community February 24 — 26, 2012/ issue 62

Barrier down, fear up

p 6 p 12 – 14

SyabaS, you are heartleSS

p 2

K a j a n g s t a t e a s s e m b l y p e r s o n Lee Kim Sin, Global Environment Centre d i r e c t o r F a i z a l P a r i s h , a n d K u a l a S e l a n g o r D i s t r i c t Counci l pres ident Noraini Roslan planting a tree at the Raja Musa forest reserve last Saturday. See page 10 to find out if they have turned to farming!.

looking at nuke option

By brenda Ch'ng

kuala luMpur: Four more rallies around the country will be held on Sunday in solidarity with the Anti-Lynas gathering in Kuan-tan.

“Himpunan Hijau is everyone’s platform to prevent Kuantan from becoming uninhabitable. If Lynas is allowed to operate then the door is open to more such plants in the future,” said Himpunan Hijau public relations steering commit-tee member Clement Chin.

Himpunan Hijau 2.0 is sched-uled to be held at the Kuantan Mu-nicipal Council (MPK) field be-tween 9.30am and noon. 

Similar rallies will also be held at Maju Junction, Jalan TAR Kuala Lumpur (9.30am-noon), Speakers Square, Penang Esplanade (from 6pm), Bukit Merah in front of ARE old site, Perak (11am) and Tanjung Aru Beach (near the Yacht Club) in Sabah (4pm).

Opponents of the controver-

More anti-Lynas rallies planned

sial RM2.5 billion Lynas Advance Material Plant (LAMP)  fear that the plant  will produce massive amounts of radioactive waste and pose a danger to Malaysians.

During an anti-Lynas press con-ference on Wednesday, National Indian Advancement Team (NIAT) chairman Thasleem Ibra-him claimed that only a handful of Malaysians are aware of the issue.

“Only one in four people out-side Kuantan has actually heard of the issue. This is a blatant abuse of power and the mainstream media has a role in speaking the truth about Lynas.

“Are we going to welcome the devil that is waiting to kill us slow-ly but surely?” he asked.

He also pointed out that this is a national issue which will affect all Malaysians in future.

Thasleem urged the public to protest the building of LAMP and unite to stop other future nuclear plants.

Among the supporters at the press conference were representa-tives from Malaysian Civil Liber-ties Movement, People's Green Coalition, Parti Rakyat Malaysia and LLG Cultural Development Centre.

To create more awareness of Ly-nas before the rally, a forum on the dangers of the plant will be held tomorrow (Feb 25) from 9am-noon at Dewan Jubli Perak in Shah Alam.

Key speakers are Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) chairman Tan Bun Teet, nuclear physicist Ahmad Bongsu and other non-govern-mental organisations representa-tives.

Ahmad  Bongsu had previously warned that the impact of any dis-aster at the Lynas plants could be as severe as the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in Japan..

"When the Chernobyl  disas-ter  (nuclear accident in Ukraine) took place, the radioactive parti-

Pakatan MBs, CM snubbed

Shah alaM: Datuk Seri Najib Razak  is being asked to explain why heads of Pakatan Rakyat-administered states were not invited to the 114th Meeting of Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers in Putrajaya on Tuesday.

“It is extremely unprofes-sional for the Prime Minister to exclude Pakatan menteris besar and chief minister from a meet-ing to discus the people’s welfare,” said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (pic).

Khalid, in a statement on Thursday, said the move was unfair as the people of Selangor, Penang, Kedah, and Kelantan contribute more than half of Malaysia’s economy.

He said this did not reflect well on the much-heralded 1Ma-laysia concept and the transfor-mation process of the govern-ment.

"The state urges the Prime Minister to explain to the media that the meeting was in fact the Meeting of Barisan Nasional Menteris Besar and Chief Minis-ters," said Khalid

Khalid's political secretary, Faekah Husin, said the move to exclude state leaders shouldn't happen in a democratic country.

"The media  portrayed the snub as  if Pakatan leaders de-clined to attend when we did not get invitations," she added.

The meeting , chaired by Najib, was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhy-ddin Yassin, the chief secretary to the government, cabinet minis-ters along with MBs from Perak, Negri Sembilan, Pahang and Perlis and chief ministers from Malacca, Sarawak and Sabah.

cles were carried by winds all the way to Scotland.

