Tag: State Representatives & Institutions

Malaysia Should Build a Sports Institute of Higher Learning

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SHAH ALAM, 8 Nov: The federal government should at least establish one institute of higher learning (IHL) dedicated to sports development in order to improve athlete’s’ level of professionalism in Malaysia.

The Exco in charge of Selangor Youth and Sports, Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, said that planned development of sports institutions will provide an opportunity for national athletes to continue their studies at the highest level, thus making sports as an important industry that will benefit the country.

He said that athletes can also improve their skills in events and games pursued more consistently with physical and scientific equipment through the establishment of the sports IHL.

“We will also be able to educate the public that sports is not just a side activity, but involves a good future career with a high level of certification,” he said when contacted by Selangor Kini today.

He was asked to comment on the motion presented by the Member of Parliament for Kota Bharu, Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, who suggested in the House of Representatives yesterday for the federal government to establish a sports university college to produce athletes that are not only excellent, but are of high intellect.

Ahmad Yunus said that he also proposed for the Bukit Jalil area to be the location of the IHL development to reduce the cost of construction if the central government agrees.

“Perhaps the development of the first sports IHL in the country can be done in Selangor, as the focus state in the development of Malaysia. We also have the Shah Alam Stadium which is recognised as the best stadium in the country.

“Therefore, I hope that the central government will consider this proposal and make it happen, at least before year 2020,” he said.

Malaysia’s Economic Development Must be Implemented in a Free and Fair Fashion

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SHAH ALAM, 8 Nov: The economic development in Malaysia still requires international investment and trade; however its implementation should be done freely and fairly.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that over 60 percent of economic opportunities are still dependent on international trade due to the country’s small internal market since the Malaysian economy began to grow till now.

He said that the matter can be seen if we refer to the Trans-Pacific Agreement (TPPA) which is now in the process of negotiations with the federal government.

“Each person must accept the fact and agree that we cannot run away from making international trade relations and it looks like no one is objecting to it.

“However, it should be noted that although it is accepted, responsible parties should ensure the the trade agreement which is signed is fair to us,” he said.

He said this in front of about 100 participants comprising of state employees, government linked companies (GLCs) and local authorities at a TPPA Briefing event held here at the Silver Jubilee Hall today.

The TPPA Briefing session was presented by a three-member panel consisting of Professor Gus Van Harten (Canada), Pablo Solon (Bolivia) and Cecilia Olivet (Uruguay), and was also participated by Member of Parliament for Klang, Charles Santiago.

Commenting of the TPPA, Abdul Khalid said that the agreement which is to be signed by the Central Government early next year may also have an impact on the state government.

“For example, if the TPPA states that the awarding of contracts should be open to all, including multinational corporations, but the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) gives the opportunity to Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the name of wanting to help the community, we could be sued.

“They can also take Selangor to court for failing to comply with the conditions set in the agreement and we might be sued and cause losses to the people,” he said.

Abdul Khalid, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bandar Tun Razak, hopes that the briefing held would provide knowledge to the public in understanding the effects of the TPPA, in addition to asking the Central Government to make a decision which will benefit the people.

Selangor the First State to Approve Swiftlet Licence

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SHAH ALAM, 8 Nov: Selangor became the first state to approve the granting of licence for the farming and operating industry of swiftlet nests through an intensive package offer that is fair to existing farmers and operators, with effect from 1 January 2014.

Executive Councillor for Local Government, Studies and Research, Datuk Teng Chang Khim, said that implementation of the policy was decided by the State Government Council Meeting (MMKN) after holding a dialogue session with associations and operators of the industry on 25 September.

He said that the implementation will be done through the enforcement of Rearing of Swiftlet and Manufacturing of Swiftlets’ Nest By-laws 2013 in all Local Authorities in the state of Selangor.

“In the consideration process, the state government took into account several factors including the interests and problems of operators, in addition to the interest of the public in terms of hygiene, disease control, sound pollution, negative impact on property prices as well and building a comfortable city,” he said in a press statement at his office here today.

At the same time, Teng explained several key points of the implementation of the licencing policy which needs to be observed by swiftlet farmers and operators as decided at the MMKN.

