Kuala Lumpur should be state-governed

There are 14 units under the Ministry of Federal Territories- of which 3 are directly related to administration of state matters- DBKL, Perbadanan Labuan, Perbadanan Putrajaya. Kuala Lumpur is governed by the following statutory laws- Federal Capital Act 1960, Local Government Act 1976 and City of Kuala Lumpur Act 1971. The Federal Capital Act 1960 places the federal government in charge of the DBKL which is in turn in charge of Kuala Lumpur. DBKL inspite being a form of local government, is prevented by the Local Government Act 1976 to be governed like the state councils in Selangor and other states. S8 in the LGA 1976 provides that the FCA 1960 shall prevail should there be conflict in the law. This means, whatever happens (despite the outcome of national election results), the Federal Government still runs Kuala Lumpur.



The power of FCA 1960 is very noticeable especially in the following sections:



-S4 gives power to the King to hire and/or fire the Datuk Bandar. This is contrary to popular belief that the PM selects the Datuk Bandar but it is noted that the PM holds significant influence over the selection of candidates. The same section allows the King to sack or determine the serving period of the Datuk Bandar as well. If the Datuk Bandar is unfit to act in his capacity, subsection 7 says the Ministry of Federal Territory could take charge.



-S10 gives the Datuk Bandar veto power over the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is a panel of advisers appointed to assist the mayor in policy matters. The Advisory Board members, by law, are appointed by the King, save a couple of members who could be appointed by the Selangor Menteri Besar.



-S13(1) allows the Ministry of Federal Territories to give the Datuk Bandar instructions 'from time to time' eventhough the instructions are inconsistent to the FCA 1960. Subsection 2 further states that the mayor reports only to Ministry and no one else. S13 very clearly vests power in Pak Lah to control Kuala Lumpur.

The laws are highly dictatorial and undemocratic- it dissallows the 1.6 million people in Kuala Lumpur to be represented by the people they elected. Down on the ground the DBKL is notorious for its questionable enforcement of city law and other dubious practices which the city folk do not hold high regard for. This includes non/little -disclosure of accounts, budgets and city expenditure and revenue. The public, especially the 1.6 million KL residents, will never know the actual usage of ratepayers' funds.



The DBKL has been a political clout of the government and will always be part of the Government's political agenda unless the Acts mentioned above are repealed. The elected MPs of Kuala Lumpur should jointly fight for the change in law so that the DBKL is returned to the people's hands. For the MPs, even in their own constituencies, it is an uphill task for the MPs to ensure the DBKL carries out the garbage collection function properly; maintain pot-hole free roads and so on. That's because the Datuk Bandar, according to the law, does not answer to the people nor the person elected to represent them.

New rate for traffic offences

KADAR KOMPAUN BARU

SAMAN TRAFIK

Makluman:Kadar kompaun baru saman trafik adalah untuk semua saman

BIL	JENIS		KADAR KOMPAUN LAMA	KADAR KOMPAUN BARU
	KESALAHAN	KENDERAAN
1.	KEMALANGAN (TIDAK MELIBATKAN KES NC)	LORI / BAS / 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 300 RM 300 RM 300	RM 200 RM 150 RM 100
2.	PANDU LAJU	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 150 RM 150 RM 150	RM 90 RM 70 RM 50
3.	TIDAK PAKAI TALIPINGGAN KELEDAR	TEKSI VAN 4WD / KERETA	RM 150 RM 80 RM 70	RM 50 RM 50 RM 50
4.	KESALAHAN YANG TIDAK BOLEH DI KOMPAUN	SEMUA KESALAHAN TIDAK BOLEH DIKOMPAUN MENGIKUT KAEDAH-KAEDAH PENGANGKUTAN JALAN (PENGOMPAUN KESALAHAN) 2003 CTH: KEMALANGAN MAUT, MEMANDU DALAM KEADAAN MABUK, PEMANDU DI BAWAH UMUR TANPA LESEN, MEMANDU DENGAN CUAI DAN MERBAHAYA, TIADA PERLINDUNGAN INSURAN, LUMBA HARAM.	NO COMPOUND (NC)	NO COMPOUND (NC)
5.	TIDAK PAKAI TOPI KELEDAR	MOTOSIKAL	RM 70	RM 30
6.	TIDAK BOLEH BUAT PUSINGAN 'U'	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 200 RM 100 RM 70	RM 90 RM 70 RM 50
7.	POTONG CARA BAHAYA - POTONG 'Q'	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 200 RM 100 RM 70	RM 90 RM 70 RM 50
8.	MENERUSKAN PERJALANAN SEMASA ISYARAT LAMPU MERAH	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 200 RM 200 RM 150	RM 200 RM 150 RM 100
9.	MEMANDU GUNA TELEFON BIMBIT/ALAT KOMUNIKASI	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 200 RM 100 RM 70	RM 90 RM 70 RM 50
10.	TIDAK BERI LALUAN SEBELUM MEMBELOK	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 200 RM 100 RM 70	RM 90 RM 70 RM 50
11.	KESALAHAN LESEN MEMANDU	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 150 RM 80 RM 70	RM 90 RM 70 RM 30
12.	KESALAHAN LESEN KENDERAAN MOTOR (ROAD TAX)	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 150 RM 80 RM 70	RM 90 RM 70 RM 30
13.	MEMANDU DI LORONG KECEMASAN	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 200 RM 100 RM 70	RM 90 RM 70 RM 50
14.	KES WARAN	LORI/ BAS/ 4WD / TEKSI / VAN / KERETA MOTOSIKAL	RM 300 RM 300 RM 300	SEKALI GANDA DARI HARGA TAWARAN TETAPI TIDAK MELEBIHI RM 300

