MRT project: Greater From

Residents transparency communities

disappointed with FOI bill to ghettos
p 8 p 4 p 12-13

community March 18 — 20, 2011/ issue 16

READY TO HIT THE SKIES:

Workers preparing to launch a hot
air baloon in the shape of “Star
Wars” character Darth Vader
during the Putrajaya International
Hot Air Ballon Fiesta yesterday.
– Picture by Victor Chong

MPSJ to unleash
By Gan Pei Ling

SUBANG JAYA: There are

films, literature and even songs
dedicated to the old saying of “dog

“mosquito eater”
eat dog”, but in an innovative
swoop by a local municipal coun-
cil, the “dog” will soon be replaced
by a mosquito.
In a pilot project to be under-
taken soon between the Subang Jaya
Municipal Council (MPSJ), Uni-
versiti Sains Malaysia and CIMB
Bank Bhd, mosquito larvae will feed on human blood but nectar. USM, which cost RM60,000, is this month by monitoring the Aedes
soon be used to combat dengue. The local council is working to- fully sponsored by CIMB Bank. mosquito population at the aban-
The larvae of the Toxorchynchites gether with the university on a pilot If the trial is successful, the local doned area in USJ 1.
Mosquitoe, which preys on other project to release Toxorhynchites council plans to apply the method to Later, they will release around
species of mosquito larvae, will soon mosquitoes at an abandoned area in other areas within its municipality. 600 Toxorhynchites mosquitoes in
be employed to reduce the dengue USJ 1 to see if it can reduce the However, Adanan also pointed the area, with 100 males and 100
threat.  population of Aedes mosquitoes out that Toxorhynchites mosquitoes females in each batch.
The pilot project to release the effectively. can only thrive in areas with vegeta- The entire trial will take around
“mosquito eater” to reduce Aedes Asked whether the release of the tion, so the method cannot be used six months to complete.
mosquitoes is being carried out by mosquitoes would disturb ecosystems, in flats and apartments. Adanan, who visited Subang Jaya
the MPSJ.  representatives during a briefing USM science officer Adanan Che Rus “This is only one of the tools to in January to identify suitable loca-
A Toxorhynchites larvae can eat with  MPSJ officials on March 11.  said it would not as Toxorhynchites help curb the spread of dengue,” said tions to conduct the trial, said the
up to 158 to 400 Aedes larvae Unlike other mosquitoes, adult mosquitoes is a natural specie. Adanan. area in USJ 1 was chosen because it
during its lifetime, said  USM Toxorhynchites mosquitoes do not This project between MPSJ and He said they will begin the trial • Turn to page 6
2
news
March 18 — 20, 2011

Morning
Selangor WEATHER
Friday Saturday Sunday Fed up with calamity
Afternoon

Night

Source: Malaysian meteorological department

Green thumbs
and good food
By Alvin Yap
Pillars of one of the buildings in Taman Jasmine visibly eroding.
PETALING JAYA: A movement to convince Petaling Jaya
residents to grow their own organic produce and to enjoy the By Gan Pei Ling Shopowners also have to put up with Buildings since 2004, hoping they could
fruits of their labour is slowly gaining popularity, thanks to the frequent floods. help address their woes but to no avail.
support of the city council here. PORT KLANG: As if floods, stench “This area can be flooded within 30 Yeo acknowledged that he had re-
“The movement to grow our own high quality vegetables and robberies were not bad enough, minutes of rain,” said Liaw, who has ceived complaints from the residents.
without chemicals is moving slowly but surely,” said Petaling occupants of shoplots in Taman Jasmine increased the height of the barrier in He visited the site with officers from the
Jaya City Council (MBPJ) planning and development director are now concerned about the safety of front of his front door to about a metre Public Works Department ( JKR), In-
Norani Roslan. their building. to fend off floods. dah Water Konsortium, Alam Flora and
Norani said among the benefits of going green is waste Owners and tenants of two blocks The problems have caused many three other local council departments.
reduction at home, as it is recycled for growing organic produce. of four-storey shoplots want the Klang shopowners to move away, causing a After a preliminary survey of the site,
She said the MBPJ would promote greater awareness of Municipal Council (MPK) to act after sharp fall in property prices. JKR Klang engineer Ashrul Nizam said
going green by holding an Organic Day on March 26 at SS2/63 noticing that the pillars of the building Liaw said he bought his ground floor the structure of the shop houses did
with Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, looked like they were “eroding”. unit for RM185,000 but he could not “seem weak”.
Malaysia (Cetdem). MPK councillor Yeo Boon Lye, who sell it for RM100,000 now. However, he added that a more de-
Cetdem is a non-government organisation that champions met the owners on Wednesday, said he Koo Soo Wah, 32, who has been tailed evaluation would have to be
sustainable development and “environmental friendly” practices would ask the municipality to appoint working as a mechanical technician in conducted to determine the next course
like organic farming and energy conservation. consultants to determine if the building Taman Jasmine for close to10 years, said of action.
“We will conduct classes on recycling waste products, like was safe. the site had also become a breeding spot He said the matter fell under the
turning cooking oil into bio-diesel and kitchen waste into The owners also lamented that they for mosquitoes due to the clogged local council’s jurisdiction. 
compost. We will also hold cooking classes on the preparation had to put up with calamity after calam- drains and leaked sewage. Meanwhile, Yeo suggested the land-
of organic produce,” said Cetdem programme coordinator Tan ity for far too long. Another landlord, Lim Poh Heong, lords form a management council to
Siew Luang. Grocery shopowner Liaw Kim Huat 42, said he had lodged complaints with take charge of management affairs as the
Tan, who is promoting Organic Day, said they were told the press that they had been facing the local council’s Commissioner of developer was bankrupt.
encouraging the production of locally grown organic products problems of bursting sewage pipes for
as the country was losing out to imported ingredients.
The movement has the support of residents’ associations
the past three to four years.
“We have complained to (sewerage To place your Advert in
(RAs) in Petaling Jaya. company) Indah Water (Konsortium)
Betty Chuah and Lee Kwee Cheng, of RA SS2 South and several times. They would come to fix it,
RT SS2 respectively, said housewives in their areas had started but the pipes would burst again,” said
organic farming on their premises. the 53-year-old.
“They all tell me their papayas are sweeter, the fruits bigger Apart from having to endure the
and say that they enjoy eating their own produce,” said Lee. strong stink due to leaked sewage, Liaw Contact Timothy Loh at 019-267 4488
Councillor Richard Yeoh said the practice of locally growing
produce was a step in the right direction to reduce climate
said his grocery shop had also been
robbed three times in the past five years.
or Ivan Looi at 014-936 6698
change.

Selangor offers
“Transporting food across the world is contributing to SHAH ALAM: Selangor Menteri
climate change. If we can spread the practice of growing produce Besar led a delegation to convey the
in our own backyards, it will make this world a better place,” state’s condolences to the Japan Embassy

nursing aid to Japan

he said. over the loss of lives and properties
following the earthquake and tsunami
disasters following the devastating
tsunami which hit the country last
Friday. willing to provide help within our ca- people of Malaysia,” he said.
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was received pacity. We continue to pray for the Koichi said he would refer Selan-
by the embassy’s deputy chef-de-mis- people of Japan and for the country’s gor’s offer of help to his government in
sion, Koichi Ito on Monday. In the speedy recovery. We believe Japan will Tokyo.
phone (603) 5523 2288 meeting, Khalid told Koichi that the be able to recover quickly as they have Khalid was accompanied by Selan-
fax (603) 5523 1188 state and its people will continue to pray in the past,” said Khalid. gor Exco members Elizabeth Wong,
email editor@selangortimes.com
for the Japan to overcome the hardship He also extended the condolences Rodziah Ismail and Ronnie Liu, as well
EDITORIAL that the country is facing. from Dewan Rakyat opposition leader as Pakatan Rakyat members of Parlia-
He also offered to send nurses’ ser- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is also ment, including Datuk Kamarul Baha-
CHIEF EDITOR KL Chan
vices to treat the victims of earthquake the state economic adviser. rin Abbas (Teluk Kemang), Tian Chua
COMMUNITY EDITOR Neville Spykerman
and tsunami during the rehabilitation Meanwhile, Koichi said Japan (Batu), Nurul Izzah Anwar (Lembah
WRITERS Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Gan Pei Ling, Basil
Foo, Yasleh Hani Mat Yassin, Alvin Yap, Gho Chee Yuan
period, adding that the state’s Selangor thanked Selangor and Malaysia for Pantai), Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, (Kuala
COPY EDITORS Nick Choo, James Ang
International Islamic College (KUIS) their thoughts, prayers and offers to Selangor) Loh Gwo Burne (Kelana
DESIGNERS Jimmy C. S. Lim, Chin Man Yen
nursing school will have the capacity to help. Jaya), William Leong (Selayang), Aziz
provide aid. “Their voice of concern is valuable to Kadir (Ketereh), Amran Ghani (Tanah
PHOTOGRAPHER Victor Chong
He said the state will not hesitate to us.  We are confident of overcoming this Merah) and Rashid Din (Merbok),
ADVERTISING Timothy Loh, Ivan Looi
finance the dispatch of nurses to help disaster. The Japanese government and KUIS’ Dean of the Nursing
ADVISORS Faekah Husin, Arfa’eza Abdul Aziz Japanese patients.   highly appreciates the solidarity shown School, Dayang Annie Abang Naru-
“This may not be much, but we are by the Selangor government and the din.
SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ March 18 – 20, 2011 ⁄ 3
4
news
march 18 — 20, 2011

Events Greater transparency

Talk on 2D/3D animation
The Malaysian Institute of Art will hold a talk on
animation on March 23, from 3-4pm at its campus
with FOI bill
By Gan Pei Ling The select committee also had a dia-
in Taman Melawati, KL. The talk, titled Creative   logue with civil servants, whose coop-
Process Involved in 2D/3D Animation, will be SHAH ALAM: Red tape will no eration is crucial in implementing the
presented by Helena Serafin, the principal lecturer
in Creative Visualisation from Teesside University. longer be an excuse to refuse the public’s bill effectively.
The talk is open to the public. Admission is free. right to information if amendments to When asked how the state plans to
For registration, contact 03-2163 2337 or email Selangor’s Freedom of Information change the public service’s widespread
mia.ems@gmail.com. (FOI) bill are accepted. culture of secrecy even if the FOI bill
Under the amendments, civil serv- was passed, Saari acknowledged that
ants in Selangor can no longer get away enforcement would take time.
T4YP auditions at KLPac with refusing to provide information. “During the Selcat (Select Commit-
The KL Performing Arts Centre’s Theatre for Young “The public can expect better trans- tee on Competency, Accountability and
People (T4YP) programme, which was launched parency and efficiency in the civil ser- Transparency) hearings, public servants
three years ago, is back. KLPac will hold auditions vice … We also expect to receive tremen- were not used to being scrutinised ...
on March 27 for young people between the ages dous requests for information espe- [But once they accept and get used to
of 16 and 25 to be part of the T4YP ensemble for cially at the local councils and land of- it], we believe with better flow of infor-
Season 2011, which runs from April to September. fices,” Saari Sungib (pix) told Selangor mation, it will reduce red tape and make
The season will feature three main stage Times. their work smoother,” said Saari.
productions in Pentas 2, and a two-week season The chairperson of the  select com- He added that the state would need
of experimental theatre in the Indicine. mittee set up by Selangor’s legislature deemed rejected. to train information officers to handle
Compulsory weekly rehearsals are conducted
on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday to examine the FOI bill said the amend- “Information is not a monopoly of the requests for information.
nights as well as on Saturday afternoons. For ments will be debated by lawmakers on the government. The government is He estimated that it would take six
more details, go to www.klpac.org. March 28. elected by the people and is running the months to a year for the state to enforce
The Hulu Kelang assemblyperson state using the people’s money … the the bill.
said he is not allowed to divulge details public has the right to know,” said Saari. “We hope the bill can be passed in
Buddhism course of the amendments before the select He added that the right to informa- the upcoming sitting,” said Saari.
The Subang Jaya Buddhist Association is committee tables them at the state as- tion is a fundamental human right that The select committee will table its
conducting an introduction to Buddhism course sembly. governments should respect and up- recommendations to the state legisla-
every Friday from 8.30-10pm at the temple at Lot However, Saari assured the public hold. ture during the sitting, which will be
12593, Jalan Kewajipan SS 13, Subang Jaya. The that recommendations made by the During the select committee’s public held from March 28 to April 5.
course will run for nine consecutive weeks. The select committee aim to make the FOI consultations last year, civil societies Apart from Saari, the six members in
course started on Feb 25 and will end on April 22. bill as “people friendly” as possible. pointed out that the public should not the select committee are Hannah Yeoh
For details, contact Lily at 03-56348181. “The first draft has been [heavily] need to provide any reason to seek in- (Subang Jaya), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
criticised as it creates many barriers for formation from government bodies. (Seri Setia), Amirudin Shari (Batu
Youth baking classes the public to obtain information,” said The media was also allowed to attend Caves), Dr Yunus Ahmad Hairi (Sija-
Saari. public consultation sessions. ngkang), Dr Karim Mansor (Tanjung
The House of Bread offers baking courses for For instance, the public had to give It has been reported that apart from Sepat) and Shukor Idrus (Kuang).
youths who seek skills training. The training also a reason for requesting for information. state departments, local councils and Selangor made history when it be-
includes Moral and English classes. For details, In addition, they faced a potential pen- government-linked companies should came the first state to table the FOI bill
call 016-3178778 or 016-3435478. alty of up to RM50,000 or five-year jail be included under the jurisdiction of in July 2010.
term or both, if they were found to have the bill. Already, close to half of the countries
Bonsai class used the information for reason(s) The select committee collected feed- worldwide, including Asian countries
otherwise provided. back not just from law experts, but like Indonesia, Thailand and India,
Create your own bonsai masterpiece by attending If nobody responded to their re- from human rights groups, business have FOI laws to protect the public’s
the Malaysia Bonsai and Suiseki Society’s quest for information within 30 days, associations and religious groups as right to access information held by
series of Sunday workshops at the society’s their application would simply be well. government bodies.
clubhouse at 95, Jalan Rukun 5, Taman Gembira
(Happy Garden), Kuala Lumpur. Lessons will be
conducted by experienced bonsai masters at
10am every Sunday for eight weeks. Call Ms Lim
at 012-6140379 for registration. Wong: Don’t proceed
School holiday workshop
The Department of Extra-Mural Studies of
with nuclear plant
the Malaysian Institute of Arts (MIA) will be
holding a series of workshops during the school SHAH ALAM: Selangor state ex- day to be noncommittal
holidays. They are Creative Designer Animal ecutive councillor for tourism, consum- when asked whether Ma-
Plush Sewing Workshop (March 19), Batik erism and environment Elizabeth laysia intended to pro-
Workshop for Beginners (March 20-April 10), and Wong has joined the chorus of leaders ceed with its plans to build
Bead Jewellery Workshop (March 26). who are asking the federal government a nuclear plant.
The workshops will be held at the MIA Art Centre to reconsider plans to build a nuclear Instead, he said, the local
on Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur (near KLCC). power plant following nuclear blasts in agencies knew what they were do-
More workshops such as Art Clay Silver Japan. ing and would do their best to ensure
Workshop, Shibori Tie and Dye Workshop, and “Within the last 24 hours, govern- public safety.
Acoustic Guitar Workshop will be offered soon.
For registration, contact MIA Art Centre at 03- ments as diverse as Germany, Switzer- “Muhyiddin’s stance is not science-
21632337 or email mia.ems@gmail.com or log on land and the Philippines have suspend- and fact-based policymaking. Approval
to MIA’s website at www.mia.edu.my. ed or reversed their nuclear plans. Tai- should not precede assessment,” said
wan has announced that it is reviewing Wong.
all of its plants in light of the Japan “At this rate, are we going to have two
Korean food fair disaster,” said Wong on Tuesday. nuclear plants constructed before safety
Graphic source: sxc.hu

