Abominable Taxi Service at KLIA

The letter, "Long taxi wait must stop" must be at least the third time this issue has been addressed by the public in a week. The fact that The Star has also seen fit to give so much space and time for a single issue reflects on the seriousness of the problem, and is even urging the Government to try to solve it fast.

The Government must really take a long hard look at this problem from 'apolitical' eyes, and must consider implementing a fair commercial system to address the problem of inefficient taxi services, badly maintained vehicles, and arrogant and rude taxi drivers. It must dismantle the present system of mollycoddling taxi owners and crony capitalists, and open the service to competition and to abolish the present monopolistic policies.

In KLIA, we have a first Class International airport, but must we tolerate a third class taxi service? How did we measure the 'transformation' that has reported regularly, when it is clear from the many complaints that the public has made, there is no improvement at all?

Are the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Tourism and PEMANDU not embarrassed in the slightest way?

For the public who travel frequently abroad, the budget and premier taxi service at KLIA is a clear example of the Government "cakap tak serupa bikin"....

Foreigners giving Bukit Bintang a trashy image

This letter Foreigners giving Bukit Bintang a trashy image written by Mimi Chih, is just a continuation of the sorry story of how foreigners and aliens, most of them here illegally, have literally taken over the retail business from local Malaysians. Earlier we have read about similar conditions existing in Klang and Kota Raya, and now, it's no surprise, the Golden Mile of business, Bukit Bintang has been "colonised".

In those earlier letters that we have written, and it bears repeating here, are the issues raised by the writer, to quote:

• Even we, being Malaysians, were stunned to see that all these foreigners were openly working in Malaysia.
  
• I doubt they have work permits.
• What is the Immigration Department doing? Surely, the director-general is aware of this.
  
• What is DBKL doing?

Why are we talking about the country making impressive progress through transformation programs when we can't even protect our small businesses and retail trade that is literally being "outsourced" without even leaving our shores.!

Global Warming.. world in comatose!

READ THIS >>Grim Reports on Global Warming >> World Bank, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Seek to "wake up the world"

It's already too late. The world is about to go into comatose. In Malaysia, we have daily reports on continued wanton destruction of forest reserves and green lungs... Just today 20 November, 2012 in The Star, three reports of blatant disregard of the environment have appeared:

• Templer Park under threat 
• Aerial patrols timely {but it's just for "show"}
• Bukit Kiara supporters fretting over perimeter fencing in the park
• 
  

And in the meantime, in the same paper, The Star, the Malaysian Tourism Ministry has advertised Malaysia as an environmentally friendly nation, bragging about its nature tours! Is the Ministry blind?

solution to stolen manhole covers!

I wish to congratulate whoever is responsible for solving the problems of stolen manhole covers in Section 11 Petaling Jaya. I am referring to the two manholes whose covers have been stolen more than 6 months ago. {{Location: @ Jalan 11/4 just opposite the Restaurant Chuan Lee, towards the junction with Jalan 11/2.}}

Many parties, including my wife, have reported many times that the manholes are stolen, leaving gaping holes of 4 feet by 2 feet wide. If a person had fallen into it, he could have been killed.

Just this evening, I walked past the two manholes without manhole covers, and lo and behold, the manholes have been FILLED WITH SAND AND EARTH, so much so a car would have safely parked over the hole. What an innovative way of solving the problem of stolen manhole covers..... fill up the manhole!!!

I have to ask this stupid question... If manholes can be filled up, what is the use of having these manholes in the first place? I can't believe we Malaysians have become so brain dead!

Please, somebody look into this.

AES System is not foolproof, functions should be explained

Instead of making sweeping statements like, Don’t politicise Automated Enforcement System, the Honourable Minister should instead clarify in detail comments made in the letter that the System is not foolproof, functions should be explained so that the public knows they are being treated fairly, and not used instead, to line up the pockets of the service provider!

In the letter, the Hybrid Car Owner asked, "Can someone from the appropriate agency explain again exactly how the AES functions? How does it identify multiple vehicles moving at different speeds, captured side by side together with a law-breaking vehicle (mostly travelling in the fast lane)?"

It is a good question, and it raises the fundamental question on how the AES system is able to selectively take photos of vehicles that break the speed limit, or shoot the lights? I may add to the question too. How will the camera take clear pictures of motorcyclists who snake around junctions and make all sorts of illegal moves like U-turns and shooting the lights, when the motorcycles do not behave in the "standard" way a car behaves, and will not "stand still" for a clear photo to be taken?

Like the Hybrid Car Owner, I have doubts of the technical capability of the system, and unless the Minister comes up with some detailed clarification and also demonstration to us and to the NGOs, you can't help the public for thinking that once again, we have been taken for a ride, AT OUR EXPENSE!

Haphazard parking in PJaya

It is obvious that the residents of Petaling Jaya have welcomed the One-way loop proposal for four major roads in PJ  as they are really fed up with the traffic mess they have to face daily. With the expected national annual increase of 600,000 vehicles on the road, there would have been no respite to their commuting woes.

However, I would like to suggest to the authorities that a good system is ONLY as good as it's maintained. At the present moment, traffic on this 'loop' can be much improved if the the authorities would maintain strict vigilance against haphazard parking at these areas:

1. Jalan Yong Shook Lin, the stretch from the TNB building to the overhead pedestrian bridge near the former National Registration Dept
2. Jalan Semangat, outside Jaya 33
3. Jalan Barat, from KFC to Courts, opposite the PJ Hilton.
   

If these stretches are diligently cleared of illegal parking, which blocks up to half the road stretches sometimes, traffic would be eased.
Can we do that, while we continue debate on the "proposed loop"??

Stop haphazard parking in PJ 
 

We love the Johor Sultan!

Reading this report in The Sunday Star, >>Johor Ruler: Mersing Laguna developer failed to fulfil condition I was impressed by the diligence of HRH the Sultan of Johor, who has taken a personal interest in the affairs of his beloved State and I was further struck by what he said, as quoted in The Star, " Nobody should take advantage of the situation for personal gains when acquiring equipment for the Special Forces,” he said, adding that recently four Rapid Intervention Vehicles (RIV) were purchased for RM2.76mil or RM690,000 each. During the event, Sultan Ibrahim displayed one of the RIV vehicles and another personal vehicle that he purchased for RM150,000. “Which of these will be your choice? I do not understand why government purchases involve exorbitant charges that do not make sense,” Sultan Ibrahim, who is also a Colonel in the Special Forces, said. "

Based on the statement, should the Auditor General and the Anti Corruption Agency initiate investigations as to the reasons why the Defense Ministry has paid such exorbitant charges for apparently the same type of equipment, and, if true, any other "exorbitant" charges have been made regarding the Government's purchases.

We are indeed grateful to his HRH the Sultan of Johor for showing an exemplary interest in the affairs of the State, and in this instance, I think the public fully deserves an explanation from the authorities

AES.. Malaysian Traffic Management System

When I read this business report, AES poised to make drivers toe the line and the statement that, " SOON Malaysians might be driving like Singaporeans.." I can't help myself but ROFLOL {rolled on floor, laughing out loud} ! Why, you may ask. In a properly functioning and efficiently enforced system, this may well happen, and we may see "drivers conforming to speed limits on their roads....driving in unison, keeping to the speed limit in constant flow of traffic, afraid of being nabbed for breaking the law."
In Malaysia, this maybe too much to expect, and certain answers need to be given by the authorities before we can dream of an orderly traffic on our roads and highways. The questions are as follows:

1. Will the AES system be maintained in proper working order 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
2. Who vets the photos?
3. Who issues the tickets?
4. Who will collect the fines?
5. What happens when fines are persistently ignored? Will discounts be given, or will the offenders be taken to courts, no mitigation allowed?
6. Will the Operator of the AEC system be paid based on the amount of fines ISSUED, or on the amount of fines COLLECTED?
   