“All breeders and operators on agricultural land will be granted licence starting 1 January, 2014. Breeders and operators of existing business premises will receive licences starting form 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016, while breeders and operators on paddy fields will be given licences from 1 January 2014 to 1 December 2020.

“For breeders and operators in business premises as well as paddy fields, they will be given incentives which includes licensing fees, free quite rent and assessment for five years at the new site if they move their premises to existing farming sites within the period the licence is granted,” he said.

Chang Kim said that the granting of licence is subject to conditions provided for under the by-laws and all operators and breeders have to submit licence application no lter than 31 December this year.

“Licence application for operation in business premises and paddy fields, whether existing or new, will not be considered after 31 December this year and all applications will be submitted to the relevant local authorities.

“We hope that with the granting of this licence, breeders and operators of the swiftlet nest industry in Selangor will grow in an orderly manner, thus benefiting the economic development of the state,” he said.

Norazita Asked Her Children to Study Hard Before She Was Shot

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SHAH ALAM, 8 Nov: “Mom asked me and my brother to study hard,” said the eldest son of the late banker, Norazita Abu Talib, who was shot by a security guard at the USJ Ambank on 23 October.

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Nurisa Nabilah Irwan, 12, said that her late mother’s message still remains in her memory and her brother’s, Muhammad Hazimi Irwan, 8, and it will continue to be the strength for them to excel in their studies.

Nurisa, who just finished taking the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR), said that the loss of Norazita is a blow to her and Hazim, but support from their father, Irwan Kamaruddin, makes them strong.

Meanwhile, Irwan, 37, who works as a personal driver, also expressed his gratitude for the contributions and concern of the state government which is trying to help ease the burden of their family.

“All tasks previously shouldered by my late wife is now my responsibility. Now, I have the responsibility as both, a mother and father to my children.

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“I hope that the police could quickly solve this case as find a solution so it does not recur and no other family would have to face this situation,” he said.

Irwan said this when meeting with Selangor Kini after the state government’s contribution of RM5,000 was delivered by the Exco for Welfare and Women’s Affairs, Rodziah Ismail, and was also attended by the Assemblywoman for Taman Medan, Haniza Talhah, here at their home yesterday.

Rodziah said that the state government is ready to help in the form of legal advice if Irwan takes the matter to court for a lawsuit.

“This lawsuit is not meant for revenge, but it is more towards ensuring that all parties, especially the management of companies, are more sensitive in the selection of security members so that such an incident will not recur.

“We will also provide assistance in the form of legal advice and counsel so that Irwan will get a comprehensive explanation on this case,” said Rodziah.

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PKR Criticises 2 Assemblymen in Sabah who Jumped Party

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SHAH ALAM, 8 Nov: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vehemently criticised the unethical actions of two PKR leaders from Sabah who left the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component party recently.

PKR Vice-President, Tian Chua, said that the action of the two leaders, who are also Assemblymen, is deemed as a huge betrayal to the people of Malaysia, especially Sabah.

He said that the irresponsible attitude clearly betrays the trust given by the people of Sabah during the 13th General Election (GE-13).

“Their claim that they had both lost confidence in the party leadership is just a ploy and a simple excuse to justify their betrayal.

“The actions of these Assemblymen who jumped party is the usual modus operandi of Barisan Nasional (BN) in Sabah to weaken the fighting spirit of the people who want change,” he said.

Thus, he said, PKR urges the people of Sabah to be united and not let the dirty tricks of BN divide the fighting spirit and reformation of PR.

Rumours that the desire of Assemblyman of Matunggong, Jailani Hamdan, and the Assemblyman of Kadamaian, Jeremy Malajad @ Malazah, to leave the party has been brought to attention when they were absent in a meeting with PKR General Chief, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, last week.

Jeremy, in a statement, stressed his move to leave PKR and support BN is to enable the constituency that he represents to enjoy development.

He announced his decision to become an independent MP and also resigned as the state’s PKR Information Chief, with immediate effect, recently.

Malaysia to Face Lawsuit if TPPA is Signed

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KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Nov: The Malaysian Government will face the risk of lawsuits from giant firms if they insist on implementing the investment dispute settlement (ISDS) by signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah, said that although many believe that the ISDS is important because it has been adopted in many countries, but the mechanism would only benefit foreign investors and cause local investors to fall into the second class.

