Saturday, April 11, 2009

Interesting Article from Malaysiainsider on Samy Vellu...

Embattled MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, whose wish to return to the Cabinet was rejected by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is playing his final gambit by threatening to withdraw the sole MIC minister.
---
The Malaysian Insider understands Samy Vellu has little support except from party vice-president S. Sothinathan in this gambit which was sparked after Najib rejected all hints last week to make Samy Vellu a senator and put him back into the Cabinet as works minister.
---
Samy Vellu complained to his supporters that if Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon could be made a senator and minister, he should have been accorded the same privilege.
---
Samy Vellu is also unhappy that Selangor Gerakan chief A. Kohilan Pillay has been made a deputy foreign minister, a high-profile post for an Indian.
---
He feels it should have been given to one of his nominees.
---
After failing to get himself re-appointed, Samy Vellu tried to propose two additional deputy ministers posts for Sothinathan and Senator Loga Chitrakalla, according to MIC sources.

Weekend programmes..

I will be going to Bercham for a DAP Bercham Dinner shortly. Tomorrow will have to go to Malim Nawar for our Party Dinner too... :-D

Some clarificationss...

I would like to express my thanks to all of you who have posted comments on the Telco issue which was posted by me last week.

I think there is a need to have certain clarifications here as the previous post seems to be vague in certain areas.

On Nga Kor Ming being the EXCO in charge of Local Government...

I never said that he is useless (as posted by Anonymous). It is also untrue to say that “If you have a problem within your party sort it out internally and not blame the exco.” I am only looking at the matter and finding ways to solve it. I fully concur with Defender of PKT that “Anak ipoh and anonymous, i totally disagree with your comments. How can you blame the PKT's Perak EXCO on local authority for having taking so many other portfolios.”

I also fully agree wih Frustrated in Canning who posted that “What's wrong with having an EXCO who is willing and had actually sacrified so much his time and effort by assuming so many portfolios. Nobody say is easy but i must say the EXCO on local authority has done a tremendous job taking into consideration that he is also an MP. Just look at the number of portfolios he has to handle... Yet he still have time and brain to settle the telco issue by making the state richer by imposing million ringgit fine. As the old saying goes "one stone kill two birds".”

Just don’t get me wrong, the State EXCO i mentioned in the previous post was not referring to Kor Ming.

As i always stress, it is no wrong for someone to take on more portfolios than others if he or she is willing and able to do the work. What kor ming did in the past 10 months have proven that he can take up the task.

For the purpose of clarification, in fact, the issue of illegal telco was subsequently (after the announcement of RM3,000.00 fine per towers by Sdr. Nga) passed on to another EXCO whose portfolios overlaps with the portfolio of Local Government.

RM3,000.00 fine imposed on each illegal Telco...

On the RM3,000.00 fine imposed, as stated in my previous post, from experience and also my personal view, it is never sufficient. My comrade in Kepayang, YB Loke Chee Yen had once dealt with an illegal Telco in his constituency whereby the Company in charge told him they can easily pay the RM3,000.00 fine as it is a very small amount to them.

For me, the only way to stop their (Telcos) arrogance is to impose daily fine and to take drastic action to pull down the illegal towers if there is non-compliance of the Local Authority Order. We can impose it to the “illegal” restaurant traders and pig farmers, why not on Telcos...

One Stop Centre at MBI...

Anak Ipoh had rightly pointed out the issue of One-Stop-Centre (OSC). Anak Ipoh said:” The simple truth is that erection of telco is under the jurisdiction of local authority. So who sit in the local authority? Apart from the obvious scapegoat viz. dato bandar himself, it is the councillors themselves. So before, we go blaming all the PKT EXCOs to MB, perhaps YB care to share with us who are the councillors who sit in "One Stop Centre"??? I sincerely hope that no one of them is from Canning.”

One of the Councillors sitting in the OSC is Clr. Liu Ten Tui, who is in charge of Kg Simee, Ipoh Gardens and Canning. I have informed Clr. Liu of certain illegal towers in the constituency which can never be approved without the consent of the Residents. The appplications that were eventually declined include the one in Taman Canning and the other in Kg. Simee.

Indeed i am so lucky to have my Councillor sitting in the OSC otherwise the towers in my constituency will be approved easily.

However, as Clr. Liu reverted to me, he was facing pressure even from the officers sitting in the OSC (although that should not be the case). I’d even go as far as saying that he was in effect, receiving hostile questioning on his reasons for turning down the applications since the MCMC had approved it and they are in compliance of the regulations! (seem they may have forgotten the protest by the Residents and treated OSC as a Rubber Stamp which Clr. Liu and myself will never let it be the way)

I don’t believe in apportioning blame on others for what they have or have not done as for those who knows me, it is not my style. In this case, we need the full and unreserved backing of the state govenrment who will be forming the cardinal policies behind certain issue (including this one, Telco.), in order for us, the elected representative and the appointed councillors, to fully deliver what the people want and need.

Flood in Canning etc...

This is another equally important and serious problem in the constituency apart from Telco which the residents are having nightmare just like those sleeping beside the building with a Telco's erected. Clr. Liu and myself are aware of the issues and are constantly looking for solutions over that. We are not technical people but we are lucky enough to have one resident of Ipoh Garden, Mr. Lee helping us.

During rainy days, we have aken surveying filed trips through affected areas, ie along Ipoh Garden East, Ipoh Garden South, Ipoh Garden and Canning Garden and see how the water flows. The water flows from these areas along Sg Senam and towards Fair Park. By doing this we discovered that the culverts at Fair Park’s were too small to accomodate the water volume and you can see the water level from left side of the culvert (at Fair Park-Ipoh GH’s junction) are of the same level with the road surface. There is a need to widen it.

JPS knows about it but claims they do not have enough funds. We found it ridiculous. I have then made a request to Ngeh (who is the EXCO in charge of JPS) and he has in principal agreed that this Project shall be one of the Project to benefit from the Supplementary Bill of RM22.5 million for flood elevation programmes in 2009 which was supposed to be presented in this April Dewan’s sitting but for the unfortunate political events taken place.