TwoSen

FIRST, congratulations to the new menteri besar of Selangor.

I hope one of the first things he does is address the inefficient local councils, particularly the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council.

Having lived in Taman TAR for the last four years (we have owned the house for more than 20 years and pay our assessment and quit rent every year), I have made repeated complaints.

First, the road leading to Taman TAR has not been properly resurfaced since we moved in.

Several potholes have been patched, but so poorly done that holes were created within weeks.

The white line on the same road is not visible in many sections, making it dangerous at night, especially when it rains.

The trees along the stretch have not been pruned for so long that when walking on the sidewalk you have to either bend almost double to pass under or risk injury by stepping on the road.

Several restaurants in the Ampang Point area place tables and chairs on the walkway.

Last week, I burned my hand because the tandoori earthen oven was also on the sidewalk.

And my last complaint is this. Several years ago, the monsoon drain behind our row of houses started to come apart.

After several months, the water weakened the slope and caused severe damage to a number of houses.

When we wrote to complain, the council responded with a letter demanding we prove that we had obtained permission for renovations to our homes.

In other words, because we had the nerve to complain, they responded with threats!

We were all able to prove that we had followed regulations, but the drain is yet to be repaired — after almost four years.

J.L.,Ampang, Selangor

Source: NST – March 25, 2008

DATUK Zaid Ibrahim’s proposal to the government to exorcise the ghost of the judicial past by apologising to Tun Salleh Abbas and the other judges who were unceremoniously removed from the bench in 1988 is long overdue.

Much water has passed under the bridge since that black incident. People’s perceptions were that the judiciary’s independence had been compromised and the ill-effect of that crisis can be felt even now.

The independence of the judiciary is sacrosanct. Judges should be appointed and promoted due to their good legal acumen and should be firm and fair in their decisions.

Any overhaul of our judiciary should also look into how judges are selected and promoted since a good judicial system is a prerequisite of any modern civil society.

HAMDAN IBRAHIM, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – March 25, 2008

I REFER to Dr Toh Kin Woon’s analysis of Gerakan’s problems (”Possible options for a Gerakan revival” — NST, March 23). His concluding lines on the possibility of Gerakan leaving the Barisan Nasional coalition as an option to revive the party is not as radical a suggestion as the public may think. It is an issue familiar to many senior party members.

Even in the 1980s, when Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu was the chief minister of Penang (and de facto leader of Gerakan), the allocation of seats to component parties was a chronic bone of contention.

Suggestions that the party should break away for this reason were rejected as unseemly and opportunistic.

Nevertheless, it was generally agreed that this should remain an option when key issues are in dispute, especially when basic party principles and objectives are involved.

Unfortunately, over the years of BN/Umno dominance, this seemed to have been put aside in favour of “pragmatic” politics. This meant accepting anything that the BN leadership offered with a total disregard for the position of its coalition partners.

I am a Gerakan life member and I am putting in historical perspective the position of Gerakan vis-a-vis the BN.

I maintain that there was never any acceptance or assumption that Gerakan’s membership in the BN coalition was a permanent partnership to be maintained at all costs.

Gerakan will now have to seriously consider if the cost paid in these polls has been too high.

CHOONG SIM POEY, Penang

Source: NST – March 25, 2008

FIVE hundred migrant workers from Bangla-desh travelled abroad this year for jobs they hoped would bring money and security to their families.

However, many ended their journey in a shoplot in Bandar Rinching, Semenyih.

The workers discovered that neither the visas nor the jobs they were promised existed. The agents took their money and passports and ran away.

The workers are now illegal immigrants.

They arrived here six months ago after paying RM13,000 each for a work permit and a job in the food-manufacturing sector.

Under the law, workers caught overstaying their visas face imprisonment and caning, which would leave them scarred for life.

The Immigration has placed these workers in a shoplot in Bandar Rinching until their problem is settled by the Bangladesh High Commission.

According to the migrant workers, they are facing a shortage of food and water.

They are also not free to move outside of the shoplot.

Though the high commission promised them food and accommodation, the workers said they had to bear the expenses themselves.

We call on the high commission to be proactive and resolve the migrant workers’ problem as soon as possible by providing sufficient food and other basic needs.

