Posts

Showing posts from September, 2022

Amirudin Owes Selangorians an Explanation

Image
  By Stephen Ng   It is shocking that, under the administration of Menteri Besar Selangor Amirudin Shaari, that Selangor may lose another 4,000 hectares of pristine forest.             I thought, for a moment, it was reading that Pakatan Harapan would lose Selangor after the 2+1 term that I had given to the coalition – two terms to clean up the mess, and in the third term, either they bring improvement to the state or they be shipped out.             But, it says that, in the controversy involving Bukit Lagong forest reserve, Amirudin’s action is, in my opinion, not different from the previous Barisan Nasional state government.             According to Otai Reformis secretary, Abdul Razak Ismail, he had even written to the Menteri Besar’s office under the Freedom of Information Act to seek for clarifications regarding some of the quarries, but the response he received would leave tongues wagging. Yes, the state government is now resorting to the Official Secrets Act 1972 to

Biodiversity, and we are part of the Eco-System

Image
  What state governments like the current one under Menteri Besar, Amirudin Shaari fail to understand is that we are all part of an eco-system.           A forest reserve was gazetted in order to preserve the biodiversity in the habitat -- the flora and the wildlife in it, and once destroyed, they are like the ancient artifacts, they cannot be recovered. Even if the state were to replant the trees again, it would take over a century before we regain the rainforests which are part of our heritage.           Some 4000 hectares of forest reserve land may be lost if efforts are not made to save the pristine forest.            Based on what I am hearing, it's not development but some quarrying work that may be carried out as soon as the moratorium has been removed. Today, 

JKR has set a good example for MPS

Image
  A bouquet for JKR, LLM, PLUS and others who were involved I received two Whatsapp messages from two different people in Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), one from a senior person in JKR and the other from his personal assistant. (Names withheld to protect their privacy, but I have sent my bouquet to the person).          The invitation was to attend a meeting together with PLUS, Highway Authority and JIR over a letter that I wrote regarding the bottleneck at NKVE toll exit at Sungai Buloh. The traffic light apparently does not help, especially during peak hours when vehicles from five or even six lanes merge into a two-lane bridge.           Of course, I could not make it but I was happy to provide my observations to help the authorities to improve the traffic during peak hours. I have to add, I hardly use this road, but if the problem is solved, it would of course, bring smiles to many Malaysians.    Within a Week          Within just one week, I did not receive the kind of letters one woul

The Picture is Coming Together Now

Image
  Now, the picture is coming together, after reading Andrew Sia's   article in Malaysiakini which I reproduce here for those who have not subscribed to the portal.           This is against the backdrop of my own experience with the State Government and the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) which pisses me off, considering that I had even pre-empted these people two years ago that my series of letters were only part of a campaign that I would kickstart, if things do not improve at the local government level.          Delivery of services by the local government is important as it affects our livelihood and our living conditions. I have to give credit that, in some instances, there have been some improvement, but why does it have to be after a lot of efforts to highlight either in the newspaper or for me to create a blog just to focus on MPS and Selangor?            What surprises me is that, even at the state government, the Menteri Besar and the State Exco in charge of local govern

COMMENT | 16 tough questions for Selangor MB Andrew Sia Published: Sep 9, 2022 8:20 AM

Image
Looks like we all know why Selangor is so badly run compared to the early years even under Khalid Ibrahim. After Azmin Ali took over and now Amirudin, Selangor gets from bad to worse.  Can the Sultan do something to save Selangor from becoming a Darul Sampah Sarap? And things are just in shambles despite complaints made to the Majlis and Stare EXCO especially Ng Sze Han and Amirudin.  The PH Council should also ensure that such characters would no longer be picked anymore as people’s elected representatives.  COMMENT | 16 tough questions for Selangor MB Andrew Sia Published:  Sep 9, 2022 8:20 AM COMMENT | Has Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari become too arrogant? His state government has been trying to chop down part of the Bukit Cerakah Forest Reserve. When criticised, he responded, "Brother, pass me your address because I want to sue you for accusing me of taking money from developers." This sounds like a taikor (big brother) trying to intimidate people into silence. De

Wait for Disaster to Strike Attitude

Image
  This is the problem with Selayang Municipal Council. They will only react when a complaint is lodged. Instead of inspecting the trees in a particular area to see if they can cause damage to the public, they will wait till someone complains, OR when a disaster like this happens.          Poor guy, I am not sure if the owner of this vehicle even knows that he can claim the full amount of the damage from MPS. Recently, there was another case and the owner of the damaged property managed to claim the full amount.          However, the bottom line is: What is our State Government in Selangor doing about such an attitude? Why are they still allowing such attitude to continue despite complaints -- and even a blog like mine here to show them that the local government is not doing its job?          Just look at how people have suffered. It is not that such information has not been communicated up to them. It is hard to believe that flash flood can occur here on a hilly area but when it happen

State Exco Ng Sze Han, MPS has no budget?