"The rain water that was infused by those particles fell onto fields and livestock," said Ahmad.

He said that radioactive parti-cles from toxic dumps in Gebang, Kuantan, could be carried by winds and monsoon rains across West Malaysia.

"So don't think you're safe just because you don't live in Kuantan," he said.

Meanwhile, the state expects 300 participants, including repre-sentatives from local authorities, to attend Saturday's forum.

"We want councillors and coun-cil staff to be aware of Lynas and the dangers they bring to the com-munity," said executive councillor Ronnie Liu.

He said at a press conference on Thursday that the rare earth plant would emit high levels of radioac-tivity and cause wide-ranging neg-ative implications for the country.

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email editor@selangortimes.com

EDITORIALCHIEF EDITOR KL Chan

COMMUNITY EDITOR Neville SpykermanPRODUCTION EDITOR C Gunasegaran

WRITERS Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Gan Pei Ling, Basil Foo, Alvin Yap, Gho Chee Yuan, Brenda Ch’ng

COPY EDITOR James AngDESIGNERS Jimmy C. S. Lim, Chin Man Yen

ADVERTISING Timothy Loh, Samantha Sim, Ivan Looi, Tony Kee, ADVISORS Faekah Husin, Arfa’eza Abdul Aziz

2 February 24 — 26, 2012

news

Wong says citizens must take proactive action.

Morning

Friday Saturday Sunday

afternoon

night

Selangor WeaTHer

Source: Malaysian meteorological department

Paradigm shift needed to achieve fair elections

By Alvin Yap

AMPANG JAYA: Apartment residents, whose water supply is disconnected due to their errant developer, have hit out at Syari-kat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) for being inhumane.  

“Your action is heartless. You want to wait for the cheques to clear first (before recon-necting the water supply)?” asked Mohd Azam Meor, from Pandan Utama Housing Project (Phase II), at a meeting with Syabas on Monday night.

Some 70 families have had dry taps since Feb 14 after supply was disconnected when it was discovered that the developer of the two-year-old apartment had been steal-ing from a water main.

The water was piped into an illegal water tank before being supplied  to residents at the five-storey walk-up apartment in Jalan Cempaka 1, Pandan Utama.

Mohd Azam, 55, was among residents who pleaded for water to be reconnected im-mediately to ease the plight of children, pregnant women  and senior citizens who have to carry pails of water up flights of stairs.

But Syabas corporate communica-

tions and public affairs manager Mohd Su-fian Sahran, who met residents, defended the company's actions, saying the utility company had to prevent water theft  from reoccurring.

“You must understand that we have to stop the illegal connection of water,” he told residents during a tense 90-minute meeting which saw consumers venting their frustra-tions on him and his team.

Mohd Sufian said the developer would have to satisfy a raft of requirements set by Syabas and the National Water Services Commission  (Span) before reconnection could take place.

The company must first install a bulk me-ter at the apartment before Syabas will turn the water on again from the illegal connec-tion.

“We want to know how much water is be-ing consumed,” Mohd Sufian told the crowd.

However, his explanation failed to quell the anger of residents who  wanted water supply restored immediately.

“Reconnect the water. Tonight, if possi-ble,” said resident Mohd Rahman Junid, 66.

Another resident, Iskandar Abu Hatan, 44, laid the blame squarely on  Syabas for

putting financial matters above ratepayers’ concerns.

He said the water concessionaire should reconnect the water supply without delay if it had the residents’ welfare in mind.

Syabas, he said, could install the bulk wa-ter meter and start charging the residents for their usage immediately.

“We will pay whatever amount that comes up. We need the water for  flushing toilets, for bathing and doing our laundry,” the of-fice administrator said.

Apart from the requirement that the de-veloper install the bulk meter,  Syabas also wants the company to settle RM185,000 for stealing water.

The company had issued a post-dated cheque on Feb 15 during a meeting with Syabas representatives for RM40,000 and hammered out a deal to pay the rest in four instalments.

However, yesterday (Thursday), Syabas slapped the developer with an additional de-mand of a bank guarantee  for RM1.9 mil-lion before water is reconnected.

The amount is to ensure that the company completes the stalled water  supply infra-structure, which includes building a new water tank, water pump and also laying a

main pipe to a nearby reservoir.The concessionaire wants the developer

to agree in writing that the infrastructure be completed within a year.