KAUNTER-KAUNTER DI JABATAN PENGANGKUTAN JALAN (JPJ) 1. JPJ JOHOR BAHRU 2. JPJ KUANTAN 3. JPJ KUALA TERENGGANU 4. JPJ IPOH, PERAK 5.. JPJ TAIPING, PERAK 6. JPJ WANGSA MAJU, KUALA LUMPUR MASA OPERASI : HARI BEKERJA - 0830HRS HINGGA 1600 HRS HARI CUTI - TIADA

PUSAT PEMBAYARAN DI KAUNTER-KAUNTER LUAR 1. PPK GIANT, JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR 2. PPK TER-ONE SEREMBAN NEGERI SEMBILAN 3. PPK MEGAMALL , SEBERANG PERAI (T) PULAU PINANG 4. PPK PRANGIN MALL, TIMUR LAUT PULAU PINANG 5. PPK JAYA JUSCO, PETALING JAYA SELANGOR 6. PPK THE MINES, PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR 7. I.O.I SUBANG JAYA, PUCHONG, SELANGOR 8. PPK JAYA, IPOH PERAK. MASA OPERASI : HARI BERKERJA - 1600 HRS HINGGA 2100 HARI CUTI - 1400 HRS HINGGA 2100 HRS

Disediakan oleh:

Cawangan Perhubungan Awam, Polis Diraja Malaysia , Ibu Pejabat Polis Bukit Aman, 50560 Kuala Lumpur ..



Email: rmp@rmp.gov. my



Now perhaps we can lessen corruption! Think about it...Pay RM70 for driving on the emergency lane, or pay RM70 to the cop who stopped you for driving on the emergency lane. Now since the price of bribing the police(standard rate RM50 and above, don't act surprised) and the price of summonses is about the same good citizens just accept the summon. You're not going to save RM100 anymore.

Tourism Penang: What happened there?

I recently posted a comment in a Penang MP's blog but somehow my 2 cents' worth of thoughts did not appear. Well, I've got a community blogsite haven't I. So here goes.



What's my authority in commenting on tourism matters in Penang you may ask- well, yours truly help ran a 5-star international hotel there for a couple of years and was deeply concerned on the declining state of tourism in Penang. Most of the factors affecting the subject matter of concern are actually controllable but not actioned upon. I don't care much about the Chief Minister past and present but here are the boo-boo's:



-Dirty streets. This point is controversial- it inclines to say that the public is not civic-conscious but I say the local council did a lousy job in keeping Penang clean. Just take a walk in certain areas in Georgetown or Air Itam, Penang Hill, etc, and you'll see what I mean.



-Related to the above- the lack of public rubbish bins. Rubbish bins are not visible in the city at all even in malls or famous streets- where is the public going to throw thrash?



-Lousy tourism websites. While I was in Penang, I discovered that the 'official' tourism websites weren't updated for at least 2-3 years.



-Failure of the local government to resolve the taxi meter issue. Penang is famous for its exorbitant cab fares and the non-usage of taxi meters. And the taxi drivers are still lobbying for higher taxi fares. We all know the impact of high cab fares to local and foreign tourists don't we.