7. How will the Police and/or the AES system operator deal with motorcyclists who cannot be found, or have invalid addresses, as we know a significant number of these motorcyclists are foreigners, many of them staying in the country illegally?
   
8. Besides sharing the "spoils" or parking fines {issued or collected?}, do the AES operator get any other maintenance or "consultancy" fee, for example ?

I am praying for the system to succeed, as too long, we law abiding road users have been hounded and harassed by the hooligans of the road. But, until the questions that I have raised can be properly answered for public consumption, I am afraid this project will join the ranks of those high sounding projects that the Government has implemented, and naively thought will work out.

We need to transform our traffic management system, but that means hard work like boring maintenance and enforcement, 7 days a week, 365 days in a year, 366 in a leap year!
Are we up to it?

4 Revisions of MAS organisation in one year! Messy!

First of all let me say that I am just a retired ex sometime Govt servant  and also Corporate Manager with no experience in anything at all, but reading your report, MAS has new organisation chart for staff still raises a few questions in my mind, which I hope to be enlightened. You mentioned that MAS has  "released a revised organisation chart to its employees yesterday and from the middle of next week, all division heads will be known as directors. This could be the third or fourth revision to the organisation chart over the past one year. " This statement conjures up so many images in my mind, which I feel can be confusing to the public who takes the trouble to read everything in The Star, like I do. They are 'bulleted' below for ease of reference:

• Three or Four revisions of of an organisation chart within a year would seem to me, the management do not know what they are doing, or there is such a tumultuous power struggle in the company that no productive work can be done
• Change of name titles from division heads to directors. What is so important about a name that it so delays and disrupts the important work of an organisation. I also noticed this seems to be a Malaysian "disease". From experience, I realise that Malaysian corporations like big titles like directors, Group ED/CEOs and all that egoistical stuff, and a title like General Manager is held with a little disdain. While in the Philippines for example, they tend to get on with the job, and just call any head of an organisation the GM. 
• Looking at some of the names holding the high sounding posts also gave me a small shock! I know MAS is a so called GLC, but does it have to staff it like a Government department? This makes me wonder if MAS promotes people according to strict meritocracy or does it think that it's just another Government corporation? 

I am beginning to understand why MAS, once the exemplary flagship corporation in Malaysia is struggling, and struggling badly. It is beginning to be very embarrassing. Let's hope there will not be another review of the organisation in 6 months' time ! :(

Malaysia destroys forest reserves..

Reading your report, Logging intensifies in Pedu it would seem to me that politicians of all stripes will ride roughshod over environmental issues, and will do anything to skirt laws that protect and preserve our precious environment. In this instance I find it ludicrous that there is such an useless law that requires a State Government to file an EIA report only if logging is approved for land in excess of 500 hectares! What is to prevent the wayward authority from awarding logging concessions in 'parcels' of 500 ha or less each time it deems that more royalty is needed to fill State Coffers? .

Forest reserves, especially those that form part of a crucial catchment area of the State, is essential for the continuous supply of drinking water to the State, and these areas should be placed above narrow parochial interests. A progressive Government, whether it be the State or Federal Authority, should protect it as part of our national Treasure,and anyone breaching the area should be considered as having committed a treasonous offence punishable by a life sentence, or death.

In Brazil, it has been just agreed by the government there that any project affecting the Amazon will only be implemented after due consultation with all the stakeholders involved.

It can be seen in the recent catastrophic events caused by seasonal rains in China, Japan, and the Philippines, and the terrifying drought in the Midwest of USA have been caused by decades of over development, with scant attention given to preserve the Earth's dwindling natural assets.

Are Malaysians learning from this?
Protect forests as national treasure

Malaysian politics: Wising up to fragile situation

This is such a timely interview, >> Wising up to fragile situation I think Star should forward this straight to the Government, and the Opposition, and then pray they will read and ponder....

Some of his keen observations:

• It is a fragile situation because anyone who is a bit of a populist and knows how to play with emotions can play the identity politics in a very bad way and drive this country into division.
• He sees contradictions as parties try to be inclusive and open up to society (especially non-Muslims) as this can attract voters for the election but at the same time, there is an opposing move which is the “narrowing down of the religion” and “reducing it to symbols”.
• He says when people play with such symbols, the media is quick to jump on it and create controversy on the issue of whether we can use the word “Allah” or not and this is not a good thing for the country.
• Another problem Dr Tariq has noticed is that when Malaysian students study Islam in Arab countries where there are literalists, they “come back with not only Islamic principles but also an Arab way to deal with the Islamic principles” and they try to project that culture here.“It is important for Malaysia to celebrate their culture and not to think that because you are an Arab, you are a better Muslim. It should come from something which is within

The whole column is worth reading slowly, and Dr Tariq who is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, one of the founder members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, says that Malaysia is in  a fragile situation given its religious and ethnic mix, and the nation needs WISE politicians, courageous religious leaders and a dose of good luck to continue its path of stability and peace.

If only our politicians will understand.

Malaysian drivers can be likened to cavemen in cars

I am sending this to friends who don't read The Star, or who don't read The Star like I do, ie every page, and every word,  {hahahaha}  Click here>>>> Malaysian drivers can be likened to cavemen in cars as I find myself reading this twice, and nodding my head in agreement many many times.

We Malaysians are really pathetic!

I also hope the police will read this thoroughly, and maybe use this as reference to draft their SOPs and to achieve their KRAs under "Traffic Management"

Some quotes from the column :

• Clearly, most drivers long ago concluded that the authorities are not serious about enforcing traffic regulations. Cars are, for example, illegally parked right in front of the pondok police in Bangsar but the cops don’t seem to notice or mind.
• if you are unfortunate enough to get ticketed whenever officialdom stirs, a few dollars should settle it; more if it’s near a festive season. It’s called an out of court settlement.
• It makes no sense to stop at a red light when there is no traffic,”
• Pedestrian crossings, as everyone knows, are actually kill zones;
• Motorcyclists, for their part, don’t think that traffic lights (or any rules for that matter) apply to them.
• owners of those expensive and flashy cars with fancy number plates and windscreens covered with club stickers. They seem to think that they are entitled to special privileges including parking in front of hotel lobbies, mall entrances or restaurants.
• Orang putih and diplomats, of course, get a free pass when it comes to traffic rules; the old tuan mentality is apparently alive and well despite over five decades of independence and constant reminders by our politicians that we are now masters of the universe.
• We grumble about what’s wrong but won’t do our part to help make things better.

And Finally, " It’s about time we cultivated a healthy respect for the law and learn to take our obligations as citizens and drivers more seriously. As Gandhi once said: “We must be the change we want to see.  Until we do, we will be little better than cavemen in cars.
Now you know why I had to read this twice.. Thanks Dennis

Understand terms of insurance policy

Reading this letter, Understand terms of insurance policy written by Tan Sek Choo, really gives me the creeps, and demonstrates how the majority of the people who buy Medical Insurance may have been taken for a ride.

Leaving out the other details, I would like to refer to what she said of the critical illnesses APPROVED by Bank Negara, quote  "....the definitions of the lists of critical illnesses cover are very rigid. The condition of the illnesses should be life-threatening for the purpose of claim. For example, in the case of cancer, the cancer cells must be invasive and normally a stage three cancer is considered “critical”. I would say the condition must be “terminally ill”. ...." {underline, mine}

It would be correct of me to say that, when we take out medical insurance for ourselves and our relatives, we expect the insurance to be able to assist us defray the high cost of private medical care, with the normal expectation that the insured will recover from the illness. But as the letter has explained, Insurance companies will only pay for critical illness treatment if they feel you have a slim chance of surviving the illness ! Being told that you have cancer or a heart attack is already terrible, but then to find out that your expenses can only get reimbursed by your insurance, if you have less than 10% chance of coming out of the treatment cured, or being alive for a period of time is "adding salt to the wound".

