Tag: State Institutions

Community Urged to Avoid Careless Attitude and Forget to Prevent Fire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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KPRU: ‘Crippled’ Enforcement the Cause of the Increase of Serious Criminal Cases

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SHAH ALAM, August 3: The increase in serious criminal cases is due to the crippled law enforcement process and the judicial process in this country, said the Political Studies for Change (KPRU) think tank.

Thus, KPRU urged the authorities to review and improve weaknesses in the process of law enforcement which included investigation, evidence collection, prosecution and also judicial proceedings.

“It was found that a total of 31 cases of assault or murder involving firearms have happened in the short period of four months, from April to July 2013.

“Where 43 were victimised; including 22 lives lost and 21 injured.

“And in the month of July alone, there has been 14 cases of shootouts,” said KPRU in a media statement.

KPRU explained that studies being carried out by the Penang Institute show that in the first four months of 2013, there have been more shooting cases than in 2012, with a record of 38 cases.

KPRU this averages it to two shooting cases in a week.

“By considering both studies, from KPRU and Penang Institute, it is clear that shoot-and-murder cases have been happening consistently throughout the first seven months of this year, without a break, on an average of two cases per week.

“The high frequency triggers anxiety and fear among the community,” explained the think tank.

KPRU added that the government is urged to focus on improving police investigation and not to create new prevention laws to solve serious crimes in Malaysia.

“The disproportionate distribution of police force is the factor of police failure in solving the crisis of increased crime which has gotten more serious in this country,” said KPRU.

Selangor Civil Servants Happy to Receive Raya Bonus

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SHAH ALAM, July 30: Civil servants of Selangor expressed joy when the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced the Raya Bonus of one month’s salary for them last week.

Most of them who were met, whether they are single or have a family, were thankful for the bonus which can be used in preparation to celebrate the Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eif al-Fitr) soon.

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For Nurul Amirah Razaly, 22, from the Drainage and Irrigation Department, said that she was thrilled with the gift as it is the first bonus she has received.

“I feel excited because this is the first time I am receiving a special Hari Raya assistance since I started working,” she said.

She added that the assistance would help her ease the parent’s burden.

“This year would exactly one year since I have worked here, I didn’t expect to receive it. Previously, I have only heard of a half month’s salary bonus, so this time is more that expected. With this contribution, I am able to give it to my parents who are now retired,” she said when met.

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Civil servant in the Law Office, Azlan Mansor, 32, said that Raya contribution would help heads of households to spend in the early preparation of the celebration.

“I am grateful to be given this special assistance, especially now that it is close to the Hari Raya celebration. So I can use the money to buy Hari Raya necessities for both my children and my wife.

Also sharing the joy was Ahmad Fadli Yahya, 31, a staff in the Office of the State Government Press Secretary who said that the assistance was a relief and eases the burdens of civil servants, especially the middle-income group.

He said that the amount is also sufficient to support civil servants across the state to spend in lieu of the festive season.

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“I hope that with this gift, recipients can spend wisely and prudently,” he said.
Additionally, Hamidah Hamid, 52, a staff at the Department of the Auditor General described this assistance as contribution and attentiveness from the State Government.

However, the mother of four hopes that the Federal Government will provide the same assistance as the State Government.

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“In Selangor, we get more. Other states only receive it from the Central Government. So it is not fair to other civil servants. Seeing that goods are now expensive, let the contribution be done equally. However, I am still happy and grateful,” she said.

Last week, the State Government allocated RM30 million to pay a bonus of one month’s salary to 21,776 permanent, contract and part-time staff.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister only announced a special assistance of RM500 to civil servants for Grade 1 to Grade 54 at the central level.

PKNS Hosts Integrity Conference on July 8

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SHAH ALAM, June 28: The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) will host ‘A Conference On Integrity And Good Corporate Governance In Public And Private Sector’ at the Shah Alam Convention Centre (SACC) here on July 8.

Integrity Manager, S Normalis Abd Samad said that the one-day conference will be officiated by the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

Among the topics to be discussed is how the element of integrity can help in the success of an organisation or a company.