-Lack of road signs- especially to tourist areas



-Lousy public transport system. What system? If you are living in Penang, it's better to own your own car.



-No major promotions or public events to encourage tourism. I'm talking about events similar to LIMA (in Langkawi), etc and not Penang Bridge Runs nor Dragon Boat events.



-What's happening to food scene? Loosing shine of cause, due to lack of unified promotional efforts at the national level and due to the hawkers themselves. The local government should keep this in check- especially the food serving portions which are getting smaller and smaller.



I'm still visiting Penang of course. If more effort could be put in improving the public amenities and tourism infrastructure, Penang could be a bigger island on the tourism map.

Malaysian PM Says He Underestimated Power of Blogs Before Suffering Big Election Losses

By Luis Ramirez

Bangkok

25 March 2008

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi says his long-ruling coalition underestimated the power of the Internet, in advance of this month's elections. Mr. Badawi's ruling coalition suffered its worst losses in its history, after members of the opposition used the Internet to vent their views, circumventing the country's tightly controlled mainstream media. Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok.

Malaysia's mainstream media is tightly controlled by the government. Opposition leaders complain they did not get equal access to air time, in advance of the elections this month, while the ruling coalition of Prime Minster Abdullah Badawi spent millions of dollars on campaign ads.

In the end, the investment did not pay off for Mr. Badawi, whose Barisan National coalition in power for 51 years, lost its two-thirds majority in parliament and several states.

Speaking to an investors' conference, Tuesday, the Malaysian leader said his coalition "certainly lost the Internet war," and said it was "a serious misjudgment" for it to rely solely on government-controlled newspapers and television to get out its campaign message.

Many voters say they ignored the mainstream media and turned to independent blogsites like Malaysiakini.com, where they could see news on official corruption, religious and racial tensions and other issues that the mainstream media often does not report.

Observers say readership of the country's independent blogsites has surpassed that of mainstream print media. It was boosted even further ahead of the March 8 poll. Malaysiakini.com Editor in Chief Steven Gan tells VOA his website stopped charging subscription fees in the weeks before the election.

"We've been, really, surviving on our readers' paying a subscription fee of about $5 a month," said Gan. "But we have made the site free because we felt we had to also play a role in providing information to Malaysian voters so they could make an informed choice."

Malaysia's government does not openly censor blogsites, as part of promise it made in the 1990's to not interfere with the Internet. The promise was part of an effort to draw foreign investment in plans for a new high-tech industry corridor. The plans for the corridor have since stalled, leading media freedom advocates to worry about whether the government may soon start imposing restrictions on the Internet. Officials say they have no such intentions.

Malaysiakini.com's Steven Gan says it would be difficult for the government to try to impose restrictions on the Internet, at this stage.

"It's not going to be easy," he said. "I always describe like [this]: Press freedom is like toothpaste, in a sense. When you squeeze a little bit of it out, it's going to be very hard to put it back in again."

Media freedom advocates say Malaysian authorities sometimes pulled the licenses of newspapers and broadcast outlets that carried news that was unfavorable to government officials. Blog sites like Malaysiakini.com are able to operate because they are not required to have licenses.

Ministry of Porn

I read in The Star today that the new Minster of Health Liow Tiong Lai wants the Health Ministry to break away from the 'Ministry of Hell' tag. The problem is, this Ministry is well-known for something else too, thanks to his MCA compatriots (as alleged) and the former Health Minister. I doubt Liow Tiong Lai will be anywhere near Katerina Hotel, Batu Pahat (the former-Health Minister bedroom-romp was recorded there).



We all have to thank the Health Ministry for the following memorable good deeds done:

• the negligence of government doctors in handling new born babies
• the sesat (lost) or late ambulances which caused the loss of valuable lives
• other cases of malpractice/ negligence. For more horror stories please click here.
  
  
• the tarnished image of the hotel industry (and its workers). Ironically this happened during Visit Malaysia Year.

Judged by the track record of past MCA Ministers in this Ministry, we are really screwed.

Inflation up 2.7%

News resources report that Malaysia's inflation rate in February 2008 is 2.7% up 0.4% from the 2.4% in January 2008. The inflation rate, based on the consumer price index (CPI), rose mainly because of the rise in the food and non-alcoholic price index. The food and non-alcoholic price index accounts for about 53% of the CPI. Other indexes fueling the inflation is housing cost, water, electricity and fuels (up 1.4%) and transport costs (up 1%).

