Tag: Unity

Pakatan Budget: Establish Parliamentary Oversight Committee to Review Defence Expenditure

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KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Oct: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has proposed the establishment of a bipartisan Defence Accounts Committee to look into defence expenditure

This is in view of the huge budget allocation for defence and security worth RM23 billion under the 10th Malaysia Plan.

With the establishment of the committee, PR estimates a total savings of nearly RM3.5 billion in defence procurement.

The budget presented also showed that there is no oversight over defence purchases and procurement. The Public Accounts Committee only oversees all other types of government spending not classified as official secrets.

Pakatan Rakyat reiterated that the procurement process, including the decision making committees, should consist of members of the ruling coalition and opposition in consultation with civilian expert groups.

Negotiations should be done to avoid potential corrupt practices and purchase of ‘unnecessary’ equipment that are not strategic at any point of time, especially when taking account the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA).

The Budget also cited the example that the prospect of a conventional military attack on Malaysia has diminished under the FPDA, which may not warrant the purchase of certain new equipment for the next three to five years and in turn would save the country billions of ringgit.

These savings can be used for the development of in-house defence research and development that will help reduce over-dependence on foreign military equipment.

Another potential saving is by leveraging on civilian defence experts who can provide useful insight into the latest defence technology and equipments, thus maximising tactical strategy and the use of capital resources.

BERSIH 2.0: No SOSMA Amendments Without Consultation

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PRESS STATEMENT

Statement on Section 203A of the Penal Code and Amendments to the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA)

BERSIH 2.0 is gravely concerned over the effects of recently-passed and upcoming legislation on the increasingly fragile human rights situation in Malaysia. Yesterday, Section 203A of the Penal Code was passed by Dewan Rakyat, despite strenuous objection over the broad nature of its wording and its effect on the fight against corruption. The new section effectively penalises whistleblowers who expose corruption and government misconduct, all of which are clearly matters of public interest, while protecting wrongdoers under legislatively mandated secrecy.

Today, yet another draconian bill is set to be rammed through Parliament in the same manner. This bill seeks to extend the scope of to the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) by bringing offences under Chapters VI, VIA and VIB of the Penal Code and anti-trafficking laws into the ambit of special security offences.

We view with repugnance the manner in which such bills that curtail fundamental freedoms are being rushed through Parliament, without consulting all stakeholders including the citizens whom the Government claim to protect. The conduct of this Government after the 13th General Election goes against all representations made by the Prime Minister that Malaysia is becoming the “best democracy” in the world.

We demand that this Government act responsibly and engage in full consultation with all stakeholders over the recently-passed legislation as well as any upcoming amendments before they are brought into force. We are watching closely as to whether the Government will be following up on the statement by Hajjah Nancy Shukri, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Law, that she is seeking further amendments to Section 203A, recognizing that the provision was too general.

No new law should be made without proper consultation. Anything less will mean that the Government has scant regard for individual freedoms and for the views of the rakyat. It further throws into doubt the Government’s will to fulfill promises made to uphold human rights in this country.

The rakyat is committed to transparency and accountability. Will the Government follow our lead?

BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee
Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0)

Selangor Channels RM50,000 to Help Victims of Cameron Highlands Disaster

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SHAH ALAM, 24 Oct: The Selangor State Government today announced that immediate assistance of RM50,000 will be channeled to victims of the disaster and destruction in Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands.

Exco for Selangor State Government Welfare, Rodziah Ismail said that the assistance is aimed at reducing the burden of victims because of the property damage suffered in the flash floods early yesterday morning.

“The Government and the people of Selangor would like to express empathy towards all victims, whether dead or alive, and their families.

May God give them the courage and patience for them to get through and bounce back from the disaster that hit,” she said in a press statement today.

Rodziah said she hopes that the responsible parties will take heed to comply with safety measures and give priority to save human lives.

“The death of three people as a result of the flash floods that hit Bertam Valley is very sad. Procedures and safety measures, and saving lives should be given priority to overcoming other matters.