When contacted by Selangor Times, Mohd Sufian said water supply could be re-stored by 1pm tomorrow (Feb 25) provided a bulk meter is installed today (Friday).

Meanwhile  Cempaka state lawmaker Is-kandar Samad, who has been involved in talks to get water supply restored, said Sya-bas was only complicating matters by impos-ing new conditions on the developer. 

“I’m shocked that Syabas is asking for a bank guarantee of RM1.9 million. Syabas is complicating matters. What are they trying to do?” asked the state housing executive councillor.

Iskandar earlier pointed out that the state would blacklist the company if it failed to act immediately. 

At the same time, he said Syabas should not delay reconnecting the supply on hu-manitarian grounds.

“Presently, residents have to carry pails of water up five floors, and there’s a possibility accidents can happen if the situation persists any longer,” he said.

Residents lash out at Syabas

By Lee Choon Fai

SUBANG JAYA: A collective change in mindset about allowing politicians to have free rein is needed before Malaysia can ever get free and fair elections, says an election rights pressure group.

“ Tindak Malaysia founder Wong Piang Yow said on Wednes-day that politicians are also  also human, driven primarily by greed and fear.

“If we let the politicians take care of our lives, they will take care of it, 'good and proper',” he quipped at the launch of Tindak Malaysia's education programme for voters as well as election polling , counting and booth agents (Pacaga) at Sun-way University.

Wong pointed out that politi-cians, left unchecked, could be-come corrupt, citing the saying “power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

But he admitted that changing the public mindset is an uphill task as many have grown too comfort-able with the status quo, especially youngsters who treat the political situation in Malaysia with apathy.

“The majority of the population like to remain the way they are, change is painful, but we will still do whatever we can to help,” he said.

He lamented the indifference towards the political situation, claiming that laws have been dis-torted so much that the country could face bankruptcy soon.

“We cannot violate the laws of economics and refuse to pay the

price for it,” said Wong.He likened the people's en-

trenchment in the system to the movie The Matrix where people live in virtual reality, forming a rat-race-like situation where noth-ing is achieved.

The self-funded non-govern-mental organisation, which com-prises volunteers, hopes to pro-mote free and fair elections, en-courage a two-party system, em-power Malaysians to assert their political rights, encourage proac-tive action and reduce corruption through their educational pro-grammes.

The programmes include basic theoretical lectures that educate people on election laws. For exam-ple, the public will learn the 31 ways that their ballot papers can be disputed and voided in the Elec-tions Act.

Participants will also be taught practical ways to ensure that their vote is not wasted, like requesting a random piece of ballot to ensure the voter's anonymity.

“Basically we want everyone to have a chance to win the election, a free and fair election,” said Wong.

The next Pacaba programme will be held at the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council headquarters at 9am on Sunday (Feb 26). There are also similar programmes in other states like Penang, Malacca, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.

Although not part of the Bersih 2.0 coalition, Tindak Malaysia has worked with them to come up with proposals for amendments to the Federal Constitution and the Elec-

tions Act to ensure free and fair elections.

Tindak Malaysia has also been attending the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms, and is currently working on a pro-posal to address gerrymandering and disproportionate distribution of voters in Selangor.

He cited the discrepancy be-tween Putrajaya and Kapar, where there is a vast difference between voter numbers, with Kapar having 112,224 and Putrajaya having only 6,608. The average number of vot-ers per constituency in Malaysia is 49,199.

This would mean that a member of Parliament elected in Kapar would be equal to 17 MPs elected in Putrajaya, effectively diluting the worth of a person's vote in Ka-par.

“By design, you only need 1.85 million out of 10.9 million votes, or 15 percent of votes, to secure a 51 percent simple majority in Par-liament,” said Wong.

He also said the Election Com-mission (EC) is far from independ-ent as it is filled with retired civil servants, raising fears of conflict of interest. 

He compared the situation to having a referee preside a match involving a team which he sup-ports.