Malaysian Opposition Leader Says Ruling Coalition Members Willing to Defect

By VOA News

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says members of the country's ruling coalition are willing to defect and help form a new government.

Anwar said Wednesday that coalition lawmakers from Malaysia's eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak had contacted him about switching sides, a move that could help shift the power balance and unseat the government.

Anwar's three-party opposition coalition won more than a third of parliamentary seats and four states during the March 8 election.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi denied Anwar's claim that the ruling National Front coalition is falling apart and plagued by infighting.

His new 69-member Cabinet was sworn in Wednesday, nearly two weeks after the ruling coalition suffered major losses in the elections.

On Tuesday, the prime minister slashed the 90-member Cabinet in a bid to rejuvenate his administration.

Among those dropped was Home Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad. Radzi Wednesday resigned his posts as secretary-general of the National Front and head of the United Malays National Organization. The UMNO is the major party in the ruling coalition.

The base?

Spent two hours time at the jamuan makan at Taman Bunga Raya, despite the rain, numbers of people were still gathering there to listen to celebrate with our YB.



I had a few minutes chat too with Wee, and learned that he's looking for an office which could be somewhere near Jaya Jusco or .. (I can't remember, sorry). This will be the first platform to establish in order for us to get into a closer touch with the residents.



All in all, it's a good night and I feel that there's hope in this area now, finally.



- yc

Press Release by Wee Choo Keong, MP for Wangsa Maju, on 19th March, 2008, at KL.

THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY – "NEP"

THE NEW DEVELOPMENT POLICY – "NDP"

I fully support the New Economic Policy (NEP), which was introduced by the BN Government in 1971 to promote growth with equity with the objective of fostering national unity among the various races. The main noble objectives of NEP were:

1. To reduce and eventually eradicate poverty by raising income levels and increasing employment opportunities for all Malaysians, irrespective of race; and

2. Accelerate the process of restructuring Malaysian society to correct economic imbalances so as to reduce and eventually eliminate the identification of race with economic function.

The NEP was supposed to have expired in 1991 (after 20 years). However, the above objectives have not been strictly adhered to by the BN government.

The NEP recognized that the restructuring of society to correct imbalances was to be achieved by undertaking "within the context of a rapidly growing economy which offers increasing opportunities for all Malaysians. This was considered essential for ensuring that the distribution of income, employment and ownership would be implemented smoothly, without making any particular group feel a sense of loss or deprivation.

Obviously, the NEP has failed miserably because less than 10% of the Bumiputras benefited from the NEP. To put it bluntly, only the UMNOputras or those connected directly or indirectly to the UMNOputras are the beneficiaries of the NEP.

In 1991, after a good 20 years the BN government had failed to eradicate poverty as intended under the NEP, the BN Government had to come out with another policy called the New Development Policy (NDP), which was actually an extension of the NEP. The NDP was supposed to build upon the so-called achievements during the NEP (i.e. 1971 – 1991) "to accelerate the process of eradicating poverty and restructuring society so as to correct social and economic imbalances".

According to the spirit of NDP, "National unity remains the ultimate goal of socio-economic development because of a united society is fundamental to the promotion of social and political stability and sustained development."

The NDP further stressed that "Development policies and strategies under the NDP take cognizance of the diversities of Malaysians – ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious as well as regional – so that harmonious, tolerant and dynamic society could progressively created."

It is also the policy of BN Government that the "NDP will continue with the efforts to correct economic imbalances to create a more just, united, peaceful and prosperous society. To this end, more effective effort will be made to reduce poverty, irrespective of race, as well as to restructure society so as to achieve an equitable distribution in the context of a healthy and sustained economic growth."

It is most unfortunately that eradication of poverty was never the priority of the BN, especially UMNO, the BN leaders have lost focus and poverty in the Malay community or the Chinese or Indian community for that matter was not eradicated as originally targeted.

In fact, in year 2008, some 27 years after the inception of NEP and 17 years after NDP, the poor Malays, Chinese and Indians remain poorer. The rich and powerful UMNOputras got richer and more powerful. In short, the NEP and NDP have been abused by the UMNOputras at the expense of the ordinary Malays. I would go further to state that the above noble spirits and objectives of the NEP and NDP have been rendered meaningless by the UMNOputras.