“The residents around the area are shocked and trapped because they did not have enough time to save themselves, and this should be a lesson so that the same thing does not happen again,” she said.

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

Household Income of RM3,000 Eligible to Receive Prize Children Offered Places in Universities

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SHAH ALAM, 24 Oct: The Selangor Government Executive Councillors approved the qualifications for the Prize offered to Selangor children offered places in local universities from a household income of RM1,500 to RM3,000 a month.

The Exco in charge of Education, Higher Education and Human Capital Development, Dr Halimah Ali said the implementation of the scheme was agreed upon as the state’s financial status is strong and effective.

Dr Halimah said the approval of the eligibility is the first implementation of the State Government manifesto after the 13th General Election.

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“Originally, we wanted to include this implementation in the framework of the 2014, but with the wisdom of the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, in safeguarding the Selangor Government’s finances, this effort is able to be implemented earlier.

“Eligible recipients are children of Selangor who receive offers to further their studies at the Diploma and Bachelor’s level from Private or Public Institutes of Higher Learning,” she said after the Exco Meeting at the State Secretary’s Building (SUK) yesterday.

She said the scheme is one of the pro-people programmes under the Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES) agenda.

“The prize of RM1,000 is given to the children of Selangor from families earning RM3,000 and below to help them pursue their education in public or private institutes of higher learning accredited by the government.

“Until now, the amount recorded has reached over RM35.7 million spent on about RM35,772 participants who have benefited from this programme,” she said.

Shah Alam City Centre Developments Feature Islamic Elements

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SHAH ALAM, 23 Oct: The Shah Alam City Centre will be revitalised by featuring Islamic designs as the main thrust of development.

The move will touch on standardisation of colour, design, attractive building facade and identity, public facilities as well as other measures involving development around the city centre in Section 14.

The Mayor of Shah Alam, Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan said the development plan should be carried out immediately before property owners develop their projects.

“Since before, Shah Alam has been developed without following a real plan, so we must start the vision to redesign development in this city before it is too late.

“Usually, landowners do not want to bear costs for too long and wish to develop their projects immediately. So we must be quick,” he said after inaugurating the Shah Alam CIty Centre Development Workshop in Section 14 at the Grand Bluewave Hotel this morning.

The workshop organised by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) also touched on planning involving the issues of peace and prosperity, thus increasing the population’s joy index in Shah Alam in addition to the tabling of the work papers for the development of the city centre based on the concept of Islamic characteristics.

A total of 120 participants consisting of developers, landowners, government agencies, institutes of higher learning, Council members and the MBSA Technical Department took part in the workshop.

Jaafar said that they will discuss with the state government to establish guidelines that need to be enforced in effort to provide parking for women and additional lights in several locations identified.

“There are parking areas that are dark and scary, especially at night. These locations should have lights and special parking for women close to entrances. We will propose this to the state government,” he said.

Abolish AES: Do Not Confuse the People

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SHAH ALAM, 23 Oct: The proposal to cancel all outstanding summonses of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) by the acting Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, only adds confusion to the already burdened people.

The idea by the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government is claimed to be unfair to the people when they proposed to cancel summonses issued prior to 18 September and will only reduce the compound from RM300 to RM150 after that date.

The Legal Adviser for the Anti Postal Summons Campaign (KASE), Zulhazmi Sharif said that the government should wait until a comprehensive review on the implementation of the AES by the AES Steering Committee is complete before issuing any misleading statements.

“The proposal is premature and unfair. This is because the comprehensive review of the implementation of the AES is still pending and is incomplete. The announcement is only to reassure the people who already burdened and confused with the implementation of the AES since 22 September 2012,” he told TVSelangor today.

He was commenting on a statement made by Hishammuddin that there are other options that will be forwarded to the Cabinet by the Ministry of Transport to give justice and public interest on the issue of AES summons dated before 18 September.