He said that PKNS targets about 600 participants for the conference from public and private sectors.

“This is the second conference organised by PKNS; the first conference took place on June 11 last year.

“This time, we have invited panel members from within and outside the country. Among them is the former Deputy Commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Daniel Ming Chak Li.

“We hope that his presence will garner good response towards this conference.

“The main panel members consist of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed,” he said in a press conference here.

In addition, the conference will also feature other panelists such as the President of Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M), Datuk Akhbar Satar; the Director of NKRA Againt Corruption, Datuk Hisham Nordin; the President of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM), Datuk Dr Mohd Tap Salleh; the Governor of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG), Margaret Chin; the Executive Director, Chief Secretary of Law and Nestle Corporate Company (M) Berhad, Mohd Shah Hashim as well as the Editor from The Sun Special Investigation Team, R Nadeswaran.

Normalis said that PKNS is among the first agencies to establish an integrity department since June last year and have implemented initiatives directed by the MACC in the guidelines set.

“We will hold this conference every year by making it an annual programme,” he said.

He added that since PKNS started practicing the open tender system, it has recorded savings totalling to RM98.4 million, while for quotations, the savings made was nine percent, both of which are for the previous year.

He said a total of 22 complaints involving several issues including the improvement of the work system and process have been received since the introduction of the Whistleblowing Policy.

Abdul Khalid Meets KETTHA to Discuss Water Restructuring Next Week

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DAMANSARA, June 18: Preliminary discussions regarding the restructuring of the water industry with the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water is expected to be held next week.

Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim informed that an appointment has already been arranged by his office with the ministry.

He said that the meeting with the Ministry will be personally attended by him.

“As we know, the Minister of Water, Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili previously stated his readiness to meet me to discuss this matter.

“Therefore, I will meet with the Ministry next week,” he told reporters after the Cheque Ceremony from sponsors of the Golf Worldwide Holdings Championship here at the Seri Selangor Club.

Abdul Khalid added that the appointment will be held in advance before detailed discussions are held regarding the issue.

The water industry restructuring process was initiated by the Pakatan Rakyat Government last year as an effort to acquire the operations of supply, treatment and distribution from four private companies.

The State Government has offered RM9.65 billion to acquire the four companies and so far, they have responded positively to the offer.

During the ceremony today, Abdul Khalid said that the prize of RM4.35 million, including four Toyota cars, was offered for the golf tournament which will take place from 20 to 23 June.

The sixth Pro Am Golf Tournament features last year’s champion, Thaworn Wiratchant (Thailand) who is expected to defend his title.

Also competing is Lin Wen Tang (Chinese Taipei), Scott Hend (Australia) and Anirbon Lahiri (India).

Prepare Alternative Placement for Residents of Kampung Desa Pengasih

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SUBANG JAYA, June 16: Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim informed that the Selangor District and Land Officer has submitted a proposal to resolve the issue of the residents of Kampung Desa Pengasih who were ordered to leave their placement last May.

According to Abdul Khalid, among the contents of the proposal is to provide alternative placement for the affected residents in the near future.

“The District Officer did not allow the demolition to take place and there have been discussions between residents and the developer so that this problem can be solved,” he said in a press conference here after officiating the Opening Ceremony and Branding of the 3C Complex yesterday evening.

It was reported that the villagers began to receive notices of a court order asking them to vacate the area in 2012, and the company began to file initial summons against the residents on 14 May 2013 through the Shah Alam High Court.

The notice stated that all affected residents need to vacate the area no later than 28 May.

However, residents appealed to postpone the evacuation by pleading for kindness from the involved parties to provide a placement for them as well as to claim for compensation for crops cultivated over the years.

The residents also claimed to have not received the compensation of RM7,500 by a Federal Government Linked Company (GLC) as promised from the land their homes are on.

It is understood that the land area of 217.5794 hectares was requested by the residents when Selangor was under BN and former Chief Minister, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib on 8 September 1992.

However, the residents’ application status was unknown until 2004, when the land was requested by the GLC.