We also request it starts negotiations with the Immigration Department to sort out the passport and work permit problems.

E. NALINI for Suara Rakyat Malaysia,Petaling Jaya

Source: NST – March 25, 2008

MALAYSIA took a giant leap towards becoming a vibrant democracy on March 8.

For so long, the country has been regarded as a socio-economic model among developing nations, but with this profound political transformation, it has now elevated itself into a robust, progressive democracy, leaving many other nations in its wake.

Malaysia needs to build up on this fortuitous change to become a dynamic democracy in line with Vision 2020.

The Barisan Nasional will now have to respond to this new equation in Malaysian politics.

The New Economic Policy needs to be further empowered with an affirmative action policy for all the nation’s lower income groups to have a decent standard of living.

Delineation of electoral boundaries for parliament and state constituencies needs to be made fairer and proper weightage given to the burgeoning urban areas.

Some urban constituencies are so huge as to render services by the MP meaningless. Today, there are much more urban poor than rural poor and socio-economic program-mes should be reconstituted to alleviate poverty in the urban setting.

Local council elections should be reconstituted to empower the ratepayers in solving municipal problems affecting them. One can expect a new set of democratic values in a large number of government institutions to empower the citizenry now that the floodgates have been opened.

However, during this momentous changing phase, we need Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to steer the country away from friction, instability and volatility.

For the country to rise to the next level of democracy, every citizen has to play a positive part and the benefits will be manifold.

V. THOMAS, Sungai Buloh

Source: NST – March 25, 2008

I MUST say that the proposal by some newly formed state governments to waive fines and summonses in gratitude for being voted in is extremely disturbing.

I would go even further to suggest that the proposed exercise — in Penang and Perak, for example — if implemented would be an abuse of power.

The state governments in question must understand that it would be writing off a public source of income to “thank” the voters for voting their parties in.

This is plainly wrong. Not to mention that waiving fines can be misconstrued as encouraging offences.

I am sure politicians would have by now realised that voters are not stupid.

Newly-formed governments can “thank” the voters by doing a good job.

Starting off with abuse of power is clearly not a promising start.

Stop it!

THE cancellation of fines and summonses as “reward” for the electorate in some states is a misplaced and corrupt “gift”.

This sends a wrong signal to the rakyat that it is acceptable to break the law and if you withhold settlement of your fines long enough, there may be possibilities of amnesties and cancellations.

This practice should be stopped immediately as it punishes law-abiding citizens who settle their fines on time and are inadvertently made to feel like fools!

By T.C.K., Petaling Jaya

AZRIN KAMALUDDIN, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – March 25, 2008

PARTY-HOPPING by members of parliament is wrong and unethical, to say the least. The only time it may be considered acceptable is when there is a hung parliament. In such circumstances, party-hopping can be used to break a deadlock in forming a workable government.

That is about the only time when it should be resorted to.

However, the current parliament is far from a hung parliament. In fact, it is better than just a simple majority, though short of a two-thirds majority. A government has already been formed. Let it function.

The people deserve the government they chose, be it at federal or state level, five of which are headed by the PKR-DAP-Pas grouping, the remaining eight under the Barisan Nasional.

Any action to encourage elected members of parliament or state assemblies, from both sides of the political divide, to defect from the party which they were elected to another party to boost the strength of the other party, should not be condoned.

Efforts by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim though laudable, are only part of the solution.

A durable solution is for all parties concerned to learn to accept the democratic choice of the people in good faith and in a gentlemanly manner.

The people have made their choice. Let the representatives carry out their business of governing the nation.

Following the general election, people said Malaysians had matured in their practice of democracy. It would seem that the voters have matured, but not certain elected representatives or their leaders, judging by the latest party-hopping reports.

Elected representatives should not be offering themselves to leave their parties. The most ethical thing for them to do is to resign their seats if they have lost confidence in the party they represent and not to use what they have won through one party to move to another party.

Perceptions

I REFER to remarks, rumours and reports that elected Barisan Nasional MPs may want to cross over to the opposition and help the opposition form a new government.

The Malaysian voter has spoken. He wants a stronger opposition in parliament and not for the opposition to take over the federal government.