Image
Updated on Dec 1, 2022:            This is already the third term since Pakatan Rakyat took over the state of Selangor. But, I have to say that its performance is below par.            Most of us were willing to give Pakatan Harapan up to 2 + 1 terms to clean up the previous mess, with the hope that in the third term, the state would take off to a new height.          After two years of following with MPS and a series of letters written to (a) MPS Aduan (b) Council President (c) Department Heads (d) local councillor (Ng Wei Keong and now Calvin Cheong) (e) State Assemblyman, Elizabeth Wong (f) former MP, Tony Pua (g) State Exco in charge of local government, Ng Sze Han and (h) Menteri Besar, Amirudin Shari, I have to give them the thumbs down.           Even after the GE15, I have yet to see Gobind Singh Deo, the newly elected Damansara MP. Before the GE, there were promises to fix the problems `within the next few days.' But GE15 is over, there is nothing but just silence,

What is the use of the Taklimat Kesedaran?

Image
  When politicians do things, it's all for the sake of good look. Or, is it just to campaign for the coming general election and show the bosses that we have done something?          There is a lot of touch and go stories to tell about the way how our local governments are run. A lot of public funds are wasted because they are just doing thing without using their brains.                     After the briefing session, I guess we will see a lot of improvement to the Zones managed by the Selayang Municipal Council. If that happens, bravo! If you tell me it's long term solution, do you think I will buy the story?           In this banner, the present councillor, Calvin Cheong appointed by Damansara MP, Tony Pua, is seen going to be the main highlight for the talk about cleanliness in Zone 23. It's just two hours, when there is hardly any crowd. I wonder if they will sponsor food and drinks to attract more people to come.          Right in front of his own service centre, there

Perancang (Town planner) of MPS has a lot of explanation to do

Image
  For the past 20 years, we have never questioned the Perancang (Town Planner) of Selayang Municipal Council (MPS). Because of that, we are now seeing places like Aman Puri becoming a mess once the traffic volume increases.           Looking at the traffic flow at Desa Aman Puri, it already appears very confusing, what's more, on the road.          For example, at Point 1 (on the map)  highlighted above, traffic from four different directions flow into one junction. If a bus stops or blocks the way, the area gets congested. This is worsened during festive seasons when MPS approves the stalls selling Chinese New Year goodies here.           By doing one-way street, this has worsened the traffic flow. Instead of allowing traffic from Persiaran Perdana to flow naturally, they are diverted to Jalan Desa 1/5 and Jalan 16 before joining back to Persiaran Perdana.          Even when traffic joins back to Jalan 16, the local council has placed a double line to disallow traffic from turnin

Briefing on the Importance of Cleanliness by MPS

  While driving past a junction, a banner  It has come to me as a surprise that there will be a briefing by 

Something's really wrong with Selangor State Government, when this group Otai Reformis 1998 is also getting pissed off by Selangor PH

Image
           I am not alone feeling pissed off by PH in Selangor. In my case was after two years of follow up on issues relating to one local council when I saw people at the state government are just warming their seats.           (Please go to Facebook and look for Abdul Razak Ismail and add him as your friend to read all his posts).          While there are some very good people like Dr Siti Mariah who cared for the people during the Covid pandemic, we are now seeing some unusual things happening which the State Government has to answer the people who elected them.         Regarding this case which I have started to research into, Otai Reformis 1998, an NGO which was started by PKR supporters back in 1998, is now asking why "the Selangor State Government approved 27 companies to open quarries on Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve."          This is a question that Amirudin Shaari as Menteri Besar has to answer to the people of Selangor.           It appears like even Otai Reformis

Daulat Tuanku!

Image
https://www.thevibes.com/articles/news/72136/sultan-nazrin-lauds-author-for-calling-out-malay-muslim-corruption-head-on SHAH ALAM –  Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah has lauded Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Mohd Kamal Hassan for the latter’s courage in not mincing his words when he linked the words “corruption” and “hypocrisy” with Malay politics in the title of his new book. The Perak ruler took special note of the book’s title: “Corruption and Hypocrisy in Malay Muslim Politics – The Urgency of Moral-Ethical Transformation”, seeing that Malays are known for gently rebuking others in the interest of civility and sensitivity rather than calling a spade a spade. “The author chose two key words – corruption and hypocrisy – courageously linking these two strong key words with Malay politics to be part of the book’s title.  “The Malays, for a long time, (have been) known for the culture of metaphors, figurative rhetoric, parallelisms, and poetic flourish. “In desiring to protect feelings and sentimen