We need not go further to illustrate the abused of the NEP and NDP. Just look at these three classic cases below:

i. where a young Malay boy of about 30 years, who was known to be unemployed but with strong political connections with high ranking UMNOputra, was known to have owned RM200 million worth of shares in a company;

ii. the "AP Kings" cases where several hundred thousand of APs were given to a few Malay individuals, who were closely connected to the UMNOputras; and

iii. the late Zakaria Md Deros, who was just a gate keeper for Kerataapi Tanah Melayu, and after joining UMNO he became super rich and he was able to build a "palace" with 21 toilets in Klang without Majlis Perbandaran's approval.

The lists of the abused of the NEP and NDP by the UMNOputras are in exhaustive.

When it suits the UMNOputras, they we will just wheel out the NEP/NDP and make their battle cry that our Malay brothers and sisters needed to be protected. If one were to carefully examine the current economic cakes and one will come to the conclusion that more than 30% of many economic sectors are dominated by a less than 10% of Malays, who are either UMNOputras or directly or indirectly connected with UMNOputras. For example, 95% of the financial institutions have been owned and controlled by only a few percent of Malays, who are the UMOputras or connected to the UMNOputras.

It is clear that the NEP/NDP have failed totally and the majority of the Malays have now realized that the NEP/NDP have been abused by the UMNOputras to benefit only a handful of politically connected individuals.

Our Malay, Chinese and Indian brothers and sisters have spoken out loud and clear in the recent 2008 12^th general elections, which have resulted in the BN losing its 2/3 majority in Parliament and control of Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Wilayah Persekutuan.

I call upon the BN government to review the NEP/NDP by setting as new condition whereby qualification for assistance under the NEP/NDP is by way of mean test and not based on race. Mean test is the best yard stick to determine whether or not a person is entitled to receive the assistance and benefits under the NEP/NDP and this will no doubt put an instant stop to the abused of the NEP/NDP by the UMNOputras. Thereafter, we will see the actual eradication of poverty in all communities and real restructuring of Malaysian society to correct the economic imbalances, without making any particular community feel a sense of deprivation.

Wee Choo Keong

The abuse of the black letter of the law

Today as I was leaving my condominium in Section 6, I saw some DBKL enforcers writing out summonses to the cars parked at the side of the road. Normally this is a scene that will not enrage anyone.



However, it greatly offended me! Firstly, it is a housing area and the cars parked at the side of the road are mostly my neighbors' who due to lack of parking space in our condo (in Section 6, Wangsa Maju) have no viable choice but to park outside. The reason why i find this act of writing summonses so offensive is because of many reasons which contradicts logical thinking;



1. There is no other available parking space except along the road outside which is a quiet slope only used by residents of Section 6.

2. There is no alternative parking space payable or non-payable anywhere within sight of

Section 6

3. There is no yellow line along the side of the road. Does this mean that they were right in summoning those cars?

4. I seriously doubt whether anyone in the past 15 years has ever bothered to walk up a residential area hill just to write parking tickets to the cars parked outside their own residence!



People, this is a seriously disturbing situation. We are losing the right to park outside of our own houses. Who authorized these DBKL people to act in the way they did? I asked a legal practitioner who is a friend and also a teacher of mine whether they are allowed to do this. He said that they would probably be just following orders and since KL is under the federal government the roads could be considered public land, therefore they have the right to summon us in front of our own houses.



However, that is the black letter of the law. What about the intent and purpose this law was created? I would think it would be to ease traffic congestion and to ensure that people would not cause inconveniences for others. If this was the case, then why would these authorities come to quiet housing areas to write parking tickets for cars who have no other place to park!



Perhaps they expect us to lessen our cars? Or perhaps magically build a parking lot out of thin air? Whichever it is I think IT IS UTTER BULL CRAP to summon law abiding citizens for parking outside their house!



My personal view would be that the DBKL is suddenly so hardworking probably because they need to raise funds or maybe it is a cheap trick to pay back voters for saying no to corruption and cronyism.

Do not click- malicious link

Dear all, if you see any postings with these words "Warning! See Please Here" please do not click on the link. The link leads to a suspected virus site which may harm you computer. Someone has been posting these messages quite regularly in this blog and I have been removing them.

Meanwhile, please keep your mails coming in. Say what you want to say!! Lastly, thanks everyone for the support so far; Kell, yc, who has been passionately blogging here; and inclusive of YB WCK who's been feeding hits to this site through his blogsite.

Learn to work together

The past one week or so has been a turbulent one.

Some say it has created a mark in Malaysian history.