She said that the government has been urged to create a special fund in case Malaysia is sued by giant companies at a high cost, in addition to advising them to accept the TPPA post-signing risk.

“This is a serious problem if the agreement is signed without knowing the burden to be shouldered by the country and it would affect future generations as well as the Malaysian economy.

“Leaders of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have met with ISDS experts and we think that we cannot accept it without carefully looking at the black and white of every chapter of the TPPA to be signed by Malaysia,” she said in a press conference at Parliament today.

She said that PR has never rejected any trade dealings; however the implementation of the law may entrap many parties and should not be adopted.

She said that the TPPA should be stopped, especially since the United States have been found to be spying on Malaysia by using their embassy and high commission in Kuala Lumpur.

“We must stop this, especially after finding out what is being done by the US to Malaysia, and the government should seek clarification.

“Malaysia should emulate the European Union and stop US banking access after knowing that they were conducting surveillance on the country,” she said.

Residents Representative Committee has Political Aims and to Seize Power from Local Authorities

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KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Nov: The Residents Representative Committee (JPP) which was established by the federal government to support community development programmes is deemed to have political aims and attempts a coup from the state government and local authorities.

Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru, Sim Tze Tzin, said that the function of the JPP which is proposed by the central government is similar to the duties of council members and may be in violation of the Constitution.

He said that the JPP which is concentrated in urban areas will target local authorities in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state and may be aimed at competing with council members appointed by the state government.

“The establishment of the JPP was decided after Barisan Nasional (BN) failed to win the majority vote from the population of urban areas during the 13th General Election.

“We suspect that the federal government wants to centralise power by establishing the JPP as ‘Appointed Council Members of the Federal Government’ which is clearly in contradiction with the Constitution because local authorities are under the jurisdiction of the state government.

“I urge for the local government and state government to take not on this initiative,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

He said that it would be better is the government allows for the implementation of local government elections to be held to give a larger mandate to the administration of local authorities.

He said that the election will be guaranteed to make existing council members more effective in administration and municipality.

“The establishment of the JPP is just a waste of time and provisions because it would limit the power of local authorities, which are actually under the jurisdiction of the state government. The federal government should take heed that the power of local authorities lies under the state government and avoid from breach of power,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a budget allocation of RM63 million to set up 24 JPP zones in every local authority on 2 October.

The JPP will act as a single entity consisting of representatives of the local community to support community development programmes, while addressing urban issues in local authority areas, and the latest initiative is the result of feedback indicating that most of the urban population do not clearly understand government funded programmes during the GE-13.

Cost of Fuel and Maintenance of 7 Executive Jets Reach RM182 million a Year

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KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Nov: The Central Government is allegedly continuing to be wasteful when spending RM182 million a year on the cost of fuel and maintenance of seven executive planes (VVIP) in all official government business.

Member of Parliament for Seremban, Anthony Loke, said that the cost is allocated for 372 international and domestic flights to 339 different destinations for the use of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Deputy Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in 2012.

He said that the average for each flight is estimated to reach RM489,000 a day if the amount is divided with the period of one year.

“Why is it that everytime Najib and Muhyiddin has affairs abroad, they use executive jets that cost so high compared to first class commercial air-crafts which are more economical.

“Government leaders ask the people to be prudent in spending when they themselves fail to set a good example in cutting costs,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

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Anthony also does not rule out the possibility that the planes are used by Barisan Nasional (BN) for the previous election campaign.

It is understood that the executive planes include a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), Global Express (1), Falcon (1), Blackhawk (1), Agusta (2) and Fokker F28 (1) which has been retired and presented to the Royal Malaysian Airforce Museum (RMAF).

Earlier, Anthony revealed Najib and Muhyiddin’s spendthrift attitude when the electricity bills for the Seri Perdana Complex reached over RM2.2 million, while RM300,000 was spent on water in 2012.

For the Sri Satria Complex, RM865,000 was spent on electricity bills while water bills amounted to RM99,264.

Power Distribution Reform

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KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Nov: Malaysia needs to implement a decentralisation of power of a total reform to the distribution of power in efforts to make the government more efficient.

Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru (PKR), Sim Tze Tzin, said that decentralisation process allows for power to be distributed more equally between the federal and state government, as well as the local authorities.