At the House of Representatives yesterday, the ministry stated that 882,298 AES summons have been issued, and 91,457 from the amount has been paid involving the collection of RM27.4 million as of 8 October.

In relation to that, Zulhalmi said all summonses issued since 22 September should be cancelled and the entire execution should be halted until the review is completed by the committee, if the AES is to be cancelled.

“When all the summons are cancelled, the amount of compound fees and fines that have been paid should be refunded to recipients of the summonses. Until now, BN has failed to respond to my challenge to prove that there is a line in the AES summon, or the Road Transport Act 1987, that states that it is mandatory to pay summons and compounds.

“If there is, I will pay all the summons. But the government should cancel all summons and refund the collected money when it is proven what is claimed is true,” he said.

Budget 2014: National Deficit Expected to Increase by One Percent

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SHAH ALAM, 23 Oct: The Budget 2014 is expected to reach RM270 billion, involving an increase of nine percent compared to RM260 billion for the Budget 2013.

The increase is expected to cause the national fiscal deficit to increase by about 0.5 percent to one percent.

Terengganu PKR Chairman, Azan Ismail said the budget which will be tabled by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on 25 October will record a deficit for the 16th time in a row.

“This year, the amount if RM260 billion, but it may increase by about RM10 billion for 2014. This increase would cause the national deficit to increase by about one percent or at least 0.5 percent,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Azan said the approach used by Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, proves that the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government has failed in controlling spending by being responsible and prudent.

“For Pakatan Rakyat (PR), we will not guarantee a balanced budget, but we will try to present a budget where the deficit is not too high.

“If the increase in expenditure is RM10 billion to RM15 billion, we too have to increase to curb a higher increase in deficit,” he said.

Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, presented the Alternative Budget summary which amounts to RM262 billion, compared to an estimated revenue of RM228 billion, with the deficit of RM34 billion, on 21 October.

Among the contributing factor involved in the reduction is that the emoluments that are reduced by 10 percent involves operating expenses that do not include emoluments and the effort is a part of the long-term measures to reduce the country’s debt of over RM500 billion.

Selangor Government Targets for 35,000 RMM in Five Years

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SHAH ALAM, 22 Oct: The Selangor Government is targeting for 35,000 affordable housing units (RMM) in the next five years.

The Executive Councillor in charge of Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlement, Iskandar Abdul Samad, said that the government will increase the number of affordable homes through the Housing & Development Board (HDB) or but existing affordable homes and place it under the HDB.

Through the Harakah Daily portal, he said the RM450 million allocation is aimed to involve the construction of 5,000 to 7,000 affordable housing units over the next five years.

“From the total projects of private and subsidiary companies of the state government, we target for 35,000 units of affordable homes to be built in Selangor in the stipulated period.

“We will not sell all the units because a part of it will be rented out to those who cannot afford to buy a house,” he said.

Iskandar said the State Government is focusing on private companies by placing requirements to build affordable housing in the first term of the Pakatan Rakyat administration.

“The housing problem is not just in terms of house prices, but the low income of the people. So to accommodate the number of people who cannot afford to buy a home, we will create homes to be rented to them, such as council homes,” he said.

PWD Continue to be Assisted in Selangor’s 2014 Budget

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SHAH ALAM, 19 Oct: The Selangor State Government will implement the People With Disabilities (PWD) Special Assistance Scheme as an incentive to this group to be able to independently raise their living standards.

The Executive Councillor in charge of Women’s Affairs, Rodziah Ismail said the implementation of this scheme will be presented in the 2014 Budget in November which provides for various programmes benefiting PWD in the long run.

Rodziah said this scheme aims to provide equal opportunities to all parties in hopes that the group will achieve success together.

“PWD will be given a clear direction for their future shortly after graduating by taking up, for example, the Urban Micro Credit Scheme (MiMBAR) which has successfully produced entrepreneurs with small loans.

“I want PWD to emulate the success through their own effort,” she said after visiting the Ramah Daily Care and Rehabilitation Centre here in Section 10.