And to think that Bank Negara has a hand in the dirty trick.

Furthermore, do we know that most medical insurance are limited by age? After faithfully paying for decades, you may find that the cover is withdrawn, once you reach 70, when the need for medical expenses is likely to rise.. Even before you reach that age, premiums double up every year or so, after reaching 60.

How cruel can we be?

Public service a letdown

It's very interesting to read these reports 'side by side', Public service a letdown and Pemandu to review all public feedback.

In the first report, a letter to the Star written by TAN SRI RAMON NAVARATMAN Chairman, Asli Center of Public Policy Studies it was reported that "despite all the good government efforts to transform our country and society, to reach developed economy status by 2020, about 45% or nearly half our public complaints end up with bad results!"
The second report, however gave an ironic twist to the fact, and would seem to me to be a fabricated report of Pemandu to the public. In fact, if you read ALL of Pemandu's public presentations, there is never any negative report of any Government functions at all. Even when the public live in fear due to increasingly aggressive crimes being committed on them, Pemandu says it's only a 'perception'.

Who is telling the truth then? For me, it has to be the Public Complaints Bureau.

Selangor' Rubbish problems

The never ending reports on the saga of uncollected rubbish and incompetent rubbish contractors, in the reports Petaling Jaya folk want rubbish collectors to respond faster and Irregular rubbish collection in Kinrara remind us that Malaysia lies almost at the bottom of the heap in keeping the country clean and healthy.

Whilst I have also been adamant that the rubbish contractors have been quite irresponsible in their efforts to do the job, I have also raised the observation that most, if not all the residents in the respecitve areas have not been cooperative. On my part, I try to separate the rubbish everyday, so that food waste is not bagged together with plastics and recyclables. I always put mu rubbish in proper disposal bins while awaiting collection, and I know the collectors will at least have a decent chance to save and salvage the reusable "rubbish" like aluminum cans and plastic bottles. I also send my bulk waste to organisations that recycle them for charity. I put my garden waste in black bags as suggested by the contractors, and leave them in neat piles for collection.

Reading the reports today, it is obvious that half the blame lie on the residents themselves. They nonchalantly

• put their garbage bags almost anywhere;
• pay no heed to "no Litter" signs and throw all rubbish including bulk waste anywhere they like; this is making it extra difficult for the rubbish contractors to complete their job on schedule
• throw rubbish outside the designated areas, and then complain that the contractors do not collect the bags; are the contractors expected to know of EVERY place rubbish is being thrown?
  
• dump bulk waste anywhere they feel it's convenient, and they also expect the contractors to know how to collect them;
  
• throw rubbish into drains clogging them; restaurant owners are the most guilty of this act; and then they complain that the rubbish contractors do not clear rubbish from the clogged drains. 

If residents are apathetic, and do not cooperate to keep the areas clean, even the best rubbish contractors will find it impossible to clean up the town. This problem is of course compounded by the sudden change of most contractors in Selangor, with most of them offering cutthroat prices for the job. Of course, most of the workers will be foreign, cheaply recruited, with little experience in rubbish collection.
Keeping the areas clean is a mutual responsibility between the residents, the local councils and the contractors, and at the moment, though the contractors have not been competent, the residents have not been cooperative too.
The local councils need to be firm with residents who throw rubbish in such a irresponsible manner; for example I have told MBPJ about mattresses and broken chairs and radios and TVs etc being thrown just outside some houses in Jalan 11/10; the enforcers could have just gone there and fined and warned the tenants or the owners. Instead, everyone is blaming the rubbish contractor. What sort of Rubbish management is that?
In Germany, for example, if a household has bulk waste to dispose of, the owner will call a certain number, and arrange it to be collected on a certain day, leave her rubbish in a neat pile at a convenient corner on the designated day, otherwise it will not be collected. At present, Malaysians adopt a "throw as you like" attitude on their rubbish disposal, and unless the councils can do something about that, the rubbish problem will persist.

It takes two to keep Selangor clean

Tony Pua Media Statement Responding to Tan Sri Fong Chan Onn on SEDA

 http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/50536-tony-pua-media-statement-responding-to-tan-sri-fong-chan-onn-on-seda

This is very interesting, and Tony Pua is brilliant. I hope he can become one of our "movers" in Government one day.

But I am curious about this issue, and the approval of FIA holders under the FIt scheme whereby the holder of the approval is to supply power back to the grid, for some profit, thereby increasing the use of renewable energy? Some questions roiling my head {not rolling in my head}:

• Since this is a new "industry", where are the people, companies with the right criteria to get the approvals, Isn't almost everyone a 'newbie' in this industry, especially in Malaysia? 
• If the end objective is to generate renewable energy for own use and then sell the excess back to the Grid at a pre determined price, is there a need for an approval holder, whether a corporation, or an individual, to have experience in that area?
• Wouldn't it suffice if there is confidence that the equipment and supplies are properly installed by certified and authorized parties?
• What track record will an individual have, for example, if he wants to supply RE based on solar pv panels from his single storey terrace house?
  
• What sort of track record will any company have in the burning of palm oil waste to convert into RE? 

Renewable energy is still a nascent industry, and we need to push the boundaries to make it work. So, do we use traditional 'measures' or do we innovate, and communicate as we go along?
I am not sure if there are no corrupt practices involved in this, but please don't let the zest to stop corruption and cronyism cloud every thing else.

Keep Bukit Kiara green

I refer to the letter, Keep Bukit Kiara green and in particular this statement, "Constructing the fences finally “opened” the eyes of the people who walk, jog and cycle along this popular trail every day. The public then realised it was only a matter of time before Bukit Kiara makes way for development, and it would never be the same again. The demarcation shows that the “other side of the fence” belongs to private landowners, and there is nothing to stop them from commercialising their land. If that happens, Bukit Kiara would no longer be tranquil and the green, green grass of Bukit Kiara would be gone forever...."

I was a little surprised that it took so long for this letter to be written, AND published, but it's better late than never. About a year ago, when I had the occasion to take a walk there with my daughter, I pointed out to her the fence-works, which was only in the preliminary stages but still very messy. I did not realise it then, but I made the prescient remark that the fencing was constructed actually to facilitate private developers to develop the land into expensive 'hillside' residences and condominiums in a premium location. One also wonders if the 'guidelines' on hillside slope development would be totally ignored also.

I hope this letter would open up the public's eyes, and I also hope that this place would not turn up to be another "PKNS field controversy", currently hogging your Metro section.

Road too narrow for comfort Jalan 11/10 PJaya

Zainun, Referring to your comments in Road too narrow for comfort Jalan 11/10 could you also please contact the residents of house #28 and #46 Jalan 11/10 P Jaya, as they live DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE AFFECTED ROAD and they will be only too glad to agree that the MBPJ take action to widen the road. By the way, Section 11 does not have a RA, as most of them residing in Jalan 11/10 are illegal foreign workers and the rest of the Section are just sleeping. While you are checking on the road, please also look at the dilapidated condition of some of the houses there, especially from #18 to #30, they are even used to keep stacks of cardboard, old furniture, used newspapers? Can residential houses be used as stores, or maybe hostels?



Residents living along Jalan 11/10 in Section 11, Petaling Jaya, are tired of manoeuvring their vehicles in and out of the narrow road.
They want the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to widen the road that will allow residents to park their vehicles without causing any obstruction.
Resident YS Tam said he had forwarded several emails on the matter to the council but that nothing had come out of this.

Wasted space: Tam showing the one metre space along the road shoulder where he has suggested to MBPJ to widen and level the road to allow motorists to park with ease.

