Archive for category Local Goverment
Councils save millions in managing waste disposal
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Local Goverment, Pakatan Rakyat, Penang Government on Thursday, 2 December 2010
By Susan Loone
Dec 2, 10
Malaysiakini
Just by renegotiating with the contractor to reduce the cost of transporting solid waste within the state, two local councils in Penang have saved RM33 million of the people’s money.
The money, in the form of surcharge payment to the contractor, will be reclaimed by the two municipal councils – Penang Island and Seberang Perai.
“Imagine how much Umno cronies had profited before this and caused a burden to the people,” said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at a Seberang Perai Municipal Council function today.
He said following the Auditor-General’s advice, the municipal councils were tasked to reclaim the surcharge money paid to the contractor , which amounted to RM222,880.
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Najib has forgotten his first promise as PM that “The era where the government knows best is over”
Posted by Kit in Local Goverment, Najib Razak on Thursday, 11 March 2010
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has forgotten his first promise as Prime Minister in April last year that “The era where the government knows best is over” when he gave an instinctive “No” to the proposal by the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng for the restoration of local government elections even without referring to his Cabinet.
This is most irresponsible on the Prime Minister’s part. The important issue of restoration of local government elections deserve more serious response from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the government.
In fact, one prominent article in a current magazine which belongs to the Umno stable of media publications, has the lead article: “Getting Local Councils to Deliver” and posing the question: “A recent survey showed that local councils are a big letdown to rate payers. Will having local council elections, or better, yet, the Government Transformation Plan, help?”
Najib’s instant and summary rejection of the idea of local government elections could be interpreted as the Prime Minister having little confidence or even having utter contempt for the Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha and the KPI Minister, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon who is supposed to spearhead the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap.
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Cabinet on Wednesday should give “green light” for legislative action to allow state governments like Penang to restore local government elections
Posted by Kit in Local Goverment, Penang Government on Sunday, 7 March 2010
The Penang State Executive Council has made a historic decision to restore local government elections for Penang which was suspended 45 years on 1st March 1965 because of Indonesian Confrontation which ended in the latter part of 1966.
If elections to the two Municipal Councils of Penang, the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) and the Municipal Council of Seberang Prai (MPSP) are held at this time, it would be doubly meaningful because the last local council elections in Malaysia was held half a century ago in 1961.
In fact, there would be a triple significance as the first-ever elections held in the country was for the Municipal Council of George Town on Dec. 1, 1951 – marking the 60th anniversary commemoration of the start of the nation’s electoral history.
Following the historic decision of the Penang State Government to restore the third vote, with the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng writing to the Election Commission to conduct local government elections for the two municipalities in Penang, the Cabinet on Wednesday should give the “green light” for legislative action to be taken to allow state governments like Penang to restore local government elections.
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Ipoh City Council , do not intimidate the people!
Posted by Kit in Augustine Anthony, Local Goverment on Wednesday, 5 August 2009
By Augustine Anthony; Chairman, Ipoh City Watch
The City of Ipoh has an approximate population of 710,000 people. Not all are well versed with legal principles to scrutinize and understand news report that may send panic and jittery feelings amongst the residents, especially if such news report touches on legal issues.
It is for this reason that those who are in positions of authority, when called upon to make an announcement in public or when called upon to give a press statement, exercise great care to prevent anxiety and anger amongst the residents.
Take for example the recent news report that appeared in the Star newspaper on 03.08.2009 under caption “Door to door collection” in which, the said news was carried in the following fashion:-
“Ipoh city folks who have defaulted in their assessment payments should not be surprised if they receive knocks on their doors from Ipoh City Council enforcement officers. Datuk Bandar Datuk Roshidi Hashim said the council had sent out enforcement teams to demand payment from defaulters.”
Read the full Star Online report here
If indeed the Mayor had said this as reported in the news paper, then one possessed with some legal knowledge would think of it as an irresponsible comment that is likely to send wrong signal to the public.
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Landmark achievement of Tawau “Don Quixote” case in defence of open spaces
Posted by Kit in Local Goverment, Sabah, Social on Saturday, 29 December 2007
I commend the Tawau Municipal Council (TMC) for admitting that the Sabindo development and encroachment of Tawau open spaces is illegal and invalid and I call on Sabindo developers, Jeramas Sdn Bhd and Aggasf Construction Sdn. Bhd to emulate the example of TMC to reach an amicable “win-win” settlement for the interests of the people of Tawau.
DAP leaders and I had attended several public meetings in Tawau over the scandal of the encroachment and deprivation of the open spaces in Tawau, subordinating the public interests of the people of Tawau to private profit-making in disregard of the law and public policy.
DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok and I had also raised in Parliament the issue of the lack of municipal good governance as illustrated by the Sabindo open space scandal, with the Tawau municipality teeming with “Little Napoleons” defying the Prime Minister and the Sabah State Cabinet in depriving the fundamental right of the people of Tawau to open spaces and recreational grounds.
I was very uplifted when I was informed last night by Jimmy Wong (alias Tiger Wong of Tawau) – who together with nine other public-spirited Tawau ratepayers had taken the TMC to court on the unlawful Sabindo development project and the encroachment of the Tawau open spaces and recreational grounds – that the Tawau people had achieved a classic and landmark breakthrough in their long, arduous and uphill battle to protect the “open spaces” in Tawau not only for the people of Tawau but also for the people Sabah and Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Is PM AAB above the law?
Posted by Kit in Letters, Local Goverment, Police on Thursday, 13 December 2007
by Loh Meng Kow
According to Star, PM AAB commenting on the arrest of eight people, including four lawyers, for taking part in an illegal march here yesterday, and said: Lawyers are not above the law.
Federal Constitution: Section 10. Freedom of speech, assembly and association has four clauses. It reads (1) Subject to Clauses (2), (3), and (4)-
(a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) all citizens have the right to form associations.
Section 4. Supreme law of the Federation reads (1) This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
Section 27 of the police Act 1967, and section 141 of the penal code deal with assembly, and they can only provide guidelines on how assembly should be conducted. They cannot go against Section 10 (1) in making assembly illegal since that would be inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore be void. Read the rest of this entry »
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