During the visit, Rodziah spent time mingling with 20 special children and presented contributions in the form of toys for learning from the State Government.

In other developments, Rodziah who is also the Assemblywoman for Batu Tiga said she will discuss with local authorities to provide a more comfortable area for the convenience of PWD children at the care centre.

She said halls, buildings or state government quarters which are unused will be considered as a new location for the care centre.

“The Council hopes that any unused halls may be proposed to replace the existing care centre.

“We will also discuss for any unused government buildings to be given to those who need it,” she said.

MACC Should Immediately Act to Overcome Money Politics in Umno

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SHAH ALAM, 18 Oct: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should be more proactive and brave without being trapped captive under Umno in investigating allegations of money politics involving three Vice-President incumbents of the party.

Member of Parliament for Bukit Katil, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said that he welcomed the call by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) urging the MACC to step in and take stern action against the alleged practice of money politics in Umno.

He said the MACC cannot consider the problem of money politics as an internal problem which only happens in Umno because the effect would be detrimental to the country’s future if it is not addressed in a timely manner.

Previously, the President of TI-M, Datuk Akhbar Satar, said they received numerous feedbacks that a lot of money is being used and distributed in ‘special’ programmes organised for the three Vice-President incumbents, who are holding senior ministerial posts.

The three individuals are; the Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, and the Defense Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

They will be challenged by the Chairman of Felda, Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad, former Chief Minister of Malacca Senator Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, and the Chief Minister of Kedah, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Shamsul said the problem of money politics could lead the nation towards disputing their leadership credibility in spurring development and progress in the long term.

He said, wastage and improvidence of the country’s funds amounting to RM30 billion reported in the Audit Report 2012 is a result of the practice of money politics in Umno and the problem should be stopped immediately.

Residents of PJS 9 Confused with the Change in Postcode

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SUBANG JAYA, 18 Oct: The residents of Petaling Jaya Selatan (PJS) 9 are confused with the change in postcode by Pos Malaysia for Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya.

Based on the notice issued by Pos Malaysia earlier this month, the new postcode for Subang Jaya, which also involved PJS 9 and PJS 11, is 47500.

The change is due to the Election constituency division which set for PJS 7, PJS 9 and PJS 11, which is located in Bandar Sunway, to be placed under the Subang Jaya State Legislative Assembly (DUN) and the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ).

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Meanwhile, the Desa Mentari area involving PJS 8 and PJS 10, is placed under the Seri Setia DUN and the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

The Deputy Chairman of the PJS 9 Rukun Tetangga (Neighbourhood Watch), Mohamad Noor said that he is confused by the change in the postcode as his identity card still uses the 46150 postcode, and states that it is in the area of Subang Jaya, while the same postcode printed on his driving licence but is registered as being in Petaling Jaya.

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“The new changes to the 47500 Subang Jaya postcode will burden residents, especially in matters involving correspondence address,” he said in a press conference here at the PJS 9/14 field today.

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The Chairman of the PJS 9 Rukun Tetangga, Goh Hai Thun said that his identity card and driving licence still uses the 46150 postcode which is registered as being in Petaling and can be contacted for correspondence.

“As a committee member for the residents, we would like to know the main reason for this postcode change which occurred without informing the residents. We live in PJS, which means Petaling Jaya Selatan and if we are to be put under Subang Jaya, it should be changed to SS.

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Meanwhile, the Subang Jaya Assemblywoman, Hannah Yeoh, who was also present at the press conference, said that the latest announcement confused residents, especially when involving important documents because several agencies should be notified regarding the change in postcode.

“We have a sophisticated MyKad system and residents do not have to go to the National Registration Department (JPN) to change their postcode. Instead, JPN should automatically inform about the change.

“Pos Malaysia should inform the residents of this change, however, until now, we do not know whether they are changing it or not, including informing important agencies such as Bank Negara and the Land Office to change the postcode in their systems,” she said.