“Widening Jalan 11/10 must be made a priority. When residents park their vehicles opposite the houses on the roadside, the path becomes too narrow for garbage trucks or larger vehicles to enter.
“School buses also find it difficult to drive along the road,” he said.
Tam pointed out that there was about one metre of space between the tarred road. But due to the uneven road shoulder, motorists did not want to risk parking there and damaging the undercarriage of their vehicles.
“We had a similar situation along Jalan 11/5 and the drains were covered up more than a decade ago. Recently, the council did the same in parts of Jalan 11/4 opposite Grand City Restaurant.
“Similar action can be taken along Jalan 11/10 and the problem will be resolved. We hope our request will not fall on deaf ears,” he added.
Tam said the safety of roadusers must be considered, especially when SK Sultan Alam Shah children used the road daily.
He said residents must also be notified when the council’s Engineering Department officers come to inspect the area.
When the matter was related to a Selangor Fire and Rescue Department officer, he said the narrow road would hamper them in an event of a fire.
He said the council should upgrade roads in the older neighbourhoods as well.
MBPJ public relations officer Zainun Zakaria said technicians from the Engineering Department would inspect the road and ascertain if it was suitable to cover the drains with metal gratings.
“We will appreciate it if a resident representative could be present to provide feedback,” she said.

Assessing the RM40bil Battersea project

In  Assessing the RM40bil Battersea project, the writer is right to voice some concerns regarding such a big project that requires billions of ringgit to develop and to finalise, and it is hoped that the companies, together with the EPF holding 500billion of public money in trust, have made the correct assumptions, and the financial models show good returns as required for such a flagship investment.

However, in my limited experience with local blue chip corporations making huge investments in foreign countries, one factor that has been consistently overlooked by these corporations is the fluctuation of the foreign currency during the investment, and then in the revenue generation periods. As the world's economies become more volatile and uncertain from day to day, (even the breakup of the Eurozone is not an impossible event), I wonder if these companies, and the EPF have considered, in their financial proposals, the rise and fall of the ringgit compared with the Sterling, and the effects on the of such fluctuations on the capital drawdowns and profits.

A 20% gross profit can turn into a break even  or loss situation, if currency values fluctuate more than 5%. If the sterling strengthens at the time of capital injection, more than the anticipated ringgit capital may have to be sourced.

I have also known of projects that have seen the profits wiped out because of delays in getting approval, permits and licences, and in supply and implementation bottlenecks. And I am not speaking of SMEs but big corporations too.

Big corporations such as Sime Darby can take such a business risk, as it's expected business strategy to seek growth, but should the EPF, which is responsible to protect the public's welfare fund,  do so?

Yes, if the project is too big to swallow, we may get choked.

Malaysia.. fuel subsidy and renewable energy

Reading this letter from Distraught Malaysian, Remove fuel subsidy to prevent abuse, it does not take one to be the Prime Minister to realise that long term subsidy of our fuel would just hamper our efforts to stabilize our economy and balance our budget. However, until the Government has established a viable Social Security net for all citizens, and not just those in the civil service, some form of subsidy will be necessary to help the unfortunates survive in this tough world of ever rising costs. The Government instead, must find the political will to cut off the subsidy abuse of the rich and the arrogant, though it will be like asking a guy with a knife to cut off his own hand!

Rather than just mouthing truisms like we cannot live on subsidies forever, the Govt should really think out of the box, to find ways of using renewable energy to keep our energy costs down, so that removing fuel subsidy eventually will not hurt as much. Let me digress a bit and give you an example.

When I was watching an Al Jazeera news program recently, I watched some new Jewish settlements on occupied territory being demolished by the Israeli Govt and what I saw amazed me. All the new residences that were just constructed had solar panels on their roofs, and from the pictures, they looked like those that provided hot water for the homes. It seemed to me that it's a policy in that dry and arid land to have solar panels for every house?

Now, coming back to our nation, if we look around us, in all housing areas, only the few rich and well heeled can afford solar heating systems, as they are priced out of reach by greedy businessmen. On the other hand, air conditioners proliferate the housing estates, sometimes each house having three or more units of standalone air conditioners.

If the Government has the political will to push the country to

• invent air conditioners to be driven by renewable solar energy
• and to also have policies to drive down the prices of solar pv panel prices,
• fund research into inventing new and super efficient batteries

our nation, which has in abundance renewable solar energy would be able to reduce hugely, its dependency on fossil fuel for our energy needs.

Malaysia is so lucky to have sunlight a,most 365 days a year, and why are we not doing something about it? Leaving these efforts just to "big business" will just not work, and market capitalism as we know, only favours the rich and super rich.

Cheap booze brings pain

I refer to the letter, Cheap booze brings pain and this brings to mind several things.

If the reason for the Malaysia's very high tax policy on beer and liquor is to stem, if not eradicate, the conspicuous consumption of alcohol, it sure looks to me it's an abject failure. As the writer said so piquantly in the letter, the misery compounded by cheap and easily available liquor is very painful to witness, and difficult to ignore.

I also wonder if our nation's high tax levy on alcohol {believed to be among the highest in the world, next to Norway}, is also having the desired objective in the mainstream beer market. Let me illustrate. For example, we can easily buy a can of 320ml of locally brewed 'C' beer from sundry shops, grocery shops, coffee-shops, and hypermarkets at prices ranging from RM4.50 to 5.80 per can. However, we can also easily purchase similarly sized cans of foreign 'F', 'SM' or 'KF' etc etc at a standard price of RM10.00 for three 320ml cans! (All these brands have approx 5% alcohol content). That is, at RM3.35 per can.

What is even more amazing is in these outlets, we can also purchase the bigger and stronger foreign beer {500ml and alcohol content ranging from 8% to even 15%} at a standard price of RM5.50 per 500ml can! Some of the brands are 'B', 'KFstrong', 'SM', 'H', etc etc.

It would seem to me that high taxes is not the solution to our drinking woes, rather it's the lack of enforcement and the absence of guidelines on the sale and the imbibing of liquor that is the root of the problems outlined by the writer.

The availability of cheaper, stronger and more popular foreign brands in our market is a sure sign that something is not right in this sector of our business.

Don't politicize water issues

Reading the reports, Water crisis looms in Selangor  and Solve water woes fast, say Selangor residents among the many that have been published recently, gives us the distinct perception that water issues in the nation have been heavily politicized, much to the detriment of the long suffering public.

We feel the authorities are not serious in solving our water woes, but are just using them for their political ends. Let me give you an example. In a recent TV news {NTV7 to be exact}, highlighting the 'imminent' water disruptions in the {Selangor} State, the TV reporters decided to interview, of all people, a car wash worker. We all know that the Car Wash business wastes a lot of water, and in the most UNproductive way. Furthermore, most of these carwashes are apparently illegal in nature, employing many "similarly status" sourced foreign workers. Can the local authorities tell us that they approve of most of the car washes in the State?

So, instead of addressing the issues properly, and taking drastic action to prevent water wastage, we have the authorities from both sides of the political divide using the issue for 'grandstanding' purposes. All parties should put aside political differences and work for the better good, as water is a depleting resource.

Sometimes it's a wonder why people decide to vote at all

 Don't politicize water issues (page 10 Selangortimes)

Learn ethics from the Japanese

I refer to the letter, Learn ethics from the Japanese by Hasan Talib, and I was particularly struck by his saying that "we should learn to be grateful to the British who gave us a very good system of government, education, parliamentary democracy and above all, the English language. ..".  The Japanese, though they have had  their 'bad days' during the Second World War, are willing to accept learning and knowledge from those who defeated them and as the writer mentioned, are even grateful for Western help in rebuilding their devastated nation.

Likewise, I observe that the Koreans, even though they have been 'colonized' by China for hundreds of years, still proudly use the Chinese language besides the Korean language (Hangui script), invented by King Sejong to overcome the difficulty of learning the Chinese script in the 15th century.