But he said the EC itself is not to blame for the current situation as it is only following the law that has been amended many times to suit the ruling government's needs. For the EC to be independent, the law must first change.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ February 24 – 26, 2012 ⁄ 3

4 February 24 — 26, 2012

NEWS

Dengue cases on the rise in Selangor

EvEntsToddler’s Gym ClassThe Institute of Play (IOP) TumbleTots Ara Damansara will be conducting a complimentary gymbabes class for toddlers next month. Register your children and enjoy challenging, fun and exciting sessions in a safe, caring environment. New term begins in March, but registration is now open. For details, call 017-6606285 or email learning.gallery@iop-united.com.

Speech and Drama

Blubricks Speech and Drama Academy will be having a free trial class on Feb 25 at the Little Fairy Music and Art Centre for those interested in speech and drama. The class, which begins in March, is only open to children aged between four and 10. It will be conducted at 9-1-8, Jalan 3/109F, Danau Business Centre, Taman Danau Desa, Kuala Lumpur. Registration is open now. For details, call 016-9563778, 012-3709330 or email blubricks.ampang@gmail.com.

Health package promotionsTAGS Spine and Joint Specialists will be having a two-day promotion on Feb 25-26 from 10am-6pm at all their centres nationwide. Great discounts, offers and free consultations await you. Other highlights include free gifts with purchases and lucky draws. For details, call 1-300-80SPINE or surf www.tags.my.

Learn to Make BreadCentre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia (CETDEM) will be organising a basic organic bread-making class on Feb 26 from 10am to noon. Those interested do join them at the Cetdem Organic Farming Community Centre at 29, Jalan 19/15, Petaling Jaya. Also, there will be a Bin Composting Class on the same day from 2pm to 4pm at the same place. For details, call 03-78757767, 016-2195826 or visit www.cetdem.org.my.

Parenting ProgrammeThe Rotary Club of Melawati together with Sathya Sai Baba Central Council will be conducting a six-week Parentcare Programme from Feb 25. This programme is open to all parents interested. For details, call 012-3276555 (Sudhaharan Nair).

Motor HuntFor those who are seeking to enjoy fast-paced adventure and competitive tresure hunts, join Publika Shopping Gallery in their first motor hunt on March 3. If you are a stranger to motor hunts, don’t worry as there will be a beginner category. Other categories are media and non-beginner. This hunt will take participants on a half-day adventure around the Klang Valley, ending at Publika. Participants can win prizes and vouchers up to RM2,000. Sign up now and be the first 75 cars to register and get a goodie bag. This treasure hunt requires a minimum three and maximum four participants to a team. For details, call 016-2772909 (Captain Black Hawk) or 016-6861107 (Captain Tiger Swan) or visit www.trailblazers.com.my.

By Gan Pei Ling

SHAH ALAM: Dengue cases recorded a 40 percent jump from January to Feb 18 com-pared to the same period last year.

Executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar (pic) said 1,581 cases have been reported in Selangor compared to 1,126

last year.“The districts with the most

number of reported cases are Petaling (479), Hulu Langat (430), Klang (328) and Gom-bak (173),” said the Seri Andalas assemblyperson on Wednesday.

He said checks on premises found that empty land lots (65 percent) and construction sites (52 percent) were major aedes

mosquito breeding sites.Dr Jayakumar said construc-

tion sites found spreading the deadly disease would be told to stop work.

“We’ve closed two construc-tion sites this year and issued 419 compounds,” he said, add-ing that the maximum fine for a compound is RM500.

He advised houseowners

and commercial centres to keep their premises clean and free of stagnant water.

He also urged anyone show-ing symptoms of dengue such as fever, headache and body pain to seek medical help im-mediately.

The Health Ministry said six deaths have been recorded in Selangor as of Feb 11.

Dengan ini dimaklumkan bahawa kenderaan-kenderaan buruk seperti yang disenaraikan dibawah ini telah ditarik oleh MPSJ. Tuan/ Puan diminta menghubungi pihak Majlis di talian 03-80681240 atau datang terus ke Pejabat Cawangan Puchong, Jalan Utama 2/5, Taman Perindustrian Maju Jaya Batu 14, 47100 Puchong Selangor Darul Ehsan. Tuan-tuan punya kenderaan tersebut dikehendaki mengambil balik kenderaan-kenderaan berkenaan dalam tempoh 14 hari daripada tarikh notis ini di mana selepas tamat tempoh, kenderaan-kenderaan tersebut akan dilupuskan. Tuan-tuan punya kenderaan juga adalah dikehendaki membawa bersama-sama kad pendaftaran atau lain-lain dokumen yang sah sebagai bukti bahawa kenderaan-kenderaan tersebut adalah milik masing-masing.Senarai kenderaan adalah seperti berikut:-