A Korean food fair will be held at Sungei Wang Green Technolog y, Energ y and assessment has even been completed?” of our increasing capacities in the field
Lower Ground Main Stage from today until Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin she asked. of renewable energy.
Sunday. The event, organised by KMT Trading said on Monday that the government Wong urged the federal authorities “Malaysia is set to become the world’s
Sdn Bhd and the Street Cafe, also features the would not rush into building nuclear to suspend approval for nuclear power number three producer of solar cells,
“On Fire Ramen Challenge”, where shoppers plants in the country until all safety until a transparent, independent and while we have zero production capacity
compete to be the first to finish hot and spicy aspects and public feedback were con- credible assessment and consultation for nuclear.
Korean ramen noodles. The contest will be held sidered. process was completed. “The federal government must start
tomorrow, on Sunday, and March 20 at 5pm. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri “The consideration of nuclear pow- incorporating logic into its energy-
Muhyiddin was also reported on Tues- er must be done alongside assessment planning policies,” said Wong.
 news
march 18 — 20, 2011 5

Councillors Factory owners

want compensation
call for rawang: Owners of small factories and businesses
which will be relocated to make way for a highway here

full reports
want the Public Works Department ( JKR) to compen-
sate them.
Forty owners held a protest while JKR officers and
contractors came to inspect the site on Tuesday.
While acknowledging they only held Temporary
Gobind Hannah Occupation Licences for the land, the owners main-
tained they should be entitled to some compensation.
By Alvin Yap stop the “practice” of councillors being tation system would “hopefully” mitigate CW Swee, whose car workshop is among the busi-
given “highly summarised” assessment the traffic situation after the commercial nesses affected, said JKR should take into consideration
Subang jaya: Local councillors reports. lot was built. they had invested a lot of capital on their buildings and
must not be denied full impact assessment “I call on Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid MPSJ rejected the applications to contributed to the infrastructure of the area.
reports on traffic and infrastructure in Ibrahim to intervene in such cases where convert the land for development at its “We don’t object to the development, we just want
order for them to determine if develop- decisions were made without full reports,” full board meetings in November 2005 to be compensated fairly,” said Swee.
ment projects are feasible. he added. and February 2006. He added that their premises were worth more than
“There must be no more summarising Gobind is representing the disgruntled The council later gave conditional ap- RM7mil.
of assessment reports,” said lawyer Gobind residents in USJ 6, who are concerned proval to the project in 2008 but revoked JKR rejected their request for compensation at a
Singh Deo. about increased traffic if the nine-storey its order in 2009. meeting last week.
The Puchong Member of Parlianent commercial lot is built. It subsequently reversed that order, a The owners were shocked when they first received
was responding to protests by residents A traffic impact assessment (TIA) decision that was not endorsed by the State the eviction notice early this year, asking them to vacate
against Subang Jaya Municipal Council’s study carried out in 2008 by consultants Planning Committee (SPC) last year. the land within two weeks.
(MPSJ) approval to convert a 0.35-hec- hired by developer Pujannga Budiman, The case is still before the state appeal’s They were told to make way for a 1.6km elevated
tare piece of land belonging to TM Fa- who is partnering with TM facilities, said board. highway connecting the Rawang toll station to Bandar
cilities into a commercial lot. the area around USJ 6 was “already expe- Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Baru Rawang to ease traffic congestion in town.
In this case, local councillors were not riencing severe traffic jams”. Yeoh, who was at the press conference, The owners had requested an extension due to the
furnished with complete information It further reported that traffic would pointed out that the municipality  was short notice, and authorities agreed to extend the dead-
before approving the project. He pointed “come to a standstill” in the future if the overdeveloped. line to March 15.
out that they were given a summarised commercial lot was built. She said two major roads – Jalan Ke- However, only a few factories have moved. The rest
report at the end of 2008, which was too “The study suggests that presently, traf- wajipan and Jalan Tujuan – were experi- are unwilling to vacate the land until they receive com-
late for them to properly vet the project. fic the jams are bad enough in USJ 6. How encing traffic jams during peak hours in pensation.
“Short of being misled into approving can MPSJ give its approval for the com- the mornings and evenings. Rawang assemblyperson Gan Pei Nei has been as-
the project, they didn’t have enough time mercial lot to be built?” asked Gobind. Ad hoc planning without taking into sisting the owners to look for a suitable site to be relo-
and information to make a decision,” said A traffic consultant who carried out the account traffic congestion will result in cated. After negotiations with the district office and
Gobind. study told Gobind at the appeal hearing the need to build a “mess” of flyovers, Selayang Municipal Council, it was decided that the
He said the state government should on March 4 that a Mass Rapid Transpor- ramps and highways, she said. factories would be relocated to Bandar Puteri.
6
news
March 18 — 20, 2011

School land turns into Biological war

stinking dumpsite on mosquitoes
• From page one
has sufficient vegetation and is not
located near residential areas.
Commonly found in forests,
Toxorhynchites mosquitoes are much
larger than normal mosquitoes, av-
eraging 19mm in length. They are
also more attractive with blue or
green metallic stripes on its body,
depending on species.
They usually lay their four to five
eggs at a time, white or yellowish in
colour, in tree holes, bamboo
stumps, and abandoned plastic
(From containers or tyres.
right) Ee, Adanan said Toxorhynchites mos-
Leong,
Yong and
quitoes adapt more slowly to urban
residents at settlements as their eggs are less
the illegal drought-resistant than those of
dumpsite. Aedes mosquitoes. Toxorhynchites larvae
MPSJ has consulted the Health
By Chong Loo Wah Tetangga chief Terence Ee. 45, urged the council to barricade Ministry, Department of Environ- sent at the briefing with other MPSJ
Ee alerted the police and Ampang the place after clearing up the site ment and Institute for Medical Re- officers and USM representatives.
CHERAS: A primary school Jaya Municipal Council immediately once and for all. search in July 2010 before embark- Xavier said Selangor has the
reserve land in Pandan Perdana has when he caught a lorry dumping He said the stink was so bad that ing on the trial. highest recorded dengue cases in the
been turned into a stinking illegal waste there last month. even closing the office windows did The Health Ministry had advised country, and the state is working
dumpsite, posing health problems “The local council issued a not help. the local council to inform the pub- hard to curb its spread.
to residents. summons to the lorry driver, but Wanita MCA Pandan chief lic about the project and any com- Last year, 35.4% of the cases
The local council did not clear up others kept coming back,” said Ee. Cindy Leong urged the council to plications that may arise from it, (16,367 out of 46,171) occurred in
the debris after demolishing a golf Besides construction waste, address the problem immediately at while the Department of Environ- the state, with 45 deaths. It was a
driving range and restaurant at the household and food waste from a press conference on Wednesday. ment said it would only be involved drop from 45% (18,676 out of
reserve land last November. As a restaurants was also dumped at the Meanwhile, MPAJ councillor if the mosquitoes were “living 41,486) of total recorded cases, with
result, the site has been treated as a site, attracting rats and insects. Che ong Chye Wa h sa id she modified organisms” such as the 48 deaths, in 2009.
garbage dump by irresponsible Ee had complained to a MPAJ understood the residents’ woes as genetically modified mosquitoes As of March 5 this year, Selangor
business operators and residents. councillor three weeks ago, after she is a resident in the area as well. released in forests in Bentong, Pa- has recorded 1,439 dengue cases,
“Two to three truckloads of which Alam Flora started clearing the She said she would ask the hang last December. with one death, according to the
garbage are being dumped at the site site, but that did not stop the dumping. council to clean up and barricade Executive councillor for health Health Ministry’s latest press state-
daily,” said Pandan Glades Rukun Business operator Yong Nan Lee, the site as soon as possible. Dr Xavier Jayakumar was also pre- ment.

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 news
March 18 — 20, 2011 7

Villagers get land

titles after 40-year wait Ean Yong
(centre in
blue) with
Lai (second
By Basil Foo still had more than 80 residents who have not
received their titles, with their applications still from right)
HULU SELANGOR: Residents of Rasa New pending. checking on
the identities
Village, who have been living here for over 40 years, “These people have been living here for more than of land title
have finally received their land titles. 40 years without receiving replies to their applications applicants.
“We have been living in our home for three but now we are trying to resolve the problem,” said
generations since our grandfather’s time, but only
now did we receive the 5A form,” said resident
Liow Mei Yan.
state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah.
Ean Yong, who was at the village to hand out
the forms to residents, encouraged them to pay For some, the
waiting continues
The 44-year-old said they applied for the title their premiums promptly.
three times before receiving the form on March 15, “Once they have paid their premiums, the
which requires them to pay a premium before district officer will hand over the titles,” he said.
receiving their title. He said 13 homes had received forms for the
She said although she still needed to pay a hefty 99-year housing title, and added that the state H U L U S E L A N G O R : Despite the titles.
premium of RM16,000, she was happy because she would check whether the owners in the applications pending land applications for more than “After checking the 30 applications,
could finally take ownership of her residence. corresponded with the people actually living in the 40 years, the wait is still not over for we found only three of them had houses
Rasa village head Lim Ken Seng said the village houses before awarding the titles. some residents of Ulu Yam Baru New built and the others were empty land,”
Village. he said.
“There are more than 30 applications The empty lands would not be given
from this village, but they mostly come to any applicant, but instead would be
from third-party applicants, and not the gazetted by the state as government re-
house owners themselves,” said state serve land.
executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah. As some of the applicants have died,
He said under a new ruling, once an he said the state would ensure that the
application is received, checks have to land was given to their children after
be done on the land to identify the checks had been made.
residents. He said the costs of land titles would
Admitting that this problem affected depend on the leasehold.
many new villages, he said Ulu Yam Ulu Yam Baru village head Lai Swu
Baru recorded the highest number of Chong said the state had given out more
application irregularities in Selangor. than 20 titles to residents for the past
He said previously, there had been three years.
cases where some of the residents were “Out of 650 houses in the village,
denied land titles due to deception there are still about 50 applications
Ean Yong (centre in blue) with residents of Rasa New Village holding their land title forms. which resulted in third parties receiving which are still being processed,” he said.
8
news
march 18 — 20, 2011

Residents disappointed
By Gan Pei Ling person Lee Kim Sin said Prasarana
or Gamuda-MMC would be hold-
KAJANG: Close to 1,000 con- ing a briefing on the MRT for all
cerned residents from Cheras and elected representatives in Selangor
Kajang returned home disappointed soon.
from a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) He urged residents to send feed-
public dialogue last Thursday night. back to his office so that he could
Residents expected to get more collate their input and share it with
detailed information about the the state. 
MRT project, but representatives The state assembly is expected
from MRT project delivery partner to discuss the MRT during its
Gamuda-MMC and project owner scheduled seating from March 28
Prasarana did not turn up. to April 5.
Kajang assemblyperson Lee Kim Touted to be the new “back-
Sin said a general manager from bone” of public transport in Klang
Gamuda had promised to come to Valley, the MRT is part of the fed-
respond to the people’s queries but eral government’s plan to address
cancelled at the last minute. declining public transport usage,
Not wanting to disappoint, Lee from 34% in 1985 to 18% in 2009.
and Kajang councillor P Narayanan Once completed, the MRT is
presented the limited information expected to ease traffic congestion
they had received from the authori- on Jalan Cheras and the Grand Saga
ties and attended to concerns raised. Highway, according to the detailed
Most of the public stayed to lis- Residents at the dialogue to discuss the MRT project. environment impact assessment
ten to their briefing, but almost half Inset: Kajang assemblyperson Lee Kim Sin. released on Feb 14.
of the crowd left after the first dia- The MRT system will be the
logue ended. wasn’t there,” Rosalind Ng, 64, told been notified their lands are likely to land lot number and wrongly in- third rail network after the Light
Residents raised their concern Selangor Times. have to make way for the MRT line. formed her that her clinic would be Rail Transit and monorail. The Sg
about land acquisition and traffic The MRT public display at seven “My father opened the clinic affected. Buloh-Kajang line is the first of
congestion during construction. locations, including the Kajang during Independence time,” said The officer also told her to at- three MRT lines. It has 35 proposed
Many also lamented a lack of de- Municipal Council, is only available Ng, who wanted to make sure that tend the public dialogue to get stations along an estimated 51km-
tailed and accurate information on during office hours from Feb 14 to her clinic would not be affected by more information. Ng said she tried long line and is expected to cost
how the MRT would affect them. May 14. the MRT line. to email her feedback and query to more than RM36.6 billion.
“I went to the local council to get Ng operates a clinic on Jalan Su- She was given a fright when the feedback@kvmrt.com.my but had The Land Public Transport
more information during lunchtime laiman in Kajang town, close to Jalan officer in charge at the MRT display not received any response. Commission, a government agency,
a week ago, but the officer in charge Besar, where 39 shopowners have at the local council confused her Meanwhile, Kajang assembly- is supervising the project.