The underlying reasons why the Japanese and the Koreans do so, is that they do not have the 'inherent insecurity' and distrust of anything foreign, and they are confident that they will not be 'less Korean or Japanese' even if they accept foreign influence and languages into their mainstream culture. They also do not harbour any inferiority complex, and they do not choose to hide behind false nationalistic values to cover their ineptitude.

It is this confidence and trust in ourselves that all Malaysians must inculcate, and we should ask ourselves, "Are we any less Malay/Chinese/Indian/Malaysian if we speak excellent English or French? Are we less loyal to our nation, if we wear the ubiquitous coat and tie to the office and to the Parliament?"

Self denial to cover up our inadequacies is surely the way to mediocrity. Have we all not learned in school the saying, "Katak di bawah tempurung?"

"Supper" Robbery at Section 11 PJ

For me, reading this report, Robbers prey on customers having supper makes it even more scary, as the robbery

1. happened in Section 11 P Jaya, not even 200 metres from my house;
2. this was the second robbery at the same restaurant in more than a month,
3. a Star reporter almost lost his hand in the robbery {if the ring had remained stuck on his finger}

Are we being lulled into a false sense of security by those Government reports that the crime rates have decreased? I am now very apprehensive, as Section 11 has always been known as a 'safe' section. I guess with the "midnight teh tarik" and 'suppering' culture among the fashion trends in Malaysia, we will most likely see "supper robbers" turning into a lucrative profession among our growing unemployed.
Unless I am sure the Police and the authorities come up with measures that deter such crimes, I intend to sadly avoid going for my regular Friday late night supper with my badminton friends, which is really unfortunate, for me and for a beer company.

Suu Kyi — a figure of reconciliation

I refer to your column, Suu Kyi — a figure of reconciliation and it's certainly inspiring to read about this phenomenal lady. She is a woman totally devoid of any ego, but with a heart burning with desire to help her country and its poor and downtrodden. She sacrificed her freedom and stood by her principles for more than two decades, but she chose not to seek vengeance, but instead preached forgiveness. When she again won back her political voice, she immediately went about nation building and reconciling her people. She is indeed a massive personality.

I am also very impressed by her pragmatism, and even as Myanmar actively pursues foreign investment and capital, she is so right to caution against reckless optimism and insist that investments must provide for a tangible 'trickle down' effect, and not for pure profits for the investors only. I quote, " I understand investors invest because they hope to profit from ventures. I agree with that, but our country must benefit as much as those who invest. I want this commitment to mean quite simply jobs – as many jobs as possible.”What an awesome lady and leader she is turning out to be. Many politicians of the world would do good to follow her example.

Suu Kyi a model for politicians all over the world

Is Malaysia competitive?

Dato,  After reading this, >> Much is being done to make sure M'sia can compete with the best on the world  I got a headache.. to a simple retired man with limited thinking facility, I find it very confusing, when we keep on harping on making Malaysia competitive, but at the same time, we seem to be opening our "floodgates" to cheap under-skilled and underpaid foreign labour, in plantations,in construction, in restaurants, in semi conductor factories, even in the 'Security' industry. How can we call ourselves competitive, when we depend on foreign labour, who, on top of grabbing our jobs, destroying our environment, using up our potable water and living space, also send the BULK of their earnings back to their motherlands.. Pray tell me, does this make Malaysia competitive??

We should bravely dive into the renewable energy solar cell sector, using every roof to generate RE, create thousands of new jobs, partner with China to lower the Solar cell cost. We should massively modernise the agricultural sector and its downstream activities, thus enabling the poor farming and fishing sectors. etc.. Instead, we import Nepalese guards, Vietnamese for Semi Con factories, Myanmars for restaurants, where is this going to end.
I am tired of reading all transformation stuff, when it doesn't translate into tangible results, except enriching the same few BIG tycoons... Am I wrong???

Businesses run by foreigners are growing in Klang

I refer to your investigative report, Businesses run by foreigners are growing in Klang town and note that this is the second time The Star Metro has highlighted the same problem of foreigners 'overrunning' the country, particularly in Klang. I had also expressed my fears many times in your paper,{Foreign Invasion in Petaling Jaya,  Concern over littering by foreign workers , foreign workers staying in slums, paying the price for cheap foreign labour, Malaysia a haven for illegal workers, and sex ring bust only addressing the symptoms } that the unrestrained influx of foreign workers for all sorts of cheap labour and even 'entertainment' will result in disastrous social consequences to our society. Our nation is already buffeted by global financial problems, imminent water problems in some States, unmonitored destruction of forests due to illegal timber extraction, dirty roads and clogged rivers. How is the country going continue to to provide the basic amenities to look after a large community of 'twilight' citizens who do not pay taxes but continue to share our country's dwindling resources such as water and livable space?

I agree that with a resident's comments when he "questioned how foreigners were allowed to operate businesses, especially when they came into the country with work permits. I do not understand why there is no action taken by the authorities,’’ 
It is simply amazing that Malaysia seem to be the only country in the Asia Pacific region that allow unfettered work and business opportunities for foreigners who admittedly all come to the country to seek work for a limited time on contract. For example, Philippines do not allow foreigners to take part in the retail business, and I am sure other nations in the area have similar restrictions. So, there must be something totally wrong with our Governments {State and Federal} when so many foreign workers, presumably coming here to work as labourers and guards, or who seek temporary political asylum, end up doing lucrative businesses for the long term. And do not appear to be returning ever to their motherlands.

While we seek to transform our country into a high income nation filled with opportunities for our citizens, through massive capital injections and transformation programs, nevertheless,  how are we going to deal with the onslaught of 'imported foreign workers' who seek to transfer their low cost low quality businesses from their homeland to our country?  Can our nation cope with an additional burden of 5 million foreigners, and have we taken account of their needs and their effect on the social fabric of the country?

The increasing number of grievances being aired clearly show our lives are being affected by such a force, and this is only going to increase as time goes by. If no serious action is contemplated by the Governments, I fear our nation will soon be just a myriad of multinational slums by the turn of the century.

We will then be truly Asia, slum-wise.

Provide actual meter readings monthly

Reading this letter in the Star today,>> Provide actual meter readings monthly by a 'Domestic Consumer', it is obvious that in spite of numerous appeals for a more equitable form of billing the customer published regularly in your paper, such as, 'have power meter readings monthly', 'continue with monthly power reading' and 'ensure "green levy" is based on monthly bills' {from November 2011 till now} the TNB has chosen to ignore the clamour from frustrated users, and have apparently ridden rough shod over the complaints.

As mentioned in those letters from the public, NOT having regular and fixed monthly readings of our power consumption, but alternately imposing higher estimates on our usage is tantamount to charging us unfairly on higher rates for fictitious power units that we NEVER consume at the time of billing. This is because of the sliding rates imposed by TNB in order to discourage high consumption. Thus, higher estimated billing will unfairly push the consumer to pay higher tariffs, (e.g. over 300 kwh per month), and now, with the RE Act 2011 already in place, also a higher 1% levy for the RE Fund.

It is also clear from the letter that the TNB has not done its job in explaining the 1% levy due to the “Kumpulan Wang Tenaga Boleh Baharu” or the Renewable Energy Levy

I hope those who have the authority to act will do so to protect us the power consumers, and not allow a monopolistic body to do what it thinks it's expedient to do so on the helpless public.
Bimonthly readings unfair to the public

PJaya is losing its soul

I refer to your report, >Former Star site to undergo RM900mil development into Pacific Star which, among other things state that Section 13, PJ,  bordered by Jalan Kemajuan, Jalan Semangat and Jalan Universiti, would be converted into a bustling special project area. Projects already completed are Jaya 33, Jaya One while further conversions of land are expected, with more buildings like office suites and hotels in future. The Picture also shows a beautiful futuristic skyline

and is comparable to those of Singapore/Shanghai/Manhattan by night.