PEMBERITAHUAN

BIL NO. PENDAFTARAN JENIS

1. JAA 904 DATSUN

2. WLH 8622 KIA SPORTAGE

3. MAL 7602 PROTON ISWARA

4. WBQ 2061 MAZDA FAMALIA

5. WND 694 PERODUA KELISA

6. WHH 519 PERODUA KANCIL

7. WBS 6462 HONDA ACCORD

8. PAY 2320 TOYOTA COROLLA LE

9. JHY 9029 PROTON WIRA

10. WCG 9189 PROTON SAGA

11. JBG 822 HONDA CIVIC AK542E

12. BAN 5682 MITSUBISHI GALANT

13. WHW 3437 PROTON WIRA AEROBACK

14. AFM 6672 PROTON SAVY

15. JGT 476 MODENAS ( MOTOSIKAL )

16. AQ 6800 HONDA ( MOTOSIKAL )

17. BFC 2842 SUZUKI ( MOTOSIKAL )

18. MAB 5662 YAMAHA ( MOTOSIKAL )

19. BDE 8526 YAMAHA ( MOTOSIKAL )

20. ABS 3206 PROTON SAGA

21. JAR 4952 DATSUN

22. BDM 2373 PROTON SAGA

23. WGB 9733 RENAULT

24. BDC 295 DAIHATSU CHARADE

25. BDT 9142 TOYOTA CORONA

26. NAF 4789 PROTON SAGA

27. NAB 259 SUZUKI ( MOTOSIKAL )

28. ABR 2197 HONDA ( MOTOSIKAL )

29. HWC 953 PROTON ISWARA

30. BEV 6152 PROTON ISWARA

31. AEC 2548 PROTON WIRA

32. WNH 2218 NISSAN SENTRA

33. WBG 8923 DATSUN

34. SA 4136 D TOYOTA CORONA

35. ABX 427 FORD ( VAN )

36. BEE 1688 AUDI

37. WBX 7080 PROTON SAGA

38. DS 8156 PROTON SAGA

39. WFY 7074 OPEL FRONTERA

40. MJ 7731 TOYOTA COROLLA

41. KV 7488 TOYOTA COROLLA

BIL NO. PENDAFTARAN JENIS

42. BDV 893 PROTON SAGA

43. WMU 7823 RENAULT

44. ADK 900 PROTON TIARA

45. WHB 8729 PROTON TIARA

46. JGT 476 MODENAS ( MOTOSIKAL)

47. NAK 4282 DAIHATSU

48. WCX 9191 TOYOTA CORONA

49. WCC 8974 SUZUKI ( MOTOSIKAL)

50. KAQ 9722 PROTON TIARA

51. BFQ 7168 PROTON WIRA

52. KQ 7355 TOYOTA COROLLA

53. WKA 3456 NISSAN VANETTE

54. BGR 4963 PROTON ISWARA

55. NBM 7724 PROTON WIRA

56. BCA 8353 MITSUBISHI TREDIA

57. BDB 6453 DATSUN

58. BEV 7628 PROTON ISWARA

59. WGL 2659 PROTON TIARA

60. WHH 4267 PROTON WIRA

61. WBS 4401 MAZDA

62. CAK 8181 NISSAN SUNNY

63. NAX 7732 PERODUA RUSA

64. WFG 2284 PROTON TIARA

65. PCX 7472 RENAULT

66. WAS 7530 NISSAN SUNNY

67. JBN 7016 FORD TELSTAR

68. WHM 4937 PROTON ISWARA

69. WFR 5962 PROTON ISWARA

70. PW 3089 FORD

71. WFS 5426 PROTON TIARA

72. WGB 2771 PROTON TIARA

73. TG 8872 DAIHATSU

74. BFB 5672 PROTON TIARA

75. WCU 8266 PROTON SAGA

76. JFV 1992 PERODUA KANCIL

77. WKJ 4127 PROTON WIRA

78. WGB 4831 PROTON ISWARA

79. BDE 9494 NISSAN SUNNY

80. WLK 3752 TOYOTA UNSER

81. CV 3522 DATSUN ( VAN )

82. SUKOM 1003 COMEL ( MOTOSIKAL )

MAJLIS PERBANDARAN SUBANG JAYAMAJLIS PERBANDARAN SUBANG JAYA

575-21w.indd 1 2/21/2012 1:18:29 PM

Task force to investigate land fraudSHAH ALAM: Evidence of power abuse has been detected over the way 40 plots meant for Kampung Perepat set-tlers in Kapar were allocated to outsid-ers.