The application was then approved by Dr Mohd Khir, for the purpose of building a university. However, the development of the university had not been pursued.

MPK Asks the Public to be Attentive of Handicapped Parking

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KLANG, 6 June: The Klang Municipal Council (MKP) asks the public to be attentive of parking space reserved for People With Disabilities (PWD).

The Acting President of MPK, Ehsan Mukri said that that the towing system which has been practiced since two years ago is to teach the public to park their vehicles at parking lots provided by the Local Authorities (PBT).

“The public do not park their cars the right way. The purpose of the car towing system is to educate the public.

“In terms of statistics, this year alone, we have acted on offences at 11 PWD parking spaces and the number of civilians who obstructed traffic flow is 776,” he said in a press conference here today.

In today’s operations, MPK towed a vehicle parked at a PWD parking lot at Bandar Baru Klang.

For the offence, MPK imposed a fine of RM300.

Additionally, Ehsan informed that they have built a multi-storey car park to overcome this problem. However, this parking space did not receive good response form the public.

“The issue is that the public do not want to use this car park. We were told that there are security issues, developers called and they have provided security.

“This multi-storey car park is not only unsuccessful in Klang but for other Local Authorities. Our task is to educate so that the system is implemented,” he added.

He explained that MPK will continue to work to increase the number of parking spaces in Klang, including working with developers for the purpose.

Apart from Bandar Baru Klang, several areas such as Klang Selatan and Jalan Tengku Kelana are also involved.

Chegu Bard Charged Under the Peaceful Assembly Act

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PETALING JAYA, JUNE 4th – Solidarity for Malaysian Young People (SAMM) Chairman Badrul Hisham Shahrin is to face the Petaling Jaya Magistrate Court at 9am tomorrow for the charge under Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

Badrul Hisham was served the warrant summoning him to appear in court at the Media Room, PKR Headquarters.

He was served the warrant at 1.40 pm at a meeting with an officer from the Petaling Jaya Police Headquarters which lasted 10 minutes.

Badrul Hisham is allegedly involved in the organisation of the People’s Voice Assembly 505 on the 25th of May at the east field of Petaling Jaya Municipal Council.

If convicted, Badrul would be facing a fine of no more than RM!0,000.

In further explanation, Badrul suggested that he is being charged for failing to inform the police about the assembly 10 days prior to the event as stated in the act.

However, he expressed complete faith in his lawyers and the judiciary in solving the matter.

“Yesterday, a group of policemen came to my home and my mother’s home in search of me but they failed to locate me.”

“When I learnt about it today, I personally called them to arrange a meeting,” he announced to the reporters.

He also added that he felt the charge was an abuse of the current laws as the same laws are not applied to programs organised by Umno-BN.

“Why are these laws not applied to pro-BN programs?”

“I can list a thousand Umno-BN programs and yet no such action has been taken against them.”

In a comment, he said that the legal system in Malaysia is beginning to resemble a class system.

“It seems that ordinary people like me who do not support BN have legal action taken against us but followers of BN are allowed to move about freely.”

Abdul Khalid: PR Targets 45 Seats for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly

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KLANG, 12 Apr: Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said Selangor Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) is able to reach their target of winning up to 45 State Legislative Assembly seats in the 13th General Elections (GE-13).

“Now we have won 36 seats, our goal is to get 45, that is our target,” he said that PR has to work as a team to reach the target.

Abdul Khalid said this at a press conference at the Education Fund Presentation to the Selangor Islamic Education Foundation (YAPIS) Ceremony held at the Tahfiz Al-Quran Sofiuddin Complex (KOMTAS), Kampung Sungai Delek, Klang, here today.

In the meantime, PKR will announce the list of candidates who will be contesting in Selangor on 14 April at the AU2 Football Field in Hulu Klang.

Next, Selangor PR will announce all the candidates of the coalition, including the presentation of the manifesto on 17 April, at the Shah Alam Independence Square.

During the GE-12, Selangor PR beat Umno-BN, which only won 20 State Legislative Seats, to form the State Government in 2008.