But what the report has failed to inform us is how the developers are going to tackle the traffic gridlock that such massive development is bound to cause. Anyone who is familiar with the area, bounded by Section 12, 14, and 17 will agree that the present roads like Jalan Kemajuan, Jalan Semangat and Jalan University are woefully inadequate even to address the current traffic jams, especially on Jalan University, except for Sundays.
What will happen to the traffic on these roads during the development phase, and worse when the project is fully completed? There are also two mosques in the area, and will Jalan Semangat and Jalan University be converted to 'parking lots' as businesses and worshippers jostle for space?

Petaling Jaya is certainly losing its soul as big businesses continue to pursue profits, to the detriment of everything else

uncomfortable with influx of too many foreigners,

I refer to your report, Sg Way folks uncomfortable with influx of too many foreigners, It is timely for the media to highlight the many instances where unscrupulous house owners, in search of a quick buck, rent their premises to foreigners at a high price, not regarding the number of occupants that are squeezed into a house, and the damage to the premises that they occupy and to its surroundings.

Unfortunately, Sungai Way is just a blip on the landscape. If the media and the authorities would just do a census of the occupants in Section 17 Petaling Jaya, for example, especially those single and double storey link houses, we would find that not less than 20% of those houses have become more like 'hostels for foreign workers, and Myanmar "political" asylum seekers, who nevertheless seem to be gainfully employed. Some of these foreign workers have started families too. Likewise for other sections like Section 14, etc.

In Section 11, one group of houses in Jalan 11/10 seem to be a favorite for groups of foreign workers, and you can observe that these houses** are dilapidated, dirty, with garbage strewn outside the houses, in plastic bags. The houses do not appear to have been maintained since they were built more than 40 years ago, and they are an eyesore, besides posing as a health hazard.

What sort of Transformation program are we boasting about, when all we think of is to keep increasing the number of cheap foreign workers into the country, but at the same time, not catering for their basic needs. We cannot hope to achieve high income status, just by increasing the minimum wage which will only benefit foreigners, which will not result in an economic spillover effect in local consumption and growth. {Foreigners remit their earnings back to their motherland}

In the case of Section 11, I have been told by the Councillor some years back that he intends to make Sections 11 &12 the model section in Petaling Jaya. All I can say to that is, "hahaha" come and look at Jalan 11/10, with unkempt road edges, backlanes and clogged drains. 

Foreign Invasion in Petaling Jaya

Benign neglect and Malignant Indifference

Though it is suspected that there are 'other' reasons for such a photo shoot to grace the front page of your paper, I must admit that the report >> Ties with London set to soar is indeed uplifting. It is good to see a leader of our country stand shoulder to shoulder with a Head of State of a World Power{albeit faltering} and exchange views of mutual importance, treating each other with equal and genuine respect.

The underlying reason for such confidence and comfort demonstrated by our Prime Minister is of course his excellent command of the English language, and his ability to trade word for word, without loss of understanding and without diffidence, views on the nation's needs and aspirations.

The British Prime Minister has also promised to 'end an era of benign neglect' and restore Britain's relations with Malaysia to its 'former glory'. May I paraphrase Mr Cameron and suggest that, in order for our nation to continue to command respect in the International Arena, and improve our relations globally, the Government has also to end an era of  'malignant indifference' over the teaching of English in our schools. We need to grab the issue by the scruff of the neck, and get it right. Leaving it to the politicians and their inherent parochialism, we will end up spelling 'butterfly' as 'batefelai' 

Najib's command of English lets him soar

Malaysian contractors to build Bangladeshi's largest bridge {RM9bil deal with Bangladesh}

It is indeed a feather in the cap for Dato Seri Samy Vellu and the Prime Minister regarding the RM9bil deal with Bangladesh which have opened the path for Malaysian contractors to build Bangladeshi's largest bridge  when the Government announced the signing of the MOU with Government of Bangladesh.

However, on reading the details of the reports, I feel the initial euphoria should now be tinged with some caution. Two facts stand out and I quote:

1. " The Padma bridge project had last year been halted after the World Bank suspended a US$1.2 billion loan on allegations of corruption in the pre-bidding process. To this, Samy said the allegations are an internal matter for the government of Bangladesh to resolve."
2. " Under the MoU, the Malaysian Government would form a consortium of companies to implement the project on a Build, Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) concession basis.

1. Considering that even the august body like the World Bank has seen fit NOT to support the project because of alleged corruption, we would expect the Malaysian Govt, or even the private companies roped in to implement and finance the project would be extra cautious when signing the detailed joint venture and other implementation agreements, and not do it with "one eye closed", to their own peril. Those who have had international experience in implementing international G to G projects know that there is a tremendous amount of "discrepancy" between an MOU and the subsequent implementation agreements.
   
2. The other announced matter that should be taken with a pinch of salt is that under the MOU, the project is to be implemented on a Build, Operate, Own and Transfer basis or BOOT. Again, those with international experience on such projects will advise to tread with caution. In most countries around the South and South East Asian region, local and national laws normally prohibit ownership of projects that involve land, and that will include all infrastructure projects. Foreign operations of high profile and landmark projects are normally frowned upon by the unions and the Opposition, and sometimes, it can be too late when the real facts are made known. Foreign companies can subsequently be booted out in spite of firm support from the Governments who had inked the MOU. 

I am writing this based on personal experience, having managed  and organised two such similarly conceived projects a decade ago in a country SE Asia.
Be forewarned

Living next door to vice

Reading this column, >> Living next door to vice gave me a huge dose of deja vu  and a heightened feeling of hopelessness that our country is veering towards lawlessness, where its own citizens now live in fear of their own lives, as clusters of ethnic immigrants increase in numbers and viciousness.

I have been writing in my blog that we have too many foreigners staying in Malaysia, and also frequently in the media, { Concern over littering by foreign workers , foreign workers staying in slums, paying the price for cheap foreign labour, Malaysia a haven for illegal workers, and sex ring bust only addressing the symptoms } but all these portentous comments seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

While I have previously addressed mainly the issues of foreign 'workers', PGolingai has highlighted a new element in our 'love affair' with foreigners, that is, our uninhibited admission of foreign 'students' who use the opportunity to study in a foreign country to escape the drudgery of their own lives in their motherland.

Uncontrolled admission of  foreign students will have the same effect of continuous influx of foreign workers and I would like to repeat here,  that unless the Government seriously address the issue of our increasing dependence on cheap and often illegal foreign labour, and our love of foreign students, we are just introducing our country to all the negative and undesirable consequences of unrestrained and sub standard population. As the number of foreign workers and students with limited skills and no experience increase and converge inside our country, they inevitably form cliques, recklessly occupying previously peaceful residential areas, and exerting their influences forcefully and abusively, as can be seen by reports of foreigners fighting to evade arrest and eviction. We know now there are numerous enclaves in KL and all over the countryside, where suddenly a foreign (non citizen) group has become a majority in the area, depriving the locals of living space, clean water and houses, and even business opportunities.

While culturally, it may offer Malaysia an excellent opportunity to claim that it's "Truly Asia {and maybe partially Africa}", the social and environmental effects of such a large number (and still multiplying) of very low skilled foreigners ferried into our country and muscling our denizens out of their living space and work opportunities can only be deleterious in the long term.

Additionally, with Malaysia insisting on paying 'slave like' wages to those who clamour to work here, we cannot deny that we are just a part of the larger human trafficking system that is exploiting the poor and the down trodden of the world.

It's right; the worse is yet to come, not only for the residents of Venice Hill Condo, but for all the peace loving citizens of Malaysia.
Problems we don't need.... 