“We’ll set up an independent task-force. Letters will be sent to the 40 landowners to either surrender their land or face investigations,” said Menteri

Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. He said the taskforce would investi-

gate the validity of the 40 landowners’ claim to the land.

In 1981, hundreds of Kampung Pere-pat settlers were moved to Kapar under the Green Revolution Programme and promised titles for cultivating the land.

However, they were told by the Klang

Land Office that their land had been allocated to others in 1996.

The state recently identified and confirmed over 300 settlers’ ownership to the land after a three-decade wait for the urban pioneers.

Khalid said they would ensure that the land is only given to original settlers or their rightful descendents.

Langat 2’s costly burden on peopleSHAH ALAM: Selangor has slammed Putrajaya for pressuring the state to ap-prove the construction of the costly Langat 2 water treatment plant, which processes water channelled from Pah-ang.

“The RM8 billion can be better spent .... to rehabilitate the Klang River to ensure we’ve unlimited water supply in Selangor,” said Tan Sri Khalid Ibra-him  

He said the Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer project would only bur-den the public and result in water tariff hikes.

“Selangor will have to pay Pahang for the raw water transferred,” said the Menteri Besar on Wednesday.

He said Selangor currently has suf-ficient raw water sources to cater to demand.

He added that a proper restructuring of the water services industry which the state had attempted to carry out since 2008 would better benefit the public.

“The privatisation and fragmenta-tion of the water services have benefited private companies at the public’s ex-pense,” said Khalid.

MAIS & JAIS to probe Hasan Ali’s claimSHAH ALAM: The state has instructed the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) and Selangor Islamic Religious Department ( JAIS) to investigate apostasy claims made by Dr Hasan Ali and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“It’s clear that their unfounded claims have created discontent among the people,” said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

Khalid said it was “very important” for the two religious authorities to conduct a detailed investigation into the allegations and act fairly to all parties.

Hasan, who was the former Selangor ex-ecutive councillor for Islamic Affairs before he was sacked by PAS, had claimed that Chris-tians were using solar-powered talking Bibles in an attempt to convert Muslims.

The Gombak Setia assemblyperson had also alleged that Christian missionaries were enter-ing mosques and baptising Muslims.

Khalid said the allegations were made in an attempt to divide Muslims and non-Muslims in Selangor. He added that the state would discuss with MAIS and JAIS if such baseless claims can be allowed to spread unchecked.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ february 24 – 26, 2012 ⁄ 5

6 february 24 — 26, 2012

news

By Basil Foo

PETALING JAYA: Residents were left fuming when officers from the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MBPJ) tore down a security barrier in their neigh-bourhood on Jan 12.

“Certain areas can (set up bar-riers), and certain areas can’t. People are putting it up every-where, why pick on us?” asked SS20 resident Datuk Dr Vincent Ng.

The barrier, made of steel drums welded together, and chained and locked, was placed across Jalan SS20/17 by the SS20 Rukun Tetangga in 2009.

The 61-year-old retiree said he had every cause for concern as a few days after the barrier was removed, a theft occurred when thieves climbed over the gate to steal shoes.

“If the government wants to fight crime, we are helping. Don’t go and sabotage our efforts,” he added.

Ng said before the barrier was put up, his house was broken into by thieves who stole goods worth about RM20,000.

Under gated community regu-lations, boom gates must be manned at all times and barriers can only be placed across roads from midnight to 6am.

“Transforming a neighbour-hood from open to gated, semi-gated, manned, or semi-manned depends on the residents’ decision,” he insisted.

He explained that the central zone in SS20 which he lives in has

seven entrances and employing guards to man all the openings takes a financial toll on them.