Property owners living in fear of land acquisition

KAJANG: Apprehension at the possibility man Sri Raya, said he had been looking forward land for the Cheras-Kajang Expressway in alignment would worsen traffic congestion,
of losing their homes to the Mass Rapid Tran- to retiring in peace after having completed his 2000 and the Silk Highway six years later. This affect local businesses, and diminish the his-
sit (MRT) project is growing among residents home-loan repayments a few years ago. time around, it would be for the proposed tory of Kajang town. Many of the shops have
in the municipality. “Now I’ll probably have to buy a new house 25-hectare MRT depot. been there since before Independence.
Homeowners with properties along Batu [and service a loan] again,” he said. Kampung Sungai Sekamat, which is also Kajang councillor P Narayanan urged resi-
9 and Batu 10 Cheras as well as Kampung Other residential areas in Batu 9 Cheras on Malay reserve land, is likely to be affected dents from these areas to check with the au-
Sungai Balak, who are most at risk of land likely to be affected by land acquisition in- by land acquisition for the MRT line as well. thorities for more information on how the
acquisition, expressed their fears at the town clude Taman Suntex and Kampung Sungai Residential areas aside, 39 shopowners on MRT line would affect them.
hall meeting last Thursday.  Raya. Jalan Besar in Kajang town have also received Open tender for construction work on the
“They’ve already taken some of our land for Further down the proposed MRT line, preliminary acquisition notices. But they MRT project is likely to be called next month
the Cheras-Kajang [Expressway], now they owners of Malay reserve land in  Kampung raised their objection with the local council and land acquisition is expected to take place
want to take our homes too,” lamented a civil Sungai Balak Balak may have their land taken in a meeting on March 1. in May and June.
servant who declined to be named. away for the third time in a decade. They have proposed an alternative route The government targets to start construc-
The 55-year-old, a long-time resident of Ta- The villagers had to give up some of their for the MRT line as they said the current tion in July and complete it in 2016.

Anti-dengue campaign
gets poor response
By Chong Loo Wah anti-dengue campaign.
They had planned to distribute
serdang: Municipality offic- insecticide to residents besides
ers armed to combat the spread of briefing them on the ways to re-
dengue were left disappointed by duce the breeding areas for Aedes
the poor public response to their mosquitoes.
campaign in Sri Kembanagan last But as it turned out, there were
Sunday. more officers than residents at the
The officers, from the Subang event.
Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) The area’s residents’ association
health and urban services depart- head, John Lim, attributed the
ment, had  arrived early at the poor turnout to lack of publicity.
playground in Pusat Bandar Putra Despite the setback, Roslan
John Lim Permai, but few residents turned said MPSJ was planning a series of
(second up after an hour. anti-dengue programmes, includ-
from left) MPSJ health director Dr Roslan ing distributing dengue-preven-
pouring
anti-dengue
Mohamed Hussin said four dengue tion information flyers, holding
solution cases were reported in the area so gotong-royong activities, and car-
into a far this year, and it was the residents rying out mosquito fogging in the
container. themselves who had asked for the municipality.
 news
March 18 — 20, 2011 9

Friendly
bacteria to fix
smelly farms
By Gan Pei Ling

KUALA LANGAT: Effective micro-organisms (EM) are commonly used

to clean polluted rivers. Now, Selangor is promoting the use of EM to keep
pig farms clean and odourless.
The state has allocated RM500,000 to promote the technology among
128 farmers in Kuala Langat by selling them EM solution and mud balls at
cost price.
“It is part of the state’s effort to promote environmentally friendly farm-
ing methods,” state executive councillor Yaakob Sapari said on Tuesday after
visiting pig farms in Kanchong Laut.
Two of the pioneer farmers who have been employing the Japanese tech- Yaakob (second
 from
 left)
 visiting
 Chia’s
 farm in Kuala Langat on Tuesday.
nology say it is more cost-effective and reduces pollution.
“My farm is cleaner and EM to feed his pigs. He has
not so smelly any more,” said found his pigs to be healthier
farmer Chia Boon Seng, 44, and less susceptible to disease.
who has been rearing pigs for Chia added that it was
more than 20 years. cheaper to use EM rather
Chia was one of five farm- than antibiotics to fend off
ers selected by the district diseases.
Veterinary Services Depart- Lim Chai Huat, 57, also
ment to join its programme found it more cost-effective
last year. than using traditional disin-
He was given one month’s fectants to keep his farm,
supply of EM solution and which has 1,500 pigs, clean.
mud balls, and was taught to Kuala Langat Pig Farmers
FUTURE
use the technology on his Association chairperson Chu-
farm, which has around wa Leong Kim said they
2,000 pigs. would be working together
“Initially I sprayed it ev- with the state and Veterinary
ery day, but now I only have Services Department to en-
to spray [the EM solution] courage more farmers to
two to three times a week,” adopt the technology.
said Chia. Selangor is not the first to
EM breaks down harmful employ EM in farms; Penang
micro-organisms and toxins has been promoting it since
that emit foul odour or 2008.
spread diseases. Yaakob, who is in charge Carbon Graphite Graphite Specialties Expanded Graphite
He has also been using of modernising agricultural
mud balls to treat his farm’s practices in the state, said
waste water before it is re- they would promote the
leased back into the river. technology to other farms
After seeing the positive that raise chickens, goats and
effects, Chia is now using cattle.

Murky River of Life Future – made by SGL Group. For example,

Carbon Fibers CFRP C/C C/SiC

we are the company who developed and

SHAH ALAM: Selangor wants Putrajaya to explain why
the state is sidelined in the River of Life project to clean up produced the first-ever graphite electrode
the Klang River. with a diameter of 800 mm, and the carbon-
The project, part of Putrajaya’s Economic Transformation ceramic brake disc. We are one of the world’s
Programme (ETP), is aimed at cleaning, beautifying and leading manufacturers for all products made
developing the river, which flows through both Kuala Lum-
pur and Selangor. of carbon, graphite and composite materials
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has written to for industrial and aerospace applications.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to express his disap- For us this means that living the future is our
pointment over the sidelining of the state and concern about
usual day-to-day business. For more detailed
the transparency of the project.
In his letter dated March 15, Khalid pointed out that information go to www.sglgroup.com
there had been no substantive developments so far despite SGL CARBON Sdn Bhd (343147-M)
high-level meetings chaired by Federal Territories and Urban SGL CARBON Asia-Pacific Sdn Bhd (448702-U)
No. 11, Jalan Graphite 1
Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik. Kawasan Perindustrian
He also questioned the decision to appoint MRCB- Bandar Mahkota Banting
42700 Banting, Kuala Langat
Ekovest as the project development partner, asking if it was Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
via open tender. Phone +603 3182-3000
Khalid is calling for the financial plan and agreement Fax +603 3182-3008

between Putrajaya and the company to be disclosed, along

with how much they will be paid to complete the project.
He also wants to know why Lembaga Urus Air Selangor
was not given the responsibility of cleaning up parts of the
river that are under Selangor’s jurisdiction.
Khalid said RM2 million should be allocated to all local Broad Base. Best Solutions.
governments along the river. They include the Shah Alam
and Petaling city councils, as well as the Subang and Klang
municipalities.
10
News
March 18 — 20, 2011

Residents seek
junction upgrade
Engineer Mohd Yusmadi Yusof (second from right) showing the
road project to Sivarasa (second from left) and residents.

By Alvin Yap The proposed junction, Chang

explained, would ease traffic as it
SHAH ALAM: Residents at a would be in front of the only main
Chinese new village here are asking road leading into Section U6.
the Public Works Department The existing junction was closed
( JKR) to reopen and upgrade a six months ago due to “major” up-
junction on Jalan Pekan Subang for grade works to the 4.6km stretch of
convenience and safety. road linking Monterez Golf and Residents pointing to yellow
Residents and factory owners at Country Club to Kampung Seri barriers that they want
reopened and upgraded
Section U6 have to make a U-turn Subang town.
into a proper junction.
some 500m at the intersection of The existing road will be widened
Jalan 2D and Jalan Sungai Buloh to to double and dual-carriageway
get back to the town centre at Kam- lanes in order to smoothen traffic Sections of the road project are Yusmadi said engineers had to However, he said precise calcula-
pung Seri Subang or Shah Alam. from Sungai Buloh to Sultan Abdul being built by Seri Siantan, which consider widening the road to three tions had to be made as buildings
“It’s not the distance, but heavy Aziz Shah Airport in Subang. won the bid from JKR last year. lanes if the junction opposite Jalan were located beyond the existing
vehicles have to mount the road The village committee, Chang Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah, resi- 2D is to be built. road shoulders.
shoulders to make the turn,” said added, has received 400 signatures dents and village committee mem- This includes the proposed dou- A traffic light might also have to
village head Chang Chan Man last to petition the federal and state JKR bers later met the company’s road ble lanes, plus a lane for traffic to be built at the proposed junction,
Friday. to reopen and upgrade the junction. engineer, Mohd Yusmadi Yusof. make the turn onto Jalan 2D. Yusmadi added.

Church, mosque and RA come Know Your

together for clean-up Councillor:
By William Tan of the RA to
Jafrien
P E TA L I N G J AYA : Members of
the Community Baptist Church PJ, Masjid
hear out grouses
from the com-
munity.
Muhammad
Aminah binti Abdullah, and  SS2 Selatan MBPJ depu- By Yasleh Hani Mat Yassin ensure they have a comfort-
Residents Association (RA) joined forces in ty mayor Puasa able living environment,”
a gotong-royong last Saturday. Md Taib said it AMPANG JAYA: Meeting Jafrien says.
Despite only a week’s notice, between was a change of ratepayers and going on the Jafrien, who has a service
150 and 200 people gathered on Jalan SS2/6 approach for the ground to gauge the conditions centre in Taman Permata,
to clean up their neighbourhood with city council as it of the community is a big prior- adds that he occasionally has
the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ). was no longer ity for three-term councillor trouble fulfilling his commit-
“This is a really good activity, a great place about the peo- Puasa Md Taib, deputy with the Ampang Jaya Mu- ment to the residents when
to exercise a sense of civic responsibility. I ple coming to mayor of PJ. nicipal Council (MPAJ ) they do not cooperate with
just hope they can keep up the momentum,” them but them Jafrien Muhammad. him.
said a long-time resident who only to be having to go to the people. One of the issues he has to “ S o m e ti m e s I d i r e c t
known as Chua. He also pointed out that the success of deal with is the issuance of li- the  complainant  to the rele-
SS2 Selatan RA president
The gotong-royong also served as an op- any programme depended on the close co- cences to businesses. vant department in MPAJ
Lim Theng Kau. portunity for MBPJ officers and members operation between MBPJ and the local “Sometimes there are busi- which can solve their prob-
community. nesses situated in inappropri- lems, but instead they go to a
“Achieving results is not ate areas and the council has different, unrelated depart-
that difficult if you choose to tear it down, so [also] ment.
to be open, patient and very among my duties is to help the “This will delay the process
specific whenever possible, businesses relocate to a suit- of solving their problem, and
especially in working with able area,” he says. [then] they complain, when in
the MBPJ,” added RA pres- Jafrien, who is in charge of fact it was their uncooperative
ident Lim Theng Kau. Zone Two in Ulu Klang , ways that caused the delay,” he
Lim said even though his holds frequent dialogues with says.
team mainly consisted of residents to hear their com- Jafrien finds his job chal-
retirees, they were the best plaints or requests, which he lenging and feels that the most
people he could have as they then forwards to MPAJ. important attribute of a coun-
got the job done. Ratepayers in Ampang cillor is to be familiar with the
The gotong-royong was Jaya also have a Customers residents in order to better
part of state’s Zon Bersih Day, held once a month, grasp their problems.
initiative, and is held every when they can come in and Jafrien, who is married with
month in selected areas air their grouses to MPAJ and one child, still finds time be-
earmarked for a clean-up. contractors such as Alam tween his commitment to his
Flora Sdn Bhd. family, his engineering job,
The gotong- “I want to give the best and his duties as a councillor
royong in service to the ratepayers and to play football.
progress.
 Views 11
March 18 — 20, 2011

W
Making use of
hen I first heard of Broga, I thought it
was in Spain or Latin America. It
didn’t sound local to my ear. Located
on the border of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan,
it is believed that Broga earned its name from
Buragas, a mystical beast that lives in the forest.