The other end of the blow by Joceline Tan,

Serendipitously, this feature >>> The other end of the blow by Joceline Tan, was published in Sunday Star, just after our "lively" discussion on the subject on Friday night, after some voluminous drinking :-) . We may not agree totally on the subject, but read through this column for a more sober analytical view, {which may also be not agreeable to some of us}

.. Cheers!

Quotes from the column:

1. Perkasa and Dong Zong should merge because they are best friends. They may look like enemies from the outside but they actually have a lot in common. Don’t believe me? Check how they behave in public. The only difference is their ethnic background and language but the rest of their mannerism is pretty much the same. Please think of a suitable name when they merge later,” said one Kuala Lumpur blog.
2. Normally, a rally of this sort would have been done under the umbrella body of Dong Jiao Zong. But Jiao Zong could not agree with all of the four resolutions that Dong Zong was trying to push through. For instance, Jiao Zong disagreed that even English and Bahasa Malaysia in Chinese primary schools must be taught by those with Chinese school qualifications.
3. As one Chinese businessman put it: “I’ve never seen a Chinese scold another Chinese the way they scolded him (Dr Wee). I felt sad for both sides.”
4. Saifuddin is from a multi-racial party; he could not understand a word of what was being said at the all-Chinese-speaking affair but he would surely know that this sort of event would send the average Malay voter straight into the arms of Umno.

As I have written in The Sun, >> Chinese groups ask wrong question  I strongly believe that we fight relentlessly against injustice, corruption and cronyism that is rampant in the present Govt., but we must be objective in our approach to the battle, and not stoop to belligerent tactics that are used by the others.. It will backfire, and will also demonstrate that we are in it for the same nefarious ends..

Till then, until next Friday, have a blessed week..

Chinese groups ask wrong question

Hello Dr Wee,
I saw the news on TV7 >> Dr Wee: My duty to listen to problems of the community and I admit I was saddened by the behavior, and the bigotry and immaturity of the Chinese who were present. I do not know the exact 'semantics' of the issue, ie the removal of non Mandarin teachers in Chinese vernacular schools, and/or the shortage of Mandarin speaking teachers.  I think those Chinese who propound that view are too narrow minded and arrogant. WE must fight relentlessly for injustice that has been served on our community, but in Malaysia, if we truly want to live graciously,and in harmony, the question to ask is not for the removal on non Mandarin teachers from Chinese schools, BUT to raise the question on why the number of non Malay teachers fall so far short of the National  ethnic ratio. If the recruitment of teachers have been impartially made in accordance of the racial composition of the country, we would have sufficient teachers for any scenario. So let's address the issue in the right way, and not behave so perversely.

Additionally, I do not agree that a Bahasa Malaysia teacher in a Chinese school must be Mandarin speaking, nor even a Mathematics teacher, if the teaching medium is in English.

We protest and cry when the UMNO provocateurs stir up the racial and religious emotion at every turn, but are we any better?

I am happy for the restraint shown by Dr Wee.

 Chinese groups ask wrong question

Fighting crime using LED lights

On reading your report, Fighting crime using LED lights I could not help but 'rolled on the floor, laughing out loud' {ROFLOL} as I felt that MBPJ is having another one of its hare brained schemes again. I have already commented on the wastefulness of the "prototype" parking bay project in PJ New Town which is apparently rusting away, and also from my email below, I have asked MBPJ why they are not continuing to MAINTAIN the Solar Panel Backlane Streetlights that they have installed in Section 11, PJaya, and elsewhere.

Attached are some pictures of the Solar panel back lane street lights installed at the BACKLANE of Jalan 11/10 PJ. Despite numerous complaints no action has apparently been taken to fine tune the lights. At the moment, all the lights shown in the pictures turn on approximately at 7.30pm, and turn off before MIDNIGHT. The streetLight behind house no 52 Jalan 11/10 has its solar panels hidden by on overgrown tree, and so does not turn on at all. In spite of numerous phone calls and emails to Aduan MBPJ, no action has been taken to trim the tree, as the MBPJ staff claimed that since the roots of the tree originated from a house, the overhanging branches are the responsibility of that house owner {no 10 Jalan 11/4}. So the residents of Jalan 11/10 are left with backlanes without lighting after midnight, and any right thinking person would agree that the times from midnight to dawn are the most 'dangerous' times in terms of criminality.

So my question, this time, to MBPJ is, are we now supposed to join the LUA program and install the beautiful Korean made LED lights, at our own expense? My next question is, will this be another hare brained scheme of MBPJ, and then left to 'rot' without maintenance, just like the hundreds of solar panel street lights that have been installed in many sections of PJ?

Millions spent to clean up rubbish which cause clogging

On reading this report, >Millions spent to clean up rubbish which cause clogging I have to agree wholeheartedly with what PJ City Council public relations officer Zainon Zakaria said that "about RM1mil was spent in cleaning up drains as well as repairing broken ones last year. She added that the city council had to deal with commercial waste, such as cooking oil, which was dumped into the drains. People must change their habits. If not, no matter how much cleaning up we do, the problem will continue,.."

I fear she is right in saying that no matter how much cleaning the Councils continue to do, the problem will persist, as long as people's attitudes remain. I also fear that the problem of rubbish clogging our drains and rivers will increase tremendously in spite of super efforts made by these local authorities, as our nation continues to depend significantly on "imported" labour for our basic cleaning needs.

For cost and availability reasons, the foreign workers all come from depressed countries in the regions around us, and due to extensive poverty, the citizens and the governments there do not have the time and resource to practise and maintain a culture of keeping the environment and the neighbourhood clean and hygienic. In certain countries that we 'extract' our labour from, it is well known that toilets are 'where and when the need arises' and in those areas, often drains do not even exist. Garbage bins? Who needs them!

Fast forward to Malaysia, where we have {in spite of difficulties with the Indonesian Govt relating to the 'import' of maids}, close to 5 million foreign workers performing basically cleaning services in homes, restaurants, factories, offices, plantations, construction sites, old folks nursing homes, and rubbish collectors, and who have indifferent ideas to the disposal of rubbish, what can you expect from such a workforce? And if they observe that their employers also have dirty habits and attitudes, how can we hope to keep our streets and drains clean and unclogged?

We have a huge problem on our hands, and continuous Govt corruption and 'tidakapathy' will only see it getting worse.

An end to modern medicine?

An end to modern medicine? by Martin Khor is indeed a timely feature, and serves to warn us of the perils of complacency and greed in the use of antibiotics as medicine and as a 'vitamin' for livestock. In Malaysia there are several reasons why we are also contributing to the increasing ineffectiveness of modern antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases. Among them are:

• Doctors like to use the 'sledgehammer' approach to the treatment of even the simplest of colds and sore throats. Antibiotics are prescribed the moment a patient complains of body aches and a sore throat, even though antibiotics are ineffective for viral infections.
• Poor patients who have to pay for the medication, skimp on its usage. For example, I know a dear friend, who only takes his antibiotics until his illness improves, and then keeps the remainder for use, the next time he has similar symptoms.
  
• Chicken and Pig farmers who indiscriminately use antibiotics as a prophylactic measure against illness among its livestock.

Earnest Education of our public, our medical practitioners and the farmers should be ongoing..

Timely Caution 

abuse and mistreatment of Indonesian maids in Malaysia

I have to disagree with the statement made by our HR Minister in your report, Subra: Not for embassy official to advise govt on suspension in which he said, "it is “out of place” for an Indonesian Embassy official to advise his government to suspend the sending of maids to Malaysia."
I think the Honourable Minister, in making that remark is showing his naivety and in my opinion, the Indonesian official has every right to speak up and advise his Government, if he knows that his people staying and working in a foreign country have been abused and mistreated. The Embassy official would be remiss in his duties towards his country and his people, if reports that his fellow citizens working in our country have not been paid salaries, and are also abused by, shockingly, Malaysian senior Government officials, are NOT acted upon expeditiously.