Some people are excited, some are doubtful, some are scared and some are just frustrated and even angry.


Well, if you are a supporter of BN I understand why you are angry and upset. Perhaps you need to reflect why so many people do not share the same sentiment as you. Perhaps if you stepped out of your comfortable shell and realize that life is more than just looking after your rice bowl perhaps you will see where we are coming from.


On the other hand, we now have another bunch of angry people. People who chose new leaders, something that has not happened for the past 40 years. Now when these people choose new leaders, they do not expect to see those elected people acting like spoilt brats over candy! Buck up and start acting like leaders! Yes, there are many capable people in PKR PAS and DAP so of course there may be a few disputes as to who holds what post and how many exco members each party has. BUT do not forget the BIGGER PICTURE.


Work together well now, show the people your ability to lead, learn to give and take and eventually there may be a bigger mandate the next election which means you will have so much to govern there will be no problem in everybody having a bigger pie to share! This is of course provided the state governments of Perak, Kelantan, Penang, Selangor and Kedah actually doesn't tear themselves to pieces because some think that they have more authority to be there or because their party won more seats.


Well one wonders if they remember signing the petition for Barisan Rakyat agreeing to work together to deny BN a 2/3 majority. Perhaps they dont remember their promises? It goes beyond denying them a 2/3 majority, it is also about carrying out their manifesto and working for us the people!

So any grievances faced, why not bring it to the people? or let a neutral party decide? after all if isn't that what democracy is about? or is Malaysia still not there yet?

KeADILan HAS CLEAR AND FIRM STAND ON NEP / PENDIRIAN KeADILan TERHADAP DEB JELAS DAN TEGAS

KeADILan HAS CLEAR AND FIRM STAND ON NEP /PENDIRIAN KeADILan TERHADAP DEB JELAS DAN TEGAS



Saturday, 15 March 2008

--PRESS STATEMENT--

by Dr. Syed Husin AliDeputy President/Timbalan Presiden, KeADILanMarch 15, 2008

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party) has a clear and firm stand on the New Economic Policy (NEP). As explained by the Ketua Umum of the Party, Anwar Ibrahim in his 20-page article as well as through his many public pronouncements and ceramah, and further reaffirmed in several Party documents, including the Election Manifesto, we intend to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Agenda. The NEP, after nearly 40 years is already anachronistic. It has been abused by a handful leaders and cronies in Umno-Bn to rob the country of its wealth to enrich themselves, in the name of the Malays as a whole. It has led to discriminatory practices that are against the spirit of justice and fairness for all Malaysians, particularly the poor, marginalised and disadvantaged groups of all races. The Malaysian Economic Agenda aspires to:

(a) institute and implement fair, just and equitable redistribution of the wealth in the country;

(b) fight against and finally abolish the evil practices of corruption, cronyism and nepotism and ensure the award of contracts and projects are done in open and transparent manner;

(c) continue the policy of positive discrimination in favour of poor dan deprived Bumiputera while at the same time giving equal opportunities to poor and deprived non-Bumpiputera on the basis of need and not racial greed;

(d) utilise the wealthy resources of the country to provide better social facilities – especially education, health and housing – for the poor, irrespective of ethnic backgrounds; and

(e) generate pro-people development and strengthen the competitive capacity of Malaysia so that she can stand tall with all developed countries, starting with those in Asia.

Those leaders of Umno-Bn and the media they own that accuse Parti Keadilan Rakyat as having no stand on the NEP and on other ways of improving the lot of the poor, marginalized and disadvantaged Malays are deliberately indulging in lies to mislead the public. We wish to emphasise that a policy of positive discrimination in favour of all Malaysians who are poor, marginalized and disadvantaged will benefit the Malay rakyat more, because they form the big majority of this category of people.

--- Kenyataan Media --- Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KeADILan) mempunyai pendirian yang jelas dan tegas terhadap Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB). Seperti yang dijelaskan oleh Ketua Umum keADILan, Anwar Ibrahim dalam sebuah artikel 20 halaman dan diterangkannya melalui beberapa kenyataan serta ceramah umum, dan ditegaskan dalam beberapa dokumen Parti, termasuk Manifesto Pilihanraya, kami berhasrat untuk menggantikan DEB dengan Agenda Ekonomi Malaysia. Selepas dilaksanakan hampir 40 tahun, DEB ternyata sudah ketinggalan zaman. Ia disalahgunakan oleh segelintir pemimpin Umno-Bn serta kroni-kroni mereka untuk merompak kekayaan negara bagi mengkayakan diri sendiri atas nama seluruh rakyat Melayu. Ia telah mengakibatkan amalan diskriminasi kaum, bertentangan dengan semangat memberi keadilan dan kesaksamaan kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, terutama sekali mereka dari golongan miskin, terpinggir dan terbiar dari semua kaum. Agenda Ekonomi Malaysia berhasrat untuk:

(a) memperkenal dan melaksanakan dasar pembahagian kekayaan negara yang adil, seimbang serta saksama;

(b) memerangi dan akhirnya membenteras amalan jijik korupsi, kronisme serta nepotisme dan memastikan pemberian kontrak serta projek dilakukan secara terbuka dan telus;

(c) meneruskan dasar memberi pertolongan kepada golongan Bumiputera yang miskin serta terbiar tetapi pada masa yang sama memberi peluang yang sejajar kepada golongan bukan Bumiputra yang miskin, terpinggir serta terbiar, atas asas keperluan dan bukan kemakan kaum;

(d) menggunakan sumber kekayaan negara untuk menyediakan kemudahan sosial yang lebih baik – terutama pendidikan, kesihatan dan perumahan – untuk golongan miskin dan susah tanpa mengira latarbelakang kaum; dan

(e) menjana pembangunan yang menguntungkan rakya serta membina kapasiti bersaing supaya Malaysia dapat berdiri sama tinggi dengan semua negara maju, bermula dengan yang di Asia.

Pemimpin-pemimpin Umno-Bn dan media mereka kuasai yang menuduh kononnya Parti Keadilan Rakyat tidak mempunyai pendirian terhadap DEB dan cara-cara untuk mempertingkat taraf hidup orang Melayu yang miskin, terpinggir dan tercicir sebenarnya berdusta dan segaja cuba hendak menipu dan menyelewengkan perhatian rakyat. Kami menegaskan dasar memberi keutamaan untuk kebajikan golongan miskin, terpinggir akan lebih banyak memberikan keuntungan kepada rakyat Melayu, kerana merekalah yang merupakan majoriti paling ramai di dalam categori ini.

Housing woes in Wangsa Maju

Here's a mail from a fellow resident:



Hi. Its nice to hear that there is a comment which will help people in wangsa maju.



And i would like to voice out about a matter which a family try for more than 20years which till now never get any solution yet.



My father is a van driver with average income of rm2000 and mother is a housewife, with 3kids which all three is still studying. we are now staying sharing with grandfather at wangsa maju sec 1 and we try to register a government house wether for rent or even for sale but till now only keep on asking to write so many forms but no reply coz if want to get a new house also my father income is not sufficient enough. Even thats why this time around we have 5vote also change to oposition party by hoping at least will get a difference in terms of everything which is never be done by BN so far. Thats all which i would like to seek for help even once you got my note i can even send more details about the house application whicj indicated how many years we were trying for that particular house. hope will get solution on it. n will b waiting for the reply soon. thx

High crime rate

yc- thanks for putting this posting out so quickly. I was out of town.


Junaidy- how's your situation now? I feel sad about this.


My dad's car was stolen sometime back but it never came back in one piece (came back shot up) because it was used in an arm robbery. In Wangsa Maju my neighbors' cars and my own vehicle was broken (mine- twice). However, Ping Ping's (please refer 'Comments' in the blog posting before this) case is serious- whereby there was direct threat from the criminal and potential bodily harm.


The first level of crime prevention, crime deterrence, is not working here because there is no police presence in Wangsa Maju. Most of the police presence are mostly concentrated in the police station itself, kedai mamak and roadblocks during the festive seasons. There are patrols maybe, but they are not enough. My brother was robbed in front of his house. I'm trying to say that there's no offensive mode in tackling crime- police are still quite relaxed and immune to the ordeal and stress the affected resident went through.


This issue has to be tackled at the national level. To revamp the situation the relevant people has to be changed. IGP- please don't talk only- honor your words to free up the FRU for crime prevention if it needs to be done so.

Dato' Yusof Haslam who's staying next door to us- it's time to have an accurate portrayal of police in 'Gerak Khas'. If you can manage to throw in some reality in I bet you 'Gerak Khas' will be the most tuned-in series. Police do not speak and behave anywhere near the tv series' characters. In fact, people do not speak like this in real life. Ironically many of the scenes are shot in Melawati, Wangsa Maju areas where crime hotspots are.