the great outdoors

I only knew of Broga when I returned from
New Zealand in 2008. I had just started work
with an environmental organisation, and came
across the story of the Broga community oppos-
ing the incinerator project. Later I had the op-
portunity to meet and work with Ong Ju Lin,
who had filmed Alice Lives Here, a documen-
tary on the issue which won Best
Film at the 2005 Freedom Film
Festival.
Broga is famed for the hike up
Tripping Zero 3
Bukit Lalang. Less than an hour Sharyn Shufiyan
away from Kuala Lumpur, it is a
convenient location for a day’s re- “The instructor is very friendly
treat, and the hike is friendly and the activities are exciting. They
enough for people of various fitness are mentally and physically chal-
levels. lenging, so it’s good training,” said
But there is another aspect of Juliana Rosli, project leader from
Broga that caught my attention. Orange International College,
Recently, a colleague of mine shared amidst excited screams as a team
stories of facilitating a children’s member missed the trapeze bar and
camp at an adventure site called dangled in mid-air.
Outbac Broga. Another group of students was
With two girlfriends on tow, I from the Inti College Business Club.
paid Outbac a visit one Saturday Sandra, from the organising com-
afternoon. mittee, explained that the trip was
“Outbac started eight years ago to improve the relationships among
as a community service. When it some of the club members who were
first started, it only had a field and new.
public toilets. As it progressed and “It’s good for young people to
became popular, more facilities were come together. We learn about
added,” explained Dr Yap, who man- teamwork as we help each other to
ages Outbac. go through the obstacles,” she said.
Previously a lecturer in Singa- Outbac is also committed to the
pore, Yap came back to Malaysia environment and the community. Whole lot of fun in the water and rope obstacles.
after six years to contribute to the Last year, the
community. campsite host- outdoors also world obsessed with technology,
Outbac’s main target market is ed a clean-up Outbac also hosted an open day for the gives us a mo- and living in a society where self-
young people, from primary school- day at Bukit La- public to use their facilities for free. They had ment to appreci- worth is measured by material gain,
children to college students. During lang with 160 visitors from the nearby towns of Semenyih ate the gift of that an initiative such as Outbac is
a brief walkabout of the campsite, volunteers and nature we too – figuratively and literally – a breath
we saw groups of college students collected 100kg and Kajang. Fun activities aside, campsites easily neglect. of fresh air. It is only when we make
laughing and shouting words of worth of rub- such as Outbac teach our children and Exposing use of our natural environment that
encourag ement as they went bish. youths essential values such as teamwork, children to their we start to appreciate its value and
through the obstacle courses. “We need to and build mental and physical endurance. ” natural sur- take ownership of our inheritance.
The courses looked like a whole do this since it’s roundings at an For more information on Outbac
lot of fun – from flying-fox, water our responsibil- nearby towns of Semenyih and Ka- early age would Broga, visit http://www.outbacma-
and rope obstacles and a 15m climb- ity as we bring people up there. We jang. heighten their appreciation towards laysia.com.
ing wall, to the Leap of Faith, a tra- plan to do it again this year,” Yap Fun activities aside, campsites nature, and this is important to en-
Sharyn Shufiyan works with an organisa-
peze-like challenge 7m high up in a said. such as Outbac teach our children sure that the environment continues tion working to promote environmental
tree – but I bet it takes a lot of Outbac also hosted an open day and youths essential values such as to be protected and conserved for and social sustainability. Sometimes you
can find her sitting in a coffee shop with
courage and determination to com- for the public to use their facilities teamwork, and build mental and our children’s future. her nose plastered to a book.
plete some of these tasks. for free. They had visitors from the physical endurance. Spending time Perhaps I am just jaded with a

15m wall climbing: Takes a lot of courage and determination. A friend enjoying the serenity.
 Insight
12 MARCH 18 — 20, 2011
Zero Squatter
policy
Block A of the People’s
Housing Project low-cost flats
in Section 8, Kota Damansara.
FROM COMMUNITIES
By Yasleh Hani Mat Yassin

The Setinggan Sifar policy was introduced by the previous

administration in Selangor in 2001, by then Menteri Besar
of Selangor Datuk Dr Khir Toyo. By Alvin Yap
TO GHETTOS
Unable to afford housing or find cheaper grille and the pick the lock on the door, four times to force Younger female residents, Tan said, have
The policy targeted “zero” squatters by 2005. alternatives, the early workers opened up Sundari said. the grille on the been harassed by youths staying in the flat.
Khir, who shared his vision on March 1, 2000, intended
to create quality housing for the citizens with his motto
“One family one house, perfect family comes from perfect
homes.”
According to the Malaysian census conducted in
T orn from their com-
munities and homes,
many of the 50,000
families relocated during the
Selangor’s Setinggan Sifar or
tracts of land by cutting down trees and
building their own roads to establish village
communities amidst the urban crawl in the
Klang Valley.
But under Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo’s
She lost her money, handphone, and
jewellery. However, she is more fearful for
herself and her children’s physical safety.
Last month, two unidentified youths fol-
door and window
of his unit during
the early morning
hours.
His youngest daughter, he added, was
“groped” by a drunken male on the ground
floor one evening three months ago.
Tan, who relocated from Sungai Way in
lowed her son from the ground floor to their If not for his Petaling Jaya, said the flat used to have a
2000, the population was estimated at 23.27 million Zero Squatter policy are to- administration, the settlers were regarded as unit. They were, she said, part of a gang that daughter who was guard on duty on the ground floor, but he
people. day living in squalour.    squatters and were forced to move. was responsible for snatch thefts. awake at that time, quit because he had not been paid for six
This was an increase of 2.6% compared with the Unlike the Briggs Plan, From 2001 to 2008, Selangor undertook “The women in this flat are hesitant to they might have Tan months.
result of the census conducted in 1991, which which successfully reset- the controversial step of clearing the urban enter a lift alone if there’s a man in it,” broken in, he said. He said the police also “rarely” patrolled
showed 18.38 million people. This was an increase tled 500,000 squatters landscape of squatter villages under the Zero Sundari said, adding that she makes sure her His friends, who live alone, were not so the area or the flats. Perpetrators that were
of 4.9 million people in 10 years. in New Villages to Squatter policy. husband accompa- lucky. He has seen them move out over the caught, he added, would be released some-
Findings revealed that the population in urban deny resources to the The aim of the Zero Squatter policy was nies her if she needs years because they were victims of multiple time later.
areas increased from 50.7% in 1991 to 62% in 2000. communists during to address the environmental and social to take the lift. break-ins, when they were away at work or Tan claimed the community in Sungai
As such, housing in urban areas became not only the Emergency, conditions of living in congested surround- The situation has on outstation trips. Way had been able to distinguish between
scarce but expensive, and as a result, squatter areas Setinggan Sifar ings, social depravity, and poverty issues. grown so bad that The thieves, Tan said, would check if strangers and residents.
become more rampant. created ghettos However, the policy has created the very residents think twice residents were at home late at night by “If someone in the community there com-
Squatting is defined as an activity of settlement by moving the problems that the previous state government about holding wed- knocking on the doors. mitted a crime, we would know who that
or building on land that does not belong to the settlers to low- had wanted to “get rid of ”, Iskandar said. ding ceremonies at “Someone will knock on our doors, and person was,” he said.
individual, such as government land, reserved cost flats. The People’s Housing Project (PPR) flats the flat. we open it to find no one there but people Similarly, the distrust of strangers has
land, government agency land, communal land, “We’ve creat- in Section 8, Kota Damansara is a good ex- This, Sundari said, walking quickly away from our unit,” Tan become so bad that a 35-year-old resident
and private land. ed ghettos. All ample. Many residents at Block A and B was because families Sundari said, adding that his family had encountered who only wanted to be known as Lee gave
Several problems have been identified with land we did was move claim to have been victims of petty theft and have had their units such situations “too many times”. this interview from one corner of her living
squatting, including congested living areas, the rise them from being robberies. broken into by thieves looking for gold, For this reason, Tan makes sure he does room behind her locked grille door.
of social depravity, poverty, depreciation in the ground squatters They also admit that the flat they stay in money and dowry. not leave his unit unguarded, but he admit- “Sorry, but this is how one of the residents
quality of environmental aesthetics, and inadequate to an elevated is an eyesore. Equipment and facilities are “We are easy victims to these gangs,” said ted of being more afraid of stepping outside was held at knifepoint. She was tricked into
infrastructure, not only in the squatter area but squatter environ- constantly vandalised or go missing. Sundari, who moved to Kota Damansara his unit. opening the grille. I don’t trust anyone now,”
surrounding the settlement as well. ment,” said exec- Sundari Arumugam, 47, prefers to keep from Kampung Kedondong in Sungai Buloh “There have been cases of criminals spray- said Lee.
Under the previous administration, housing utive councillor her motorcycle outside her unit on the 12th in 2006. ing pesticide to blind and choke their victims Lee, who also relocated from Sungai Way
executive councillor Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Ahmad Iskandar Samad. floor rather than park it in the ground-floor She said youths have stripped the flat of before relieving them of their possessions,” in 2006, has had her unit broken into three
Dahlan initiated an action plan and created the In the 1970s bays. Metal chains bind the bike to the grille wiring, broken padlocks, and carted away he said. times last year.
Zero Squatter in Selangor Action Plan 2005, which there was an in- and stand pipe. the fire extinguishers for scrap metal. Tan said telephone cables together with Lee lost her handphones, ang pow,
was approved by the State Meeting Council on flux of people “I’ve had my motorcycle stolen once be- In the past, living in a squatter village the public telephones on the ground floor money and CD player, among other things.
March 1, 2000. who flocked to fore,” she said, adding that other residents meant that residents knew who their neigh- have been removed and sold for their copper She said she did not want to experience
This action plan was prepared with the philoso- Ulu Kelang , have also had their motorcycles stolen or bours were. The sense of community was content. another break-in, and rarely goes out these
phy of human capital development. It was an action Shah Alam and cars broken into. reassuring, she said, adding that people in Residents at the flat had approached days. The new front-door grille is installed
framework for each agency or party involved in Sungai Way in Downstairs, most of the motorcycles are the squatter village looked out for one an- Telekom Malaysia to have the cables re- with three stout padlocks for added measure.
solving the squatter problem through the building search of work at locked with multiple locks, chains and pad- other and often kept watch on each other’s placed, but the utility provider told them to The difference between a new village and
of low-cost houses in Selangor for a period of five the beginning of locks to frustrate would-be thieves. homes. provide a bond for the replacement. squatter area, Lee said, is one of space and
years from February 2000 until December 2004. th e c o untr y ’s Worse still, she said, thieves broke into “Here, we only care for ourselves,” she Last year a friend who visited Tan in the community.
It was hoped that this framework would help manufacturing her unit last year when she was out to fetch lamented. evening parked his car in the bay, only to find “In Sungai Way, we had one plot of land
achieve the goal of solving the squatter problems and industrialisa- her son from school. It took the thieves 20 Similarly, Tan Ah Fatt @ Chua Ah Fatt, his window broken and his radio stolen an for each house,” she said, adding that she
in Selangor by 2005. tion era.  minutes to break both the padlock on the 65, said would-be thieves have tried at least hour later. knew who her neighbours were.

Doing her bit From squatters to settlers

for youths From 2000 to 2008, under the administration of
Menteri Besar Datuk Khir Toyo, Selangor embarked
The policy, Iskandar
said, uprooted a major-
This, he explained, “demoralises” the residents as
amenities and fixtures are constantly broken.
Siti Aishah Ahmad (pix), hails on the controversial policy to clear the state of squat- ity of Malay families, The youths in the flats, he added, vandalise the
from Kedah. In the early 1980s, ters by relocating families to low-cost flats around with Indian and Chi- building as they do not have recreational facilities
she moved to Sunway to join the state. nese families closely and open spaces.
her husband, who was then When the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition formed behind. Similarly, he said, residents are frustrated as some
working at the Sharp factory. the state government, it put an end to the practice, The authorities re- of the low-cost flats are situated near sewage treat-
The 46-year-old, who is said Housing, Building Management and Squatters sorted to using the ment plants and large power substations.
blessed with eight children and executive councillor Iskandar Samad (pix). Emergency Ordinance The flats are also placed some distance away from
two grandchildren, said the family members contribute to pay for the teaching In an effort to acknowledge the role squatters to clear the settle- job centres and public transport, making residents
family was relocated to Kota materials, exercise books and other monetary requests. have played in opening of new land in the Klang ments, which Iskandar commute further and longer.
Damansara nine years ago. Among the equipment she has bought with her own Valley and Selangor in particular, the state chose to said was “ironic” as Chinese new villages were “It was a raw deal that the previous state govern-
They have been staying at money is a television set, which she uses to screen recognise them as “settlers”. founded during the Communist insurgency with ment struck with the settlers to have them trade their
Block B since the launch of the flats. educational videos. It is now broken, and she is waiting The “urban settlers”, Iskandar said, opened up vast the same legislation that was used to evict the squatter land for low-cost flats,” said Iskandar.
Unlike other families, they have opted to stay put, for donations from her friends to buy another set. tract of lands in the mid 1970s as they migrated into squatters now. Iskandar said the state was working to remedy the
because, as Siti puts it, the family is trying its best to She also teaches some 40 orphans, who were intro- the Klang Valley in search of jobs that were abundant As the previous Barisan Nasional state govern- problems.
form a community among the residents there. duced by the local religious authorities. as Selangor industrialised. ment had used a federal law to evict the squatters, The state, he explained, was carrying out the
“My children’s friends are here, their school is here. During the school holidays, she runs more classes “They flocked to Shah Alam, Ulu Kelang, Selay- the directive still stands, said Iskandar. “Pangsapuri Kita Bersih, Ceria dan Harmoni” cam-
We’re okay here,” she said. so that the youth are not “idle” during the long semes- ang and Sungai Way in search of jobs, and set up He, however, reiterated that the present PR state paign by organising community cleaning (gotong-
She added that her elder sons provide her with a ter breaks.  their squatters near there,” said Iskandar. government “was not in a hurry” to evict the remain- royong) projects.
sense of security by accompanying her when she moves She hopes that the state government will fund her He added that the settlers provided ready and ing 7,000 families that were occupying land and A RM2mil fund will also pay for the repairs and
around the low-cost flat. tuition programme for the youths in her flats. cheap labour to the factories in those areas, contrib- river reserves. maintenance of lifts, to repair roofs and repaint the
Only one lift is working in this block.
Siti has a teaching certifcate she obtained as a gov- “I have been waiting for it, I welcome it,” she said. uting to the growth and development of the nation The state government, he said, recognised the flats.
ernment replacement teacher in Kedah. She puts it to She has forwarded a request for funds to run her at the beginning of its industrialisation era. social impact of relocating the settlers to temporary The Selangor State Development Corporation for some of the 7,000 squatters in Gombak and RM42,000.
good use, as she runs free tuition classes for the youths tuition programme from the state through Kota Da- Iskandar, however, said the authorities have not or permanent housing consisting of low-cost flats. (PKNS) has also started a RM5mil fund to repair Hulu Kelang. “Low-cost flats units currently have 650sq ft of
in the foyer of Block B. mansara assemblyperson Dr Nasir Hashim’s office. treated the settlers fairly. The relocation under the Firstly, he said, the low-cost flats – which cur- its 18,000 units of low-cost flats. The new housing project, to be developed by space. The pilot project will have 850sq ft of space,
“I’m doing it voluntarily and I bear the expenses “I hope I can get the money soon, as I can and like Zero Squatter policy “threw people out of their rently cost RM42,000 – are constructed with low- More importantly, the state is embarking on a PKNS, will sell for RM89,000 on the open market. with better amenities, parks, playgrounds and open
solely,” she said, adding that her closest friends and teaching the youths here,” she said. homes”.  quality materials resulting in poor workmanship. pilot project to provide better-quality housing Squatters, he said, will get to own the homes for spaces,” Iskandar said. 
14
views
march 18 — 20, 2011