The People of the Federal Territory Will Receive Water Shares If PR Conquers Putrajaya

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BANDAR TUN RAZAK, 11 Apr: The residents of Federal Territory has the opportunity of acquiring water shares as a result of the restructuring of Selangor’s water industry if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) successfully gains control of the country’s administration after the 13th General Elections (GE-13).

Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that this effort can be implemented based on his experience as the Chief Executive Officer of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).

When he was in PNB, he successfully implemented giving out eight million shares to Malaysians, including the famous schemes, Amanah Saham Nasional and Amanah Saham Bumiputera.

“So this is not a dream but why could it not be done by them (BN) who did not do this because they are not interested in the interests of the people.

“Today, we have chosen two teams, one from Pakatan Rakyat and another from Umno-BN”.

“Where one is thinking about corporate profits (BN) and another thinks about the people’s profit (Pakatan Rakyat),” said Abdul Khalid.

He said this curing the Pakatan Rakyat talk held at the Jalan Jujur football here yesterday.

Previously, Abdul Khalid announced his intention to distribute Selangor water shares to five million Selangorians if PR is given the mandate to govern again.

The offer of this water share is another translation of his ambition as a Chief Minister who wants the people of Selangor to own the wealth of the state.

40 Percent of Malays Remain Poor Under Umno

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BANDAR TUN Razak, 11 Apr: Umno-BN has allegedly failed to defend and fight for the rights and interests of Malays and Bumiputeras when facts have proven that about 40 percent of the said community only earns below RM1,400.

PKR De Facto Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that although Umno-BN has ruled for more than 50 years, it has still failed to reduce the income disparity between the rich and the poor.

“The majority earn RM1,400 and below…but Umno still says: Long Live Malays! But Umno Malays are rich. They receive shares, taxi permits, timber and land,” he said.

Anwar said this in front of more than 5,000 people in a talk at the football field in Jalan Jujur here.

Anwar stressed that the economic disparity exists due to BN policies that adopts the practice of cronyism so much so that the national wealth lingers around corporate elites who are close to political leaders of the country.

“Syed Mohktar, RM10 billion, Mokhzani Mahathir RM2.2 billion, Mirzan Mahathir RM2.9 billion, Najibs brothers are also worth billions, Taib Mahmud, tens of billions. The People? RM2, 000. This means they are poor,” he said.

Anwar also revealed how Umno leaders are willing to cheat the people by hiding their weaknesses so much so that the main problem faced by the people has never been resolved.

“Ask Umno-BN leaders, What about prices? The answer is that it is controlled. The people’s income? The people are all happy, Corruption? Only a little.

“This are Umno leaders, they do not understand the suffering of the people. Who does not know that this country is rich? Oil revenues reach RM80 billion per year but the income is still at the old level,” he said.

EC: “Can Use Government Cars Until 20 April”

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PUTRAJAYA, 10 Apr: The Chairman of the Election Commission (EC), Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said that government vehicles can be used until 20 April, the date the campaigning period starts for the 13th General Elections (GE-13).

“I do not want to comment on this question. I do not know the details.

“In general, all government assets cannot be used for campaigning. But the campaigning period has not started yet.

“It only starts after the nomination. There is no campaigning now. The caretaker government can do anything which is covered under the law.

“Campaigning only starts on 20 April,” he answered briefly when asked about the use of government assets by the Umno-BN Caretaker Government after the date of the dissolution of Parliament on 3 April.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders previously vowed to return state government vehicles and to not use state government assets for election campaign purposes.

The action is one of the principles of the PR interim government code of ethics.

Until now, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Umno-BN leaders refused to follow suit and have even been alleged to have violated the ethics of the caretaker government when announcing mega projects and new spending of public funds.

Abdul Aziz said that the campaigning period only starts after the nomination of candidates on 20 April and ends at 12.00 midnight on 4 May 2013.

The EC also reminded all political parties to take care of their respective members during the campaigning period to ensure the smooth running of the GE-13.

The GE-13 to be held on 5 May will see the battle for 22 Parliamentary seats and 505 State Legislative seats by the two Malaysian political superpowers, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional (BN) to form the Federal Government at the State Governments