Malaysians also are happy that changes have taken place in four states and look forward to a clean and efficient administration in all the five states run by non-BN parties with the full co-operation of the Barisan Nasional federal government.

Elected MPs should remain with their respective parties and not defect just because they have not been appointed ministers or to other positions they had eyed prior to the general election.

The Malaysian voter is politically savvy enough to know that defections don’t simply happen without the offer of some kind of perk from the party that accepts defectors.

And the voter has no choice but to interpret such defections or crossing-overs as involving the payment of money or the promise of some post that may help in the making of easy money later.

K. PUVIRAJEN, Air Hitam, Penang

MOHD SAFAR HASIM, Bangi, Selangor

Source: NST – March 25, 2008

Dear Editor,

KUDOS to Food Not Bombs Kuala Lumpur chapter for their efforts in helping the needy in the city.

I am impressed by their initiative and hard work in collecting and distributing food for the city’s homeless and destitute. Although we all know that we should not waste food, some take their privileged life for granted. It is not hard to find people who throw away their food although it is still good for consumption, whereas poor folks struggle every day to put a decent meal on their table. It is good to know that there are people who have not forgotten the value of helping those in need. Congratulations also to Bau-Bau Café for cooking and serving free meals to the homeless every weekend. Keep up the good work!

Source: Malay Mail – March 24, 2008

Dear Editor,

SPORTS should be recognised as an agent of positive change in the fight against drugs as they develop healthy bodies and minds to combat dadah.

Where drug abuse destroys bodies and minds, sports make them stronger and healthier. Where drug abuse undermines incentive, sports teach you to strive for excellence. Where drug abuse threatens relationships, sports encourages participation. Sports bring out the best in young people by helping to build teamwork, camaraderie and friendship, which can go a long way in helping individuals overcome the many social ills afflicting our society. Sportsmen and sportswomen make good role models for our youths and teenagers, who are the primary targets for the ‘gateway drugs’ such as to- bacco and alcohol, as well as other dangerous drugs such as amphetamine -type stimulants. The government needs to provide more sports facilities and recreational space for our youths. We need more football fields, badminton and basketball courts and affordable sports amenities for the young. There should be more space for games and sports in our cities and towns. Our Housing and Local Government Ministry, as well as the respective State governments, should ensure that local authorities provide adequate sports amenities to help produce healthy bodies and minds. If the drug abuse problem is not tackled effectively among the youths, they will not be able to contribute and play their rightful role in national development. Many will fall victim to the vicious cycle of drugs. The strategy in any drug abuse prevention campaign need to focus on young people who are vulnerable to peer pressure. If we want to promote alternatives to drug-abusing lifestyles, the entire community, including civic groups, the private sector, teachers and parents, must be involved in the effort to reach into young people’s lives and address their concerns. It is time for organisations and associations, as well as the entire Malaysian community, to work closely with the government to combat the drug menace to save our younger generation from the scourge. To all youths, who are the biggest asset in the country, I wish to advise them to keep away from drugs, not only for their own well-being, but also for the sake of the country and its future. It is necessary to develop a more affective strategy towards making the nation drug-free by 2015. As the key to the fight against drugs lies in prevention, a national-level prevention strategy is needed to infiltrate the home, society and workplace to help eradicate the problem.

Source: Malay Mail – March 24, 2008

Dear Editor,

MY mother used to say that “no matter how high her level of education, if a woman does not care about cleanliness, she is useless.”

I would like to call on all women to use toilets wisely. I have no intention of humiliating women or offending readers but every time I go to a public toilet, I feel like I am entering a filthy room. The toilet in my office is a good example. I thought that working in a private company, the academically-qualified female employees would know the importance of cleanliness but the way they use the toilet shows how ignorant they really are. I can’t understand how they are able to balance themselves squatting on the toilet seat instead of sitting on it. As a result, you can see shoe marks on the seat. Don’t they think of others who will later use it? Another annoying issue is the disposal of sanitary pads, which usually end up on the floor instead of in the right bins. Perhaps they believe that the cleaners will clean up after them, but cleaners do not work around the clock. Some do not even bother to flush. If we use public toilets the same way we use our toilets at home, we wouldn’t have these problems. I hope that everybody, especially women, learn to keep toilets clean.

Source: Malay Mail – March 24, 2008