D
ear Lord Bobo, I have been hearing of the
@pusatrakyatlb and @undimalaysia cam-
paigns. What are these, pray tell? @ange-
line_tung, via Twitter Centre for
It’s like this. A mosque is a place where faithful Muslims
congregate. Likewise, a church is where faithful Christians
congregate. Pusat Rakyat LoyarBurok, or the LoyarBurok
Rakyat Centre (LBRC), is a place where rakyat of any faith
congregate in one common belief – that Malaysia is home,
and it can be a better place for all.
Lord Bobo has felt the time was right for a physical
the rakyat
manifestation of LoyarBurokness on earth and play a larger
role in the nation’s drive towards being a civilised society.
Aside from being a base of operations, LBRC hopes to Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by
provide space for today’s youth to constructively engage, LoyarBurok (www.loyarburok.com)
discuss and educate themselves about political, social and where all your profound, abstruse,
cultural issues, as well as provide a platform and/or catalyst erudite, hermetic, recondite,
for other beneficial rakyat-oriented initiatives.
sagacious, and other thesaurus-
If you are a rakyat who wants to see Malaysia as a country
governed by core values such as human (and animal as well; described queries are answered!
let’s not forget them, please) rights, justice, democracy and
the rule of law, and if you’re wondering whether there is The goal is to provide information and issues that will
something you can do, then LBRC is the place for you. assist the rakyat in deciding whom and why they choose
LBRC does not seek to claim that all these goals will be someone or which party to represent them.
achieved overnight, but it believes in building a stronghold Crucial to this is to also provide useful information regard-
of rakyat who are willing to participate in realising these goals. ing the political institutions such as the legislature, the ex-
It is important to note that LBRC is politically non- ecutive and the judiciary and their roles and responsibilities.
partisan, although we love a party, son. By empowering them, we hope that citizens will come to
For a start, LBRC will focus on creating awareness of understand that demanding accountability and transparency
important issues that affect the rakyat through its blawg, from their representatives is not a privilege or a blessing, but
training and resource centre. a constitutionally enshrined right that they can and are en-
At the same time, it will launch its first voter education couraged to exercise reasonably and bona fide.
project a.k.a. Undi Malaysia. A wise guy by the name of Edmund Burke (not Edmund
Undi Malaysia is a bit like American Idol without the Bon; don’t misquote) once said: “In order for evil to triumph,
glitz and glamour. And oh, no idols too. And, come to think is for good men to do nothing.” LBRC aspires to build an
of it, nothing American either. Er. But the idea is there. army of rakyat who will do something.
We want to help Malaysia vote for the best election To find out more about what LBRC does, please come to
candidate in their respective constituencies through grass- the official launch (codename “Ops Pisang” – People’s Ini-
roots voter education activities. tiatives for Social Activation and New Governance) tomor-
Through this campaign, LoyarBurok intends to de- row from 3pm to 6pm at 3-4, 4th Floor, Jalan Bangsar Utama
velop its offline presence in an inimitable, politically and 3, Bangsar Utama.
socially relevant, yet rakyat-oriented approach. For more details, go to www.loyarburok.com.
Undi Malaysia is a voter education initiative that is de- Come on down. Bring your friends. Bring your enemies.
signed to empower citizens to take ownership of their own Become a LoyarBurokker. Touch a LoyarBurokker. There will
country instead of leaving it to the negligence, despotism be fun. Music. Prizes. Chat. You don’t need to be a lawyer to
and corruption of their representatives. be a LoyarBurokker. See you there.

Badminton fun for needy children Pelangi

By Basil Foo
Damansara
PUCHONG: A badminton training pro-
gramme has been launched for the benefit of
less fortunate children by Michael’s Badmin-
water woes
ton Academy (MBA) in Bandar Puteri Pu-
chong on March 16.
“I believe these kids have the talent in
resolved
badminton and our role here is to work to- SHAH ALAM: Pelangi Damansara flat resi-
wards nurturing it,” said academy director Lee dents can heave a sigh of relief after their water
Kok Choong. supply was reconnected by Syarikat Bekalan Air
The children will be trained at the academy Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) this week.
on weekdays following a staggered schedule Residents had their water supply disconnected
that takes into account the children’s school last Thursday due to a hefty bill amounting to
commitments. RM199,021.93 was owed by the developer.
Costing RM100,000, the programme has The supply was reconnected after four days.
enrolled 53 children from seven to 17 years Following the disruption, Selangor executive
old who will be trained by the academy’s 11 Lee with officials and participants at the launch of the badminton academy. councillor Elizabeth Wong held a series of dis-
coaches. cussions with representatives from Syabas, the
“Apart from the training, we will bring “Children from any home tend to be chose participants for the programme based developer and Surau An-Nuur.
them to the Badminton Association of Ma- academically weak but are very enthusiastic on their interest and health. “Members from all parties then went door-
laysia (BAM) to let them have a feel of how in extracurricular activities like sports,” said “This programme may unearth badmin- to-door to collect payments to settle the out-
national players train and to meet some of the Rumah Shalom representative G. P. Joseph. ton-playing skills in the children, but unfor- standing bill,” said Wong in a statement yester-
players,” said Lee. He said six children from the home will tunately some of them had to be excluded day.
He said they will also visit the Bukit Jalil be taking part in the programme, and he due to asthma and disabilities,” she said. According to the Bukit Lanjan assemblyper-
Sports School as it is a stepping stone to the may add more participants depending on Faris Faino, 15, from Rumah Amal, said son, the free water coupon programme was also
national squad as well as other tournaments their progress. his favourite badminton player was Lin Dan. expiated after a discussion with the housing,
organised by the BAM. A 14-year-old Rumah Shalom child,  “I enjoy badminton because it strength- building management and squatters executive
The MBA-IOI Properties Hope For Change Theeban Anandan, hoped to learn more ens my muscles and trains me to think councillor Iskandar Samad.
is a 10-month-long badminton programme to about badminton through the programme. quickly,” said the Form Two student from “The coupon amounting to RM38,577.60
provide children from three shelter homes an “I am new to badminton. My favourite SMK Puchong Utama 1. for phase two, which began in January, has al-
opportunity to learn and enjoy sports. badminton player is Lee Chong Wei,” said  IOI Properties property director Da- ready been issued to Syabas,” said Wong.
The children are from House of Joy in Ta- the Form One student from SMK Bandar tuk David Tan, who was also present at Meanwhile, she urged the developer to apply
man Kinrara, Rumah Shalom in Taman Pu- Puchong Jaya B. the launch, said the programme allowed for individual water meters as soon as possible
chong Indah, and Rumah Amal Limpahan Rumah Amal Limpahan Kasih hostel the children to have fun while developing so that the issue will not recur.
Kasih in Kampung Sri Aman. manager Nor Hayati Wan Abib said she a new hobby.
 NEWS 15
MARCH 18 — 20, 2011

Stickers to beef up
neighbourhood security
By William Tan Nevertheless, he expects all the “The system does have its flaws
stickers to be handed out within and a lot of things still need to be
SUBANG JAYA: Car stickers to two to three months. worked out,” Loh said.
distinguish friend from foe are being However, certain parties have However, he believes the VSP
used in some neighbourhoods here acknowledged that the plan is far has its merits, such as bringing new
in a bid to step up security. from foolproof. members into the SJRA and allow-
The Vehicle Sticker Plan (VSP), “It is a good initiative, but what ing police to do their job more ef-
for housing estates in Zone 1, was is there to stop someone from lend- ficiently.
launched at the Subang  Jaya  Mu- ing out his sticker or stealing an- As of March 12, the plan has
nicipal Council (MPSJ) auditori- other person’s sticker?” said  Ter- cost more than RM 20,000, but it
um last Saturday (March 12). ence Thong, a resident from SS17. is fully sponsored by the CIMB
“Car stickers are to be given for He pointed out that people who Community Link foundation.
free to all residents here to enable rent homes are unlikely to return CIMB has donated RM 50,000
easy identification of cars that be- the stickers. for such community-based pro-
long or come from a particular Naicker Loh
SJRA secretary Tony Loh voiced jects.
area,” said AB Naicker. the same concerns. He also doubts The plan itself comes under the
The engineer, who is among the include a list of emergency num- numbers and spaces for an indi- that people would be more obser- wider-arching programme, Subang
Zone 1 resident committee mem- bers such as the local police station vidual’s personal emergency con- vant of suspicious vehicles just be- Jaya – Towards a Safe Neighbour-
bers involved in the move, said the and nearby hospitals. tacts. cause of the stickers. hood. 
VSP covers homes in Taman Wang- Registration for the stickers also Naicker believes that the move
sa Baiduri as well as SS12 to SS19. means that residents who sign up will encourage neighbours to rally
The  stickers include the street would automatically join the Sub- together for the sake of mutual se-
names where the car owners reside, ang Jaya Resident Association curity. But he added that the VSP
so  that suspicious vehicles that (SJRA) and receive the MPSJ mes- is still within the early stages and
enter the housing estates can be saging service known as SJAlert. will require local heads to gather
easily spotted by neighbours. The residents will also receive an and inform residents to register for
The backs of the stickers will also “Infokad” containing emergency the stickers.

Carnival time for

traditional villages The shop owners with their Certificates of Fitness.

By Basil Foo a variety of events like football, Muhamad Zaki said a talk on

PUCHONG: Villagers from four

traditional kampungs under the
ketupat weaving and cycling.
The  programme started in the
morning with an aerobic session and
drug addiction, including the expe-
riences of former addicts, was held
the night before as part of the
CFs for Semenyih
Subang Jaya Municipality (MPSJ)
came together for the first time at
a carnival to promote unity last
weekend.
entrepreneur workshop, which in-
cluded sewing classes for house-
wives, single mothers and the poor.
This was followed by seven-a-
programme.  
“These events enable the villagers
to get together and know each
other better,” said MPSJ councillor
shop owners
“We had a good response with side football, gunnysack racing, Azizan Jamaluddin. By Basil Foo sues with the developer.
about 3,000 people taking part,” coconut shaving , coconut tree She said the event took two He said the council had so far
said MPSJ Youth, Sports and Cul- trunk sawing, coconut bowling and we ek s to org an ise and cost KAJANG: The long wait for Cer- solved the problems of three pro-
ture assistant director Muhamad tug-of-war in the evening. RM11,000. tificates of Fitness (CFs) for owners jects, including 2,642 units in the
Zaki Yusoff. “We even had our own cycling “Maybe MPSJ can organise more of 10 three-and-a-half-storey shop- Riching housing area, 30 factories
He said Kampung Kenangan, competition around the villages, low-budget events,” she said. lots on Jalan Pasar Baru, Semeny- in Cheras, and the shoplots on Ja-
Kampung Batu 13, Kampung Kuala which we called Le Tua De Kam- Kinrara state assemblyperson ih, ended on Monday, March 14. lan Pasar Baru.
Sungai Baru and Kampung Tengah pung. The race attracted 52 com- Teresa Kok handed over prizes to “The shoplots were completed Handing the CFs to shop own-
were the first to come under their petitors,” he said. the winners. “These events should in 1995 by the developer who ers, state assemblyperson Ean Yong
jurisdiction when the municipality The carnival ended with a poultry be held more often as they help to didn’t follow the building plan, Hian Wah said there were 14
was created in 1998. hunt, where villagers tried to capture promote better ties between villag- which was originally set as three- problematic projects within MP-
Villagers of all ages took part in 100 chickens released in a field. ers and councillors,” she said. storey buildings,” said Majlis Per- KJ’s jurisdiction, of which three
bandaran Kajang (MBKj) council- had been solved.
lor Lee Kee Hiong. “These projects include those
Lee said the developer was without CFs, and those aban-
asked to resend the building plans doned by the developers after they
and to fulfill their promise of became bankrupt,” he explained.
building traffic lights in the area. He said the state government
However, in the process of was flexible in solving problems
meeting MPKj’s demands, the de- faced by building owners.
veloper faced bankruptcy, leaving The law requires developers to
the shop owners to run their busi- pay an infrastructure fund to the
nesses without CFs for 15 years. state government for the construc-
“In the three years since our tion of additional infrastructure
service began, we asked the shop like roads and traffic lights.
owners to send their building Upon the developers’ bank-
plans, and after some procedures, ruptcy, the responsibility will be
MPKj approved the CFs in Janu- taken up by the local councils to
ary,” Lee said. pay the infrastructure fund.
He explained that there were “If a company becomes bank-
seven projects without CFs in the rupt, they are blacklisted, and un-
constituency, due to some of them less they pay their debts, they can-
Kok giving away a cheque for RM700 to seven-a-side football winners Bulan Penuh. Looking on are having structural problems and is- not start new projects,” Ean added.
Azizan and councillor Norhesni Ismail.
16
news
March 18 — 20, 2011

