second petition received by the court to be tried after passing the first stage.

Previously, the same judge allowed for the petition submitted by BN against PKR candidate, Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Ukim, for the Klias state seat in Sabah to go on trial.

Pakatan Condemns the Murder of Hundreds of Egyptians

4

SHAH ALAM, August 14: Pakatan Rakyat condemns the massive invasion of Egypt, led by Interim President, Adly Mansour, early this morning, said Nasrudin Hassan.

“The incident is the most heinous, cruel and non-humanitarian act by the Egyptian regime against its own people.

“It happened in Raba’ah and in Madinah Nasr. Troops stormed the demonstrators through tear gas and snipers on top of buildings.

“What was more worrying was that ambulances were not allowed to enter Rabiatul Adawiyah which witnessed much bloodshed,” said the PAS Youth Chief.

In the incident, soldiers stormed thousands of demonstrators through tear gas and shot live ammunition causing death to over 200 martyrs and injury to over 8,000 people.

In a press statement today, Nasaruddin said that the Egyptian regime’s tyranny will not solve the bloody conflict in the country.

“Killing innocent people will not turn off the desire of millions of people who seek justice through genuine democratic process.

“Only the negotiation table and the return of the power mandate to the legitimate government which was elected by the people, which is Dr Mohammad Morsi, can restore peace and stability to the country,” he said.

Questioning the Malaysian government in dealing with the conflict in Egypt, he said that Malaysia should take steps by stating strong protests against the action.