I would certainly hope that Malaysian Embassy officials serving in foreign countries would not hesitate to do the same for Malaysians who are in distress overseas, as that would be the minimum that we expect them to do.

It would be more appropriate if the Government made a positive statement to investigate such cases that have arisen, and not give statements that it cannot guarantee that all salaries will be paid, and that no foreign worker will be abused.

Does it mean we Malaysians condone such acts???

New Rubbish Contractors, MBPJ

Saturday March 3, 5.50pm.
At the time of writing of this email, I wish to inform that the household rubbish contractor has still not come to collect our household rubbish, accumulated since Tuesday 28 February

This morning, I also received calls from my neighbours, complaining to me that there is no sign of the rubbish contractor in our areas, ie. Jalan 11/10 and 11/5, but they were reportedly going around in Section 12/12A and Section 11/12.

I also made a call this morning to Richard Yeoh, the Councillor for Section 11 and 12 PJ and he said he will check. I am not sure what is meant by that, though it means that the rubbish were left uncollected. I also made a call to Dr Chitra, in charge of the MBPJ Environmental Health, who proudly informed me that her own house rubbish was also NOT collected in Jalan 11/6. She also informed me that the contractor for Section 11 has informed her that they have lost their way, and even with maps provided by MBPJ, they are still lost. Dr Chitra also informed me that she has activated the 'backup' team and our household rubbish will be collected today.. I am still waiting as I write this email.

I have no recourse but to highlight the ineptitude of the officials in charge of implementing the "new contractors" for the household rubbish collection, since revoking Alam Flora's contract. I am sorry but I do not agree with Datuk MBPJ that the contractors be given a 3 month grace period to be efficient. In the meantime, are all the food waste from households and restaurants in Section 11 PJ be allowed to fester and leave a stinking smell around the neighbourhood??

Planning, and implementing a plan are two different things, and I am speaking as an experienced project manager of International projects. Managers must 'turun padang' in the early phases, and not sit around cushy making phone calls with their I-phones, and then think they have done their jobs.

In the meantime stray dogs tear into the plastic bags of food leftovers, and we residents have to bear with it.

What's wrong with the Selangor State Government?

Invasion of banking privacy??

While it is good to read that the Govt is earnestly doing its best to help the needy, >> Rejected applicants of BR1M told to check with IRB, something that is said by the BN spokesman may give rise to some concern, in the area of personal and informational privacy. I quote, " However, there were also some found to be ineligible although their documents state otherwise. There are 12 agencies, including banks working together to verify the applications. “Most of these cases involve traders whose records show an income of below RM3,000 but have a heavier cashflow into their bank accounts regularly,”

As far as most of us understand, information in the banks regarding customers' account and transaction details are strictly confidential and may not be divulged to any other party under any circumstances, and to the IRB only on specified reasons like investigations for tax evasion and non payment. As such, whether under the provisions of the banking laws or the Income Tax Act, are the banks obliged to provide details of "heavy cashflow" of its clients to the IRB??

I think this is the reason for the initial fears of the public when the IRB was tasked with the job of dispensing the RM500 under the BR1M. Now it seems that the IRB may have exceeded its powers. Have our privacy laws been breached here?

I think some clarification is due from the political parties involved.

Condos on the hills,

If you read between the lines of this report>>Condos on the hills, you will find that behind the marketing hullabaloo lies a sinister disclosure, hidden among the usual euphemistic phrases, to dull the public into believing that the company has big CSR responsibilities. Quotes:.. "Located adjacent to the Bukit Lanjan Forest Reserve, Damansara Foresta comprises 42 acres of which only 50% will be developed.".... " The salient point about Foresta is the contours of the land. About half of the 42 acres are class three and four slopes where development is not allowed to take place. Only class one and two slopes can be developed. Slopes are divided into four classes class one for slopes below 15 degrees, class two between 15 and 25 degrees, class three between 25 and 35 degrees and class four, above 35 degrees. "
From decades of frustrating public observation, since when have developers NOT developed slopes above 35%, when these dangerous slopes are adjacent to and concatenates with the valuable land that is being sold to upmarket buyers. Witness the Highland Tower tragedy, and the encroachment of development of the 'dangerous' slopes in Damansara heights, among many others in the City and elsewhere.

To me, all these public statements are made to lull the authorities into agreeing to allow the whole area to be developed, and once "in", it's like the proverbial camel sticking its leg into the Arab tent.. Very soon the whole camel will be inside the tent, and the Arab kicked out!

Malaysian businessmen and politicians, by and large do not have the moral backbone to protect the country and the environment, and are only driven by lascivious greed to destroy it.

Medical Insurance: Consult a doc and read the fine print before signing up for a health policy

Your report, Medical Insurance: Consult a doc and read the fine print before signing up for a health policy is certainly timely, and has exposed a long standing flaw that is prevalent in health policies that have been offered by various reputable firms in Malaysia.

Insurance companies have long forgotten that one of the objectives that such policies have always claimed to do, is to provide cover for the insured when the need is the greatest, that is, when the insured falls ill or dies. Insurance companies are supposedly able to do that, because they have the 'economy of scale', prudent investment of the premiums received, and the statistical norm of the huge number of the healthy and young insureds covering the expenses of the 'sick'.

However, it is well known that insurance companies now operate with the 'bottom line' firmly in sight, and hence such shenanigans and resort to the 'fine print', when claims are received from policy holders who have been struck down by serious illness. I am glad Star has highlighted such unethical practices, and also glad that the Insurance Association is taking steps to rectify such weaknesses.

A more insidious issue that has not been highlighted by The Star, and which needs more thought by the Govt and authorities, is the way Insurance companies abandon their clients even after an exemplary period of not falling sick and paying punctually all premiums due. All medical policies have an age limit, generally those who are 70 and above are not allowed to renew their policies anymore. And "adding salt to the wound", such policies have hugely escalating premiums every five years, some premiums double up, even if there had been no claims made by the holders. The most unfortunate and heartless thing about such increases is that they are imposed as the holders get older, and are usually retired, and thus unable to afford such steep increases in costs, especially when the policies lapse automatically after the age of 70 or thereabouts. A case in point is that of my wife; her health policy premium increased from an annual value of RM1800 to RM5800 when she passed the age of 65! How can a pensioner afford that?

If a person decides to take up a health policy in his younger days so that he can avail himself to cheaper premiums, due to the advantage of youth and 'global volume', isn't it really cruel that insurance companies keep pricing it out of his reach as he grows older, and then when he may really require assistance, to "pull it from under his feet"??

There must be a more compassionate way to do business, and not to desert our aged and helpless!!!

Apathy over death at airport,

Dear Editors,
Reading this letter from ANN MAURITIA D’CRUZ, >>Apathy over death at airport, it is obvious that the aircraft personnel and the airport authorities, either have no Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to deal with such emergencies, or, the staff have never been trained on them at all. It's really noble to make sure 'everyone can fly', but should we treat everyone who flies like rubbish?

It must be really traumatic for the relatives to see their loved ones lying still and cold like some abandoned baggage, covered with Today's newspapers, and after reading the last poser from the anguished writer, "..The plane arrived late and as such had to be parked at the departure terminal. It was a very long distance for my friend and her husband to walk. Why was there no assistance provided for the elderly? ..",  I have the sick feeling that maybe, just maybe, if the plane had not needed to turn around quickly to  make more money, and if the plane had parked nearer to the gate, OR if there were aerobridges, there would have been a happy ending for the family.

Corporations that treat their customers like commodities or baggage, are corporations operating without a soul, irregardless what they twitter to the contrary. It's sad to be old, and to have to travel 'budget.'