“For example, in the United States, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is collected by the local government and not the federal government.

“This similar in our neighbouring country, Indonesia, which implements the ‘Big Bang Policy’ a decentralisation of the central government to local governments,” he said during the Budget 2014 debate at the Parliamentary session last night.

Tze Tzin said that power that should be under the state government was transferred to the central government, including land and water, since independence.

The centralisation of power has not only caused various problems or left local issues hanging, but it has also increased the national debt.

“Malaysia has 35 ministers and 26 deputy ministers, but Australia, with a population which is about the same, only has 19 ministers, while Obama only needs 15 ministers.

“This centralisation of power has caused the operating budget to be huge and it has jumped up to 82.4 percent, compared to development expenses of a 17.6 percent growth rate,” he said.

Tourism Selangor and MPS Committed to the Success of VMY 2014

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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.

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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.

Selangor Government Help Residents of Kampung Buloh Telor Overcome Riverbank Collapse

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KUALA KUBU BAHRU, 7 Nov: The residents of Kampung Buloh Telor can now heave a sigh of relief as the riverbank collapse, destroying the only road linking the Orang Asli village, will be fully repaired soon.

Reparation work will involve the construction of a retaining wall at the bank and resurfacing of the damaged roads will be done with provisions channelled through the State Government.

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The Assemblywoman for Kuala Kubu Bahru, Lee Kee Heong, said that the first stage of the construction of the retaining wall in the village of about 150 people from 37 Orang Asli families has already been completed.

“Although this is the responsibility of the Federal Government under the Department of Orang Asli Affairs Development (JHEOA), I ask the State Government to provide allocations to facilitate the residents of the village from entering and exiting.

“There are two parts of the river bank that needs to be repaired, where one has already been completed and for the other, I need to ask for new provisions from the State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN).

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“This is because when UPEN officers previously visited, some of the collapse was covered by trees and bushes, causing this part to not be seen at the time,” she said when visiting the construction site of the retaining wall and road at Kampung Buloh Telor.

Kee Heong added that the first stage of the construction reached a cost of RM19,000, while the cost of the second part and road reparation is still under UPEN’s evaluation.

Meanwhile, the Tok Batin (village chief) of Kampung Buloh Telor, Harun Adam, said that the riverbank collapse started in March dues to heavy rains.

“Since then, the road has been damaged and has become narrow because of the riverbank collapse. But with the help of the State Government, I hope that this problem can be completely resolved thus facilitating residents of the village.

“Thanks to YB Kee Heong and the State Government for this assistance which will make it easier for villagers to go about their daily business,” said Harun.

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State Government Committed in Helping Improve Infrastructure in Orang Asli Village

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KUALA KUBU BHARU, 6 Nov: The Selangor Government is committee in helping improve the standard of living of the residents in Kampung Buloh Telor by providing various infrastructures to facilitate residents of the Orang Asli (indigenous) village.

Among the facilities that have already been channelled includes basic necessities such as running water and electricity to be enjoyed by 37 families in the village.

Today, the Assemblywoman for Kuala Kubu Bharu, Lee Kee Heong, said that the move demonstrated the seriousness of the State Government in helping the group compared to the Federal Government.

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“After over 50 years without electricity, the State Government is the first to install metered electricity in the houses of villagers and only after that, the Federal Government took note and supplied electricity.

“If at the time the Federal Government refused to supply electricity, the State Government would supply it,” said Kee Heong during a visit to the construction site of the retaining wall and roads here in Kampung Buloh Telor.

Selangor Kini understands that with efforts from the Exco of Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment, Elizabeth Wong, the cost to install metered electricity in houses will also be shouldered by the State Government.

Meanwhile, the villages have also started to enjoy piped water for over a year as a result of efforts from the State Government.

In addition, infrastructures have also been improved with the installation of streetlights, the provision of badminton courts, bus stops and speakers at the village mosque.

“Many things have been done by the adopted Assemblyman, Lau Weng Sang (Assemblyman for Kampung Tunku) prior to this, as well as the Jom Shopping (Let’s Go Shopping) programme in conjunction with the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.

“We also took about seven Muslim families and they were happy to be shopping at Econsave for the first time,” she added.

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