Volunteer teachers wanted

By Basil Foo Member of Parliament Teo Nie Ch-
ing, state executive councillor Ean
SERDANG: More volunteer Yong Hian Wah and Subang Jaya
teachers are needed to teach poor councillor Ng Sze Han. 
primary and secondary students “Even without much advertising,
under a programme by  Persatuan the response to this initiative has
Komuniti Prihatin Selangor (Pri- been overwhelming as currently all
hatin). classes are full with 25 students,”
“We have been providing free said Ng.
tuition classes on Saturdays from He said classes were being con-
2pm to 4pm with three teachers so ducted in the community hall, and
far,” said Neow Ti Hooi, 25. included Malay, English, Chinese,
The spokesperson from the non- and Mathematics subjects.
government organisation said they Also present at the press confer-
were appealing to the public to ence was Serdang Educational
contribute to the community. Welfare and Research Foundation
“It is not necessary for them to (EWRF) vice-chairperson Kamith-
be a schoolteacher,” she added. ra Letchume. EWRF volunteers
The tuition classes differ from offer free tuition classes on Mondays
Neow (second from left), Kamithra (fourth from left), Teo (third from right), Ean Yong and Ng at the
commercial tuition centres – the and Wednesdays. press conference.
first half is devoted to helping stu- “The classes started a month ago
dents academically, while the second for students whose parents are un- tuition for English, Math and Malay training every Sunday at the hous- Sivam from the Malaysian un-
half comprises activities like arts. able to pay tuition fees, especially since only10 students passed the ing area in front of SMK Seri Ser- der-17 football team to help us
The Saturday classes are divided households with more than three subjects. dang in a move to reduce crime out,” she added.
in two, with Standard One to Three children,” said Kamithra. She thanked MPSJ for providing rates in the area involving youths,” The foundation will hold guid-
in one class and Standard Four to She said the foundation carried a hall for the classes and giving she said. ance and counselling sessions for
Six in another. out a survey with 110 SPM students monthly allowances of RM50 to “The residents’ committee for SPM and STPM students at the Seri
Neow made the announcement in Taman Muhibbah 4 last year. each volunteer. Zone 23 sponsored RM5,000 for Kembangan Multipurpose Hall on
at a press conference with Serdang They then decided to start giving “We also have started football this training, and we have got coach March 26 from 8am to 5pm.

Bands rock Radio Demokratika launch

SHAH ALAM: A soft launch of the that it is their right to exercise what-
Radio Demokratika album was held in ever it is they feel they have to do,”
conjunction with the 18th edition of Farez said.
monthly flea market and concert Pekan Another soft launch is planned on
Frinjan on March 5. March 19 as a run-up to the main launch
“The album has 12 songs by diverse at Penang’s Fort Cornwallis on April 2.
acts, and as music has always been a Featured on the album with their
part of Pekan Frinjan, they opened it song Let’s Battle It Out With Vesuvius
up to us,” said Farez Jinnah, who man- The Great, rock band An Honest Mis-
aged the album concept. take played several songs at the concert.
He said the album was conceived by “This is a great initiative, and we
the constitutional law committee under identify with what they are doing be-
their MyConstitution campaign, which cause Malaysian youths should know
usually held forums and lectures. about what important issues are hap-
The soft launch was to reach out to pening,” said Leonard Chua, 25.
the masses, especially youths and the The band’s guitarist, who is also an
young at heart. independent marketer, said youths
“The whole idea is not to preach a should learn to judge for themselves
Asrol, Raja Farouk, Cho, and Amirah performing at Dataran Shah Alam last week. particular ideal, but to let people know what is right and wrong instead of hav-
ing people tell them how to think.
Their song featured on the album

Women’s health talks about finding an avenue of hope

in the midst of prevalent hopelessness.
Lead singer Darren Teh said with the

campaign kicks off amount of negativity in society today,

he wrote the song based on his experi-
ence of finding positivity.
KLANG: Selangor’s One Mil- the free mammogram service has “As a band we want to be part of
lion Healthy Women campaign yet to begin in all state constitu- something bigger than just music be-
kicked off at Pandamaran last encies. cause the biggest impact we can make
Sunday (March 13). Liu said although breast can- is for everyone to know their rights,”
“All 56 constituencies in Sel- cer can be cured if discovered he said.
angor can register up to 1,000 early, many women are still una- Local songstress Amirah Ali enter-
women each above the age of 35 ware of the importance of mam- tained the crowd with her composition
for free mammograms to check mograms. Katakanlah, which won in a songwrit-
for breast cancer,” said Pandama- “ This campa ig n is t wo - ing competition in the US.
ran assemblyperson Ronnie Liu. pronged: one is to create aware- Liu (centre) giving out flowers to women at the Jalan Papan
“My genre can best be described as
Liu said women can register ness, the other is to help some morning market in Pandamaran. world pop as many traditional instru-
themselves with the state, and women who may be aware but ments have been incorporated to try
transport will be provided for don’t have the money for the working outside and coming tents pitched in the mornings, and make traditional music more ap-
them to clinics and back to their procedure,” he said. back to take care of their family,” and night markets in 21 areas in proachable to the community,” she said.
homes once the mammogram is Liu made the announcement he said. the Klang constituency to pro- Accompanied by guitarist Raja
completed.  during an exercise to give out Running concurrently with mote various state welfare Farouk Raja Zaini, keyboardist Grace
“If women were to go to pri- 1,500 flowers at the morning this campaign is a state initiative schemes,” Liu said. Cho, and flutist Asrol Affendi, she said
vate clinics, they would normally market on Jalan Papan to mark called Layar Rakyat, which be- The welfare schemes include events such as this are important as
be charged around RM200, but International Women’s Day. gan on Feb 19 and will end on financial grants to senior citi- peaceful avenues to get youths engaged
the state is offering this service “We give them flowers to ap- March 18 at the Pekan Kapar zens, students entering institu- and more aware of the constitution.
for free,” he said. preciate their contributions be- Klang night market. tions of higher learning, and Her song is featured on the Jom
Costing over RM11 million, cause they are extraordinary by “The initiative consists of young children. Bangkit album launched by the Saya
Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative.
 REVIEW 17
MARCH 18 — 20, 2011

Unique North Korean fare

By Basil Foo our shoes before entering the
booth made for a laid-back dining

D
eciding to take the road less experience.
travelled would lead you to Some of those were enjoyable,
Pyong yang Koryo but the majority needed an adven-
Restaurant, nestled on the second turous palate as some of the herbal-
floor of a row of shophouses on Jalan tasting shoots were alien to our
Solaris, Mont Kiara. taste buds.
Rather than the usual Korean From the wide selection of bar-
BBQ fare that has proliferated bequed beef, chicken, and seafood,
around town over the years, this we settled on Barbequed Pork Neck
restaurant sells itself as bearers of (RM25), which came served with
North Korean cuisine. This was in- sour chilli sauce, garlic, and lettuce
triguing and admittedly had us to wrap the meat in.
slightly apprehensive. Despite barbeque apparatus on
Upon entering the premises, we the table, the waitress suggested we
were greeted cheerfully by a cadre let the kitchen do the cooking as it
of waitresses sporting traditional would taste better.
Korean dressing which, we learnt The meat cutlets came out thick
later, is called the hanbok. and juicy, which would satisfy any
The restaurant’s décor was barbeque enthusiast, but the por-
homely but nothing out of the or- tions could have been larger. This
dinary: several booths for diners as was probably because we opted for
found in most barbeque establish- the smaller size due to budget con-
ments; a single long table for spe- straints, there being a larger size
cial functions. priced at RM40.
A trickling fountain nearby, We also ordered a standard-fare Barbecued pork neck.
paintings of natural scenery on the Bibimbap (RM22), which was rice
walls, classical music playing in the covered in mixed vegetables, kimchi,
background, and having to remove seaweed, fried meats and an egg, all
sizzling in a ceramic pot.
This hearty dish provided us with
a complete meal, which was warm
Immediately and enjoyable during the rainy night
after ordering, and tasted quite different from your
we were given usual mixed rice as this had traces of
earthy spices.
complimentary The Mushroom Gratang (RM15)
barley drinks, was presented as a mushroom- and
pumpkin broth, meat-filled dish with a top layer of
and an array of soft mashed potato. It had a pie-like
small dishes filled consistency and even smelt like an
with appetisers, oriental Shepherd’s Pie. It could be
considered as a safe choice as it
from the more tasted more familiar than the ap- A myriad of appetisers. Waitresses in traditional costume.
familiar kimchi petisers we’d had earlier.
to lesser-known The Korean Seafood Pancake filling dish. packet. The total bill came up to The overall experience was one
sliced potatoes, (RM25) was a large fried pastry As the complimentary barley RM95 for three persons, but we of discovery, and would appeal to
green beans, and stuffed with vegetables and sea- water sufficed, we did not order ad- could have spent less as the amount fans of Korean food and those
food like prawns and cockles, ditional drinks. Fragrant towels of food was more than we could looking to try something out of
herbal roots.” which added up to another very were provided at a cost of 20 sen per finish. the norm.

MINISTER of
Energ y, Green
Technology and
Focus on safer energy supply
Water Datuk Seri partial meltdown and explosion. Fukushima A problem could occur at a solar power normal level in the control room and eight
Peter Chin on is one of the 25 largest nuclear power stations plant that could lead to 200,000 residents times over normal immediately outside.
Monday indicat- in the world. having to flee for safety beyond a 10km ra- The other problem is the economic cost of
ed that Malaysia’s The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima 1, just dius. This is what happened this weekend in such disasters. Not only could a power plant
plan to build two 150 miles north of Tokyo, suggests that nu- Japan as Fukushima went out of control. worth billions be rendered so contaminated
nuclear power plants will proceed despite the clear plants pose a tremendous risk to the In the Fukushima case, ironically, the as to be useless, a surrounding 20km area
nuclear emergency and meltdown in Japan. public and environment, even with safety earthquake knocked out the station’s own could also be left unfit for human use.
He suggested that the “government will not protocols and management expertise de- electricity supply, leaving the pumps unable Furthermore, under Malaysia’s atomic
do it secretly without informing the public”. signed to handle natural disasters. to supply coolant to the reactor. The backup energy law, nuclear plant operators are not
The minister’s response comes two days Japan has had nearly 60 years of experience diesel generator was also knocked out by the liable for any damage resulting from natural
after what is considered as the worst nuclear with nuclear power, yet there has still been a waters of the tsunami. disasters.
emergency involving a nuclear power plant history of accidents. In 1999, there was a A nuclear reactor is like a giant pressurised Japan embarked on nuclear energy because
since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago. major accident at Tokaimura, where a nu- water boiler. It requires vast quantities of water they lacked domestic fossil fuel alternatives,
The tragedy surrounding the March 11 clear fuel-enrichment facility had an out-of- to cool the reactor, which is why nuclear plants and because their industrialisation took place
tsunami in Japan also signals a warning about control reaction, leading to radiation leakage are usually next to rivers or the sea. well before renewable energies such as solar
the dangers of nuclear energy. Following the affecting hundreds of people and crippling However, this leaves them vulnerable to power were widely available.
earthquake and tsunami, several Japanese nu- the local agriculture industry. water-related disasters such as tsunamis, Malaysia has no such excuse as we have oil,
clear power plants are in a state of emergency. If a country with as much expertise and floods and storm surges, or even droughts. gas, biomass, hydro resources, and abundant
The New York Times reported that partial experience as Japan can fall foul of nuclear Location near water also means that any pol- sunshine; not to mention that we are now set
meltdowns had occurred at two crippled reac- accidents, then Malaysia should not go nu- lution can quickly spread to other areas. to be the world’s number three producer of
tors and indicated possibilities of a second clear as the risks and costs of failure are too Malaysia sees more than its fair share of solar cells.
explosion. Four more reactors are facing seri- great. flood-related disasters. Any nuclear plant Thus, I call upon Chin to abandon all
ous cooling problems. The problem with nuclear power, com- built locally could well suffer a similar prob- ideas to continue with the nuclear adventure.
Japan declared a nuclear emergency when pared to all other sources of electricity, is that lem.
one reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power if and when things go wrong, the conse- The misfortune at the Fukushima plant has Charles Santiago
plant Fukushima Daiichi 1, experienced a quences are far, far worse. resulted in radiation levels 1,000 times the Member of Parliament, Klang
18
TRAVEL
MARCH 18 — 20, 2011

Simplicity of Kampung
Melayu Subang
On a long and fairly deserted road that veers away from the old Subang airport road, LIN ZHENYUAN stumbles
upon an old village that struggles to retain its distinctive identity.