Ng said before the barrier was demolished last month, the system most of the residents agreed on was the blocking of two access roads into the neighbourhood.

The other entrances only had boom gates, left open at all times, which according to resident Hui Seng Kit, could deter casual thieves.

“The barriers and boom gates are there to make it inconvenient for thieves. Even so, hardcore thieves could still come in,” he said.

The 53-year-old consultant said in the two years before the barriers were put up, he was the victim of two robberies.

Long-time resident Andrew Chong, who has stayed in SS20 for 35 years, recalled how his neigh-bour’s sister was slashed on the neck by two youths on a motorcy-cle.

“They used a retractable blade knife in broad daylight. They wanted her handbag. We had to call the ambulance and the hospital fees came up to RM7,000,” he said.

The residents urged the au-thorities to allow the neighbour-hood to block certain roads for the security of their area.

When contacted, MBPJ coun-cillor Mak Khuin Weng said the council had been put in a no-win situation. “The legal way to re-solve this is to tear down all bar-ricades, but that will only incur the wrath of residents,” he ac-knowledged.

Residents fear for safety after barrier removed

SEVERE birth defects, eight leukemia cases over five years in a community of 11,000, tears and anguish of the poor people from a largely shoe-making commu-nity - these are not news headlines. Neither is it a movie plot.  These are the consequences of carelessly allowing the Asian Rare Earth factory to be built in Bukit Merah, Perak, in 1982. When Mitsubishi Chemical started operating its rare earth factory, vil-lagers complained about choking sensations, pungent smells, coughs and colds.

The community also saw a sharp rise in infant deaths, congenital diseases, leukemia and lead poison-ing. While US$100 million was spent on cleaning up the factory and dump site, the largest in the rare earth industry, it has not wiped out the memories and heart-ache of the villagers who lost their children and loved ones.

Thirty years on, the federal government has again allowed a rare earth factory to be set up by Lynas in Gebeng, Kuantan. This means the government has waved the green flag with full knowledge of the pos-sible consequences and deadly effects.

The Lynas Advanced Material project will produce 20,000 tones of radioactive waste, which is 10 times more than the Asian Rare Earth factory in Bukit Merah.

This is typical of the Malaysian government. It operates on the “we would never learn from tragedies” mode - be it landslides, haze or setting-up of factories which could claim lives, leading to birth defects and severe lead poisoning. The government simply does not care.

What makes me sick is the rhetoric of the ruling leaders who have jumped on the bandwagon to parrot Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s assurance that the factory is safe.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed says their policy is based on laws, policies and the decision of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB). It’s about time the learned minister acknowledged that the lives of millions of people cannot be based on procedures.

Exposure to radiation at any level is unsafe. Both Lynas and the AELB say the exposure to radiation will be low. This cannot be accepted as radiation levels build up according to the volume of waste piled together.

Both Lynas and AELB have agreed that the rare earth factory would produce thorium, a waste by-product from the plant’s operations. And while they have stressed that thorium is low in radiation, any prolonged exposure to radiation levels is hazardous.

Let us do a check list here:1 Why didn’t Lynas set up the rare earth plant near

its source of extraction in Western Australia as it would have saved a huge amount of money in shipping costs?

2 Why didn’t Lynas obtain an approval from the authorities in Western Australia to set up the plant?

3. Could the authorities in Western Australia be

concerned about the possible radiation leaks, health hazards, birth defects, lead poisoning and other complications?

4 Shouldn’t this in itself raise a red flag with the Malaysian authorities?

5 Is the RM700 million in foreign investment more important to the Malaysian government than the lives of its citizens?

Can we, as a safety measure, relocate residents close to the Lynas rare earth factory to a safer place? No we cannot because when the ore containing the rare earth is crushed to remove the thorium, it releases a gas called radon. Radon can travel thousands of miles, as public safety expert Dr T Jayabalan once said: “You are not protected anywhere in Malaysia because the wind will blow it across the nation”.

One of the five conditions attached to the recent approval of Lynas’s temporary operating licence is that it must take full responsibility for waste management, including returning the waste to the source, if neces-sary.  In a media briefing last week, AELB director-general Raja Datuk Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan gave his assurance that the board would insist on a letter of undertaking from Lynas Australia that it would adhere to this condition.