Car missing in Wangsa Maju, spread the words to find it!

Received this from Junaidy (the note from Junaidy was pulled from the 'comment' section of the previous blog posting for further attention):

Hello.. I am a resident of Wangsa Maju Parlimentary.. Specifically at Jalan Wangsa Murni 10, Wangsa Melawati..I just want to inform you that my father's car (brand new Silver Honda CRV Generation 3, plate number WQC 486) just went missing this early morning in our house GATED compund... The missing car is only realised when my father ready to go for his Subuh prayer in the nearest surau... FYI, our gate has been cut off and I'm still wandering what kind of people can stole our car from padlock gated of my house... So people of Wangsa Maju, if you seen this car (brand new Silver Honda CRV, Generation 3), feel free to report/ contact the police.... Or you can call direct to me at 014-2942269 (Junaidy).. Thank you...

p/s: I hope the newly elected MP Wee Choo Keong could look at this matter seriously as the crime rates in Wangs Maju Parlimentary has become worsen day by day....

Resident.WangsaMaju: This posting is done by Yuen-Chi Lian originally. Because of a technical glitch, all past postings by Yuen-Chi Lian have turn up as being posted by Resident.WangsaMaju.

Lack of parking space

Here's a mail from a future Wangsa Maju resident describing the severe parking conditions in Wangsa Maju.

Hi,

I just got to know about your blog, nice job.As the subject of this email says "We are going-to-be a Wangsa Maju resident....", yes, me and my wife will be moving in into our new condo at Section 2 - Wangsa Metroview condo. Can't wait! For your info, we are still waiting for our CF before we couldn move in. Also, there will be a whole bunch of Wangsa Metroview residents whom will be reading your blog. We already have a some sort of a small committee. They are being informed by one of our members about your blogsite. Anyway, there are some issues that most of us aren't happy. Parking spaces is already a problem in Wangsa Maju during peak hours, especially in the makan areas such as Desa Setapak. One of the factor that contributes to this problem is the tables and chairs that are occupying the parking spaces. Even the restaurants in the new shoplots in front of our condo (Metroview) are practising this selfish act. They are practically taking up all the parking spaces that are available. This is terrible. Look at BRJ.



When there's parking problem, drivers will park their cars "everywhere", in which will cause traffic problem, congestions, etc. Sometimes we can't blame the car owners. So let's tackle this issue from the ROOT OF THE PROBLEM...that's by stopping these restaurant owners from occupy the parking spaces with tables and chairs.I hope that you will highlight this issue in your blog and with this, let's hope that our new MP will do something about it.Thank you,

wouldbe-Metroview Resident

Samy's new job

Someone mailed this to me...

Khir Toyo Sudah Panik, Jangan terperdaya dengan serongan duit!

Khir Toyo Sudah Panik, Jangan terperdaya dengan serongan duit!



This was a caption of a banner I saw as I was driving home from work yesterday. It was hand painted a hung up in an obscure corner at a T junction from Au3 Keramat heading into Wangsa Maju Section 6.



Perhaps this suggests indications of bribery in the days to come? There have been concerns that with the BN only 10 seats or so away from gaining a 2/3 majority that they may try to get MP's from the opposition party to hop parties over to their flanks and thus allow them a gain a 2/3 majority. This is possible, since MP's are elected not based on their party but on their personal representation. How will they achieve this? Perhaps from the banner heading you get the idea.



We will see the true integrity of the MP's elected in the coming week and hopefully they do not disappoint us. Yes, money is a great pulling factor I will admit. However, we must remind the elected people that as Raja Petra said "the people can hire you, and the people can fire you".



Do not forgo your principles merely because someone gives you a huge sum of money to hop over to their party with promises of power and position. Remember that if you do, in the next election the people will pay you out for any disappointment you have caused them.



Do not forget what has happened to Gerakan. After the 1969 elections, they disappointed the people by joining ranks with the party that they were supposed to oppose forgoing all they claimed to stand for. Karma was late in paying them back, it took 40 years but it finally paid them back. Therefore, let this be a lesson to anyone who is tempted to accept the lure of money and power. Not only will it hurt what we Malaysians have achieved in this election, but it will also hurt your personal reputation, thus creating political suicide in the next election.



However, I am optimistic. I believe that there is good in people. Integrity and principles must prevail over the desire for greed and power. We are what we make ourselves to be, and we will reap the fruits of what we have sown, be it good or bad.