B
efore the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport in
Sepang was officially opened
in 1998, Subang airport and its
surroundings were the “happening”
place.
From 1965 to 1998, a period of
33 years, the Subang airport area
enjoyed a daily influx of arrivals,
domestic and international, who
contributed in no small way to its
prosperity.
There were numerous seafood
restaurants that were situated in
what was formerly termed the old
airport road. In fact, the restaurants
are still there, although evening
activities have slackened.
But the Subang airport has since
been revived and renamed Skypark
Subang. The old Subang airport,
which used to have Terminals 1, 2
and 3, now serves Firefly, Berjaya
Turboprop Services and Transmile
Air Services.
Beyond the Subang airport, the
road leads to Kampung Melayu,
which is several winding kilometres
away from a recently developed A mixture of
township. traditional
New visitors to this place will be kampung homes in
surprised by the visible signs urban a semi-suburban
development. The rows of shops, setting.
engaging in various kinds of business Melayu town, as some may call it, under the jurisdiction of Shah Alam. a GPS must rely on road signs for roads and even narrower side lanes
activities, loom large as the wide seems to be haphazardly planned. The main road is Jalan Besar, which guidance. Along the imfamiliar dotted with traditional and semi-
road leads an unsuspecting motorist The roads do not seem to have a has overhead power cables strewn roads, one comes across business kampung-style homes.
to Jalan Subang Perdana, and then logical symmetry. all over the commercial centre. establishments like Aquatics Roads with names like Jalan
onwards to Jalan Sungai Buloh. One section of the town still re- Some of the power cables are International, Ayam Wira Food Chengal, Jalan Merbau, Jalan Jati
Just when you think you are lost, tains remnants of its own façade precariously low, propped by thin Processing, Metro Driving Acade- and Lorong Melati spring into view.
you come across a little township which consists of a row of old communication poles. Nearby, there my, and BIS Chemicals. Masjid Annur hugs part of a
called Kampung Baru. According to wooden shacks. The only tangible are concrete suggestions that this But in the midst of this sprawling kampung road.
the townsfolk there, it is actually the sign of progress is the blue-coloured area is experiencing tug s of landscape is the charming and still A s c h o o l nam e d S e ko la h
commercial outskirts of Kampung multipurpose hall named Dewan urbanisation in the form of relatively undisturbed Malay village Menengah Kebangsaan  Subang is
Melayu. MBSA Kampung Baru Subang. multistorey structures. called Kampung Melayu. Its located right next to Jalan Bukit
Kampung Baru, or Kampung This section of old Subang comes But a motorist who does not have identity is personified by the narrow Badak.

Pancake seller doing business in the little township on the edge of Traditional snacks like this pancake reveal the tussle between fast food and street
Kampung Melayu. food.
 TRAVEL 19
MARCH 18 — 20, 2011

✂
Take 5 minutes to fill this form up and drop it off at
the nearest police station to have regular checks
at your house while you are away.

Ibu pejabat Polis Daerah Subang Jaya

Tel: 03-5637 3722 Fax: 03-5631 9815
Borang maklumat
Memaklumkan tentang meningalkan rumah kediaman untuk
bercuti.
KFC, but not the kind that others are accustomed to.
The aura of the old kampung “KFC”. Initially, a registration of ers have ventured thus far to satisfy Kepada Kawasan Pentadbiran Balai Polis
pervades the relatively pollution- surprise is not unexpected. their own wanderlust.
free atmosphere and carries with it KFC out here in the boondocks But traditional Malay villages ..............................................................................................
a sp i r i t tha t em b o d i e s th e is not only unusual but also  most like Kampung Melayu, which exist
entrenched values of a well-pre- uncommon. As one drives closer to on the fringes of the more developed Butiran penduduk:
served Malay village. the sign, the mystery is unravelled: parts of Shah Alam and Sungai
Like most kampungs in the it announces “Kelantan Freid Buloh, are fast disappearing. Nama: ..................................................................................
peninsula, there is a sense of Chicklen” (sic). They are being edged into semi-
serenity and a relaxed mood in Beneath the signage that adorns oblivion by the inexorable march Alamat: .................................................................................
Kampung Melayu. the nondescript eatery that says of 21st-century development that
There are few outsiders here. “Stesen Ayam Goreng” are the has an insatiable appetite for virgin ..............................................................................................
Most strangers do not venture this smaller words “Resepi Orang Kita, land.
far unless they have relatives or Rasa Macam Dia.” Perhaps there will come a time ..............................................................................................
friends staying here. It was undoubtedly a witty ad- when our city developers will come
On the leisurely drive through vertisement. But what is rather to realise that there are some things Nombor telefon bimbit/kediaman: ........................................
the rustic heartland of Kampung ambiguous is the following two- worth preserving. The highway to
Melayu Subang where speed is word statement: “Peluang Fran- modernisation cannot be stopped, Nombor telefon yang boleh dihubungi: ................................
obviously unnecessary, one can’t cais”. This demands further investi- but clearly there must be avenues in
help feeling that perhaps life achieves gation, but that has to be left for which a compromise can be struck ..............................................................................................
a deeper meaning when heartbeat another visit. between progress and heritage.
takes on a slower rhythm. Kampung Melayu has been part Meanwhile, we all wait with Tarikh meninggalkan rumah: ................................................
Just when a non-kampung and parcel of the old Subang land- bated breath for the next crane to
resident feels that there’s nothing scape for decades. Only the very fall, and the incoming sounds of the Tarikh dijangka balik ke rumah: ...........................................
more to see, out pops a sign that says curious and the hardcore adventur- bulldozer.
Kenderaan yang ditinggalkan (jenis model & nombor daftar
kenderaan).

1. ..........................................................................................

2. ..........................................................................................

3. ..........................................................................................

Lain-lain maklumat:

..............................................................................................

............................................... .......................................
Tandatangan Tarikh

Have you checked

your electrical
switches before
leaving home?
Before ieaving your home for a holoday, have you
checked all your electrical switches and turned off
your gas tanks?

Call the SS17 Bomba for advise at

Bolster and pillow – two for only RM10 in this town. 03-5634 9444
20
fiction
march 18 — 20, 2011

Jebat: A second-class citizen

Fiction by Ghulam Hussain frustrations and accepted the role. He many pieces. “Jebat must not die,” he said. “He did no
Bhalwani needed money to put a roof over his head, At the very last minute, the producer crime. I will not allow Jebat to die. I will
food on the table and prostitutes in his bed.   decided his theatre production was going save Jebat!”

H e was a talented actor. He wanted

to play the courageous warrior
Hang Tuah. The director was
impressed with his audition. But the pro-
ducer didn’t share the same sentiment. The
The rehearsal was a painful process. The to be short and sweet.  Some of his best
handsome actor could not get into the skin scenes were scrapped. This only added salt
of his character. He kept forgetting his lines. to the talented actor’s injury.
His heart was not into the role. 
His heart was not into the production. shouted.
“This is so unfair,” the talented actor
It was the first night of their perfor-
mance. The auditorium was packed. Two
hours later came the final scene where Hang
Tuah would kill his best friend, Hang Jebat,
for betraying his country and his king.
producer felt he was not commercial He was more interested in winning the “You are in no position to raise your Eventually, Hang Tuah would be hailed as
enough to pull in the crowd. Like always, heart of the beautiful actress who played the voice,” said the producer. That was enough a hero.
the man with the money has the last say. leading role. It didn’t take long for a ro- to end their argument. Like always, the man The talented actor didn’t waste any time
The role went to a handsome actor who mance to blossom on the set.    with the money has the last say   as he stabbed the handsome actor with his
could not act to save his life. He had never His incom- He had keris. The audience was shocked. They
acted on stage. He had never seen a theatre p etence, his played Hang could not believe what they were seeing.
performance in his entire life. He was a lack of dedica- But he was tired of playing a Je b a t t h r e e Hang Tuah was on the floor, screaming
screen heartthrob. Men hated him, women tion, and his villain. He was tired of playing Jebat. times, but this in pain and blood was oozing from his body.
loved him, and gay men worshipped him. roman c e on was the first A few minutes later, Hang Tuah was not
“I took this role because I wanted to the set were He didn’t want to be on the floor time he truly moving anymore.
show to the world that I have more to offer driving the di- again, giving his last breath. For a understood Hang Jebat was proudly waving his keris,
than my good looks,” said the handsome rector nuts. change, he wanted to be the hero Jebat’s pain, covered with blood. The audience screamed
actor to the media. “I can make that people cheered for” betrayal and their heads off. The director shouted on
“I am putting my heart and soul into this cows act but d i s a p p o i nt - the top of his voice, “Oh My God! Oh My
role. After this performance, people will not him,” the ment. God! What you have done? You have mur-
start seeing me differently. They will take director grumbled.   “Jebat did no wrong,” he said to himself. dered him!” 
me more seriously as an actor.”  “Who wants to see him act? Just make “He loved his best friend more than him- A year passed. The talented actor was
The talented actor was not entirely for- sure he looks dashing in his costumes and the self. He was just avenging Tuah’s death. still in a mental hospital. A young journalist
gotten. He was given the role of Hang Jebat, audience will love him,” said the producer. “Yet Jebat was not appreciated for his managed to get an exclusive interview with
the best friend to Hang Tuah and the villain The director made a vow that he would loyalty and sacrifices. He was treated like a his mother, who lived in a small fishing vil-
of the play. This would be his fourth time never work with the handsome actor again, second-class citizen. One is regarded as lage.
playing Jebat. In fact, this role had earned even if a gun were pointed at his head. hero and the other as villain. This is so “My son is not a murderer,” his mother
him the Best Actor award, twice Looking at the drama that was taking unfair.” said. “He didn’t know what he was doing.
But he was tired of playing a villain. He place on the production, the talented actor He felt his fate is not different from Je- A spirit had possessed him.”
was tired of playing Jebat. He didn’t want to felt furious and frustrated.  bat’s. He had shown dedication. Yet he got Looking puzzled, the journalist asked,
be on the floor again, giving his last “I have shown dedication but what do I punished. His best scenes were edited out. “Who is this spirit?” 
breath.  For a change, he wanted to be the get? Nothing, nothing, nothing,” the tal- He was treated like a second-class citizen. With tears streaming from her eyes, her
hero that people cheered for. ented actor said to his image in the mirror.  It was then that the talented actor could mother answered, “Jebat, of course. Can you
In the end, he bit his tongue, buried his Out of anger, he smashed the mirror into no longer bury his frustrations anymore. tell Jebat to leave my son alone…?”

Remembering March 8
Review by Gan Pei Ling comprises 21 articles from the first edition
and contains exclusive interviews with the
If you have forgotten the euphoria and re- likes of Malaysiakini co-founder and chief
newed hope for democracy around this time editor Steven Gan; political blogger Raja
three years ago, you should read March 8: Petra Kamarudin, now in self-exile; and Pen-
Time for Real Change. ang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Edited by Kee Thuan Chye, the book is a Merdeka on March 8, written by Kee
revised edition of March 8: The Day Malay- himself, is a must-read. It brings you back to
sia Woke Up, one of the first books to docu- the historic day and reminds us what Malay-
ment the events leading up to the historic sians are capable of when we stand united.
2008 general election and its impact.
I remember everyone being caught by
surprise when Barisan Nasional (BN) lost five
The people made history, and they could very
well do it again.
The third section, Where do we go from
Express kiosks
states and its two-third majority in Parlia-
ment. It suffered its worst electoral defeat in
here?, attempts to look to the future.
While echoed throughout the book is
working well
history, with many of its big guns, including
Datuk Seri Samy Vellu, Datuk Seri Shahrizat
the need to eliminate race-based politics,
most of the contributors analysed voting for MPK
Abdul Jalil and Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, trends based on race. This was most disturb-
losing their seats. Many Malaysians, including ing – how do we move away from racial KLANG: The speed and quality of service
those who were not politically inclined like politics if we continue to analyse our voters provided to Klang Municipal Council
me, were awed and started to take an active based on race instead of class, age or politi- (MPK) ratepayers has improved signifi-
interest in politics. cal ideology? cantly since the launch of its Express Micro
Malaysian voters have been voting for What I enjoyed the most were the snip- Bill Payment System (EMBPS).
BN for more than 50 years. Led by then between the two coalitions, the people’s re- pets by multifarious Malaysians. The writers According to MPK president Datuk
Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawi, BN newed hope for change has been dying down. of this book are predominantly male, but Mislan Tugiu, the kiosks, which are located
had even won 90% of the seats in Parliament Divided into three sections, the first sec- here there is gender, racial and age balance. at the MPK office, have enabled residents to
back in 2004. So what cause the political tion of March 8: Time for Real Change Different people may have different opinions pay their bills 24 hours a day, allowing them
tsunami in 2008? chronicles these happenings post-2008. on how the country should be run, but ex- to save their time and minimise risks.
I remember reading March 8: The Day Written by political commentators and aca- pressed throughout is Malaysians’ collective “The public must make full use of the
Malaysia Woke Up with hope. Malaysia is demics like Azmi Sharom and Zaharom hope for a transparent and just government EMBPS as it has good safety features and
ripe for change, I thought. But then, in Nain, the 11 articles in the first section also that is corruption-free and colour-blind. it is effective,” Mislan said in a statement on
2009, Perak fell because of three frogs. And attempt to evaluate the state of our country This is a timely publication to remind Tuesday.
on Sept 16, 2008, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de in terms of education, economy, judicial Malaysians that the road towards a better The kiosks allow ratepayers to pay their
facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim independence and media freedom. country is long. Enthusiasm may have have assessments and quit rent via debit and
vowed, and failed, to take over Putrajaya Has Malaysia changed for the better since died down since March 8, and we might be credit cards.
with BN elected representatives he had 2008? Have the political and social reforms muddling through unchartered waters in the According to Mislan, the system also ac-
purportedly enticed to cross over. we desperately hope for been implemented? nation’s history, but as Kee writes, “We live cepts personal and company cheques and can
The country has also seen 16 by-elections The first section makes for grim reading. in exciting times, and the threshold of change identify problems during transactions.
since 2008. With the constant politicking The second section, Back to the beginning, is waiting to be crossed.”
 Media 21
March 18 — 20, 2011

Motivational camp
for secondary students
By Basil Foo enrolled 1,650 participants,” PKNS developments, as well as
said  PKNS general manager Oth- children of the employees of the
KLANG: A camp for students man Omar. company and its subsidiaries.
preparing for major secondary He said the camp is held specifi- Some 125 students participated
school exams was organised and cally for students facing the  Pe- in the three-day programme at Bumi
h e l d by th e   S e lang or State nilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) Jati Camp, which ended on Sunday.
Development Corporation (PKNS) and  Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia “We are trying to give students a
recently. (SPM) examinations. chance to experience a camp envi-
“The Summer Camp Bijak Pela- As part of the company’s corpo- ronment, especially since private
jar is an annual programme which rate social responsibility, the pro- camps outside can charge upwards
started in 1996, and to date has gramme is open to students from of RM250,” said Othman. Motivational counsellor Dr Abdul Aziz Sahat (left) giving the Best
Since the inception of the pro- Participant award to camp participant Muhammad Fikri as Lokman
looks on.
gramme, PKNS has so far spent
RM375,000, with an average of lah in Sabak Bernam and SMK Syed divided into groups under certain
RM25,000 per programme and Mashor in Hulu Selangor. “values”, such as Creativity and
RM227 per participant. Othman hoped other organisa- Innovation.
Othman said the camp was a tions would hold similar pro- “The focus of the programme was
chance for students from less afflu- grammes to benefit students. to instill values in participants, and
ent families to improve their learn- PKNS Employee Welfare Asso- increase discipline and teamwork,”
ing capabilities and to give them ciation president Lokman Abdul Lokman said.
opportunities to excel. Kadir, who was at the ceremony to He also hoped the students could
“It’s tough for people in rural mark the end of the event, said he continue their relationships with
areas. Outside the Klang Valley, they was happy to coordinate the pro- one another after the camp and keep
don’t have the same opportunity to gramme. in touch through social networking.
study compared to city people who He said during the camp, Muhammad Fikri Nazif Azlan, a
can get access to tuition,” he said. participants from different schools 17-year-old participant, thanked the
The camp also included students and backgrounds could mingle, camp facilitators who assisted and
from sponsored schools in rural interact, and learn from one another. shared their knowledge with the
areas, such as SMK Munshi Abdul- The participants were also students.
Lokman, motivational counsellor Dr Abdul Aziz Sahat, and Othman
at the graduation ceremony.

UMobile’s
1+1 promo
SHAH ALAM: Mobile service
operator U Mobile will unveil their
latest promotion when they relaunch
the U Mobile Flagship Store on the
ground floor of Berjaya Times
Square on March 23.
In celebration of the flagship
launch, U Mobile will reward its
loyal customers with a One-Day-
Only Grand Sale, coined the 1+1
Just For U promo.
After successfully simplifying this promo are Nokia E5, HTC Camp participants with Othman (middle in yellow), motivational counsellor Dr Abdul Aziz Sahat,
their BlackBerry Data Plan recently, Wildfire, Blackberry 9300 and and Lokman at the graduation ceremony.
U Mobile will once again offer its Nokia 7230.
customers the opportunity to stay This promo will be offered on an
connected in style with their best
friend or love ones by offering a
chance to purchase the phone and
hourly basis from 1pm to 7pm.
U Mobile will also unveil its
freshly packaged Voice + Data Plan
Puma launches after-hours
get the second phone for free.
The selected phones available for
specially catering for intensive data
users. athletes programme
SHAH ALAM: Puma brings fun to the sports and view party pictures and video from Puma Social
sphere once again with the launch of Puma Social, a Clubs running in cities around the world.
new campaign bringing together after-hours athletes The site also enables users to generate points and
from around the world. fame by synching their social networking profiles
Whether its foosball, darts, ping-pong or bowling, (Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare).
the campaign offers everyone a chance to come The Malaysian version of the Puma Social Club
together online and offline to share in social exchange Tour will be launched this month, and in April, this
and friendly competition. exciting pop-up After-Hours Sports concept party
The campaign hinges on a number of elements will travel through several popular bars and clubs in
including a mood video (available in multiple Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru.
languages on a variety of platforms); cheeky in-store After the kick-off event in Kuala Lumpur last
adverts; and a Puma Social website that fuses user- Friday, the Puma Social Club Tour will make its way
generated content that is updated dynamically on to Monkey Bar, Penang on April 1, and Roost Bistro,
the site. Johor Bahru on April 8, before making its way back
The website is designed to make it easy for after- to Kuala Lumpur for the grand finale on April 15.
hours athletes across the globe to share their own A full listing of events, venues and dates will be
competitive scoreboards, connect with other users, released and updated on www.puma-social.com.my.
22
Gallery
March 18 — 20, 2011

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and members of the Pakatan Rakyat on a
visit to the Japan Embassy on Monday to convey the state’s condolences over
Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami tragedy.

Members of the Community Baptist Church PJ, Aminah Binti Abdullah mosque and
Executive councillor Yaakob Sapari (in green) on a visit to a pig farm in Kuala the SS2 Selatan Residents Association who took part in a gotong-royong exercise
Langat on Tuesday. Selangor has allocated RM500,000 to promote the use of with the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) last Saturday.
effective micro-organisms to keep pig farms clean and odourless.

Two villagers holding up chickens caught in a competition during the carnival

Children competing in a gunnysack race during a carnival in Puchong last weekend. organised by the Subang Jaya Municipality last weekend. The event, which was
Residents from Kampung Kenangan, Kampung Baru 13, Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru attended by about 3,000 people from four traditional villages, was part of efforts
and Kampung Tengah took part in the event. to promote unity.
 Culture 23
March 18 — 20, 2011
Compiled by Zedeck Siew

REVIEW Editor’s
The big performing arts event this month,
model-turned-showbiz mogul Hans Isaac
Pick presents a star-studded musical-theatre
take of Lat’s beloved Kampung Boy and
LAT Kampung Boy: Town Boy, graphic novels about growing
Sebuah Musikal up in rural Perak and Ipoh in the national
Musical; Tall Order Productions; adolescence of the 1960s. Hopefully the
Istana Budaya; March 16-3 April stage adaptation, written by comedians
2011; RM40; www.istanabudaya. Harith Iskander and Kuah Jenhan, will
gov.my manage to capture the tone of the books,
which are simultaneously funny, optimistic
and quietly filled with pathos – as all good
stories about growing up should be. With
Awie as Lat; also featuring Atilia, Datuk
Rahim Razali, Douglas Lim, and Sandra
Sodhy. Music by Michael Veerapen and
choreography by Pat Ibrahim.

Malaysian Shorts
theatre
Out of the venerable Kelab Seni
Filem Malaysia’s (KSFM) many A Modern Woman
activities, Malaysian Shorts – an
evening of filmmaker-submitted, Called Ang Tau Mui
gulp-sized flicks, screened by and Theatre performance; Pentas
for film lovers – is the most fun. Project; The Annexe Gallery,
The films themselves vary in style, Central Market; March 17-19
subject matter, and quality. 2011; free admission; www.
Twelve films were part of the kakiseni.com
most recent Malaysian Shorts, held
on March 14 at KSFM’s traditional
base in HELP University College’s
Leow Puay Tin’s A Modern
Woman Called Ang Tau Mui
– about the gamut of issues
musical / dance
Theatrette. These ranged from Malaysian women face, between
awareness-campaign advisories tradition and modernity – is
The Last Five Years
(Yihwen Chen’s Like Toy Dolls, one of Malaysia’s most often-
which won the BMW Shorties restaged plays. Musical; KL Performing Arts Centre; March 10-20 2011; RM35;
2010 Grand Prize, about baby- There were two productions 03-4047 9000; www.klpac.com
dumping); beautiful, moody road just this month. Unlike Five Art
drama (Margaret Bong’s Fatiha, Centre’s offering last weekend, Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown’s work
about a young daughter’s ride experimental theatre group incorporates a contemporary, pop-rock sensibility. The Last
with her mother’s corpse to her Pentas Project focuses on a Five Years, which Brown staged in 2001 to critical acclaim, was
hometown); and 90-second visual single aspect of Leow’s text: the based on his own failed marriage. “Funny and uplifting, the show
poems (Isazaly Md Isa’s Corridor, a titular character’s love of cinema, captures some of the most heartbreaking and universally felt
nostalgic look at Singaporean HDB- and her propensity for embarking moments of modern romance.” The Kuala Lumpur iteration of
flat corridors). on flights of fancy. “She runs away The Last Five Years features Tabitha Kong and Jon Chew, with
My personal favourite was Belon from reality whenever she can musical direction by Stephen Tok. Directed by KLPac’s resident
Biru by Al Hafiz Burhanuddin. About and acts and imagines herself as director Christopher Ling.
a boy’s preparations for asrama someone else, hoping reality will
life, the short ends by having its be what her dreams are.” Muzik Ku: Muzik Mu
protagonist woken up by bullies, Directed by Loh Kok Man,
who cut up his new shirt – a most featuring Pearlly Chua, with a video Music festival; Kakiseni; The Celebrities Club, Solaris Mont
harrowing scene (though relatively otherworld created by Au Sow Kiara; weekends, March 11-April 2 2011; free admission; www.
non-violent) that sums up all the Yee. Part of Kakiseni’s Women:100 kakiseni.com
violations young men are prone to in festival. Free admission through
school dorms. online booking only. One of the main events of Kakiseni’s Women:100 festival
Better than watching the films, (ongoing throughout March) is Muzik Ku: Muzik Mu, a month-
though, is getting a chance to Short Eyes long music platform with an all-women line-up. This weekend,
hear directors talk about them. listen to the sultry strains of Elvira Arul, Vima 2010 winner for
Newly minted film graduate Nadiah Best Female Vocalist (March 18), and the rock-out riffs of indie
Hamzah (who made Sub Rosa, Theatre performance; Rumah
Anak Teater; The Actors Studio @ band Tempered Mental (March 19). Free admission through
about cross-cultural love) spoke online booking only.
about getting a pair of sneakers from Lot 10; March 16-20 2011; RM35;
one Spike Lee (he was a teacher www.theactorsstudio.com.my
of hers). Fikri Jermadi (Bound, a
Women On Top
comedy thriller with two kidnapped Puerto Rican playwright Miguel
Korean dudes cussing at each other) Pinero wrote Short Eyes in prison, Dance performance; Aswara Dance Company, Experimental
explained that he shot his short in a as part of a theatre workshop Theatre, Aswara; March 17-20 2011; free admission; www.
single take as a personal challenge. for inmates; the work’s depiction kakiseni.com
When asked about the smoothness of life, love and death among a young theatre outfit prone to social
of a long, tracking shot in Famous the incarcerated (many of them commentary. Featuring Zahiril Adzim as This contemporary dance bill features eight pieces, performed
Last Words, Ho Yuhang revealed minorities, condemned by a Clark Davis: white, middle-class, and – by Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan’s (Aswara)
the ingenuity of funding-starved mainstream society) so impressed wrongly accused, but self-admittedly – a dance department. Check out Nasi Putih, an interpretation of
Malaysian filmmakers (even award- viewers that it eventually made paedophile. With Taiyuddin Bakar, Amirul how “nasi kangkang” is prepared; Behind the Wall, a dance
winning ones): “I put the camera in a its way to Broadway. By staging Affendi, Tayanithi, and others. Directed film about a battered wife; and Tapak 4, a mixed-gender
Kancil and pushed the Kancil down Short Eyes, Rumah Anak by Ayam Fared, with artistic direction by demonstration of the traditionally masculine silat form, among
the road,” Ho said. “Actually you can Teater continues on its path as Nam Ron. others. Directed by Aswara dance faculty dean Joseph
make films with a very low budget. Gonzales. Part of Kakiseni’s Women:100 festival. Free admission
We spent RM300 in total.” through online booking only
Malaysian Shorts used to (international title: The Malay Alexander and future first king of
be one of the incubators of Chronicles – Bloodlines) was made Langkasuka, acts as a chaperone
Malaysia’s nascent independent with RM8mil; it took a decent RM2.2mil – and, along the way, finds a
film community; I saw my first on its opening weekend. These are big place to call his own.
Liew Seng Tat film there. As our numbers for local cinema. Anachronisms aside, I didn’t
cinema matures, however, its import But my overriding feeling, watching mind the writing so much; it’s a
seems to have waned, supplanted the movie, was that they needed to cool premise. But stripping away
by more “official” things like the spend more. If you want to imitate the Hikayat – a classical Malay
aforementioned BMW Shorties. Still, action-adventure blockbusters, it’s text about the founding of Kedah
things like this, by virtue of being going to cost you – and the worst thing and the struggle between Islam
enthusiast-driven, will always have a an epic film can do is look cheap. The and Hinduism in this region – is
place. If you’re looking for a place to sets looked like they were built by a disservice; the film ended up
meet Malaysian cinema, this is it. city-born Boy Scouts, and the Roman taking place in a generic fantasy
Join the Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia cuirasses were obviously too big for nowhere, full of Hollywood
group on Facebook! their actors. tropes.
Yes, Romans. Hikayat Merong In this light, the convenient
Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa’s plot involves the Aesop of Hikayat Merong
Mahawangsa unlikely diplomatic marriage between Mahawangsa’s narrator Phra Ong
a Latin prince (Gavin Stenhouse) and Mahawangsa (according to the
In comparison to the no-budget stuff a Han princess (Jing Lu). Merong source material, the first Kedah
of Malaysian Shorts, KRU Studios’ Mahawangsa (Stephen Rahman- monarch to embrace Islam) about
Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa Hughes), reputed descendant of not forgetting the past is ironic. The filmmakers addressing the audience at Malaysian Shorts.
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