But in a recent development, the Australian govern-ment reiterated that it will not accept responsibility for any waste material produced by Lynas. In an official statement to online news portal Free Malaysia Today, Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore asserted that “Australia does not sup-port the importation and storage of other countries’ radioactive waste”.

This, once again, proves that the government and Lynas have not been transparent in the details involv-ing the plant’s operations and procedures.

On its Facebook, Lynas says that the plant will cause zero radiation exposure and it remains committed to its core values of creating a safe environment for all.

If Lynas could not convince the authorities in Western Australia, why should we be convinced by this public relations exercise?

In 1985, eight men - a shoe maker, pensioner, crane-operator, cancer patient, welder, general worker, barber and tractor driver - sued the Asian Rare Earth factory. Thousands walked from Bukit Merah to the High Court in Ipoh. After years of struggle, the factory was shut down and decommissioned. It’s inspiring to note that a community of uneducated, poor people could take on a giant corporation and clinch victory.

In the same spirit, I pledge solidarity with all the protesters who will turn up in Kuantan on Sunday to demand the shutting down of the Lynas rare earth plant.

Charles SantiagoKlang member of Parliament

Another tragedy waiting to happen

Residents protesting the removal of the road barrier along Jalan SS20/17 on Jan 12.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ february 24 – 26, 2012 ⁄ 7

D.K.,D.M.N.,D.K.(Terengganu).,D.K.(Kelantan).,D.K.(Perak).,D.K.(Perlis)., D.K.(Negeri Sembilan)., D.K.(Kedah).,D.K (Johor).,S.P.M.S.,S.S.I.S.,S.P.M.J.

DULI YANG MAHA MULIA SULTAN SHARAFUDDIN IDRIS SHAH ALHAJ IBNI ALMARHUM SULTAN SALAHUDDIN ABDUL AZIZ SHAH ALHAJ

Sultan dan Yang Dipertuan Negeri Selangor Darul EhsanSerta Segala Daerah Takluknya

Tahniahdi atas penganugerahan Commandeur de la Legion d’ Honneur ,

anugerah penghormatan tertinggi oleh Kerajaan Perancis

Merafak Sembah Setinggi Ucapan Tahniah

Sembah Takzim Daripada

TAN SRI DATO’ SERI ABDUL KHALID IBRAHIMP.S.M, S.P.M.S, D.S.A.P

YAB Dato’ Menteri Besar Selangor

8 February 24 — 26, 2011

NEWS

Devotees want 160-year-old temple saved

Residents tell of rush hour woes

By Basil Foo

PETALING JAYA: Persistent traffic congestion was one of the hot topics at a dialogue on the Petaling Jaya Special Area Draft Plan 2020 with residents on Tues-day.

“The most serious problem is the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP). We suffer everyday due to traffic and pollution,” said SS4 resident Peter Leow.

He was among 30 residents who discussed their problems with Pet-aling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) officers and consultants at the Ta-man Mayang Jaya Residents Asso-ciation hall.

Leow also complained about the lack of parking space at the Kelana Jaya LRT station which causes com-muters to park their cars along the roadside.

“The LDP is congested. How do we prevent more cars from parking on the roadside. More highways in PJ? We don’t want that,” said Liew Wei Beng.

The 54-year old businessman, who has lived in SS26 for the past 24 years, called for the city’s trans-port system to be improved instead of building more highways.

Consu ltant Ihsan Z a ina l Mokhtar, who advises the MBPJ on the urban planning aspect of the draft plan, said they were looking into improving public transport facilities.

“A study has concluded that all roads in PJ have reached maximum capacity. That’s why we have to look at public transport. We have

no choice,” he told residents.He said they discourage the

usage of cars, especially single-occupancy vehicles, and instead encourage the use of public trans-port.

Included in the plan are sug-gestions for high frequency transit buses which arrive every five min-utes or less to ferry commuters to bus transit points.

Also planned are feeder bus systems which employ the use of smaller buses, not unlike the old Bas Mini, for better maneuver-ability.

“We will also encourage people to walk or cycle. This plan is not about increasing the number of parking lots as we are not encour-aging people to drive,” Ihsan said.

Having more people travelling on foot would mean an increase in the number and size of walk-ways which the plan addresses in a segment on reclaiming the streets as living spaces for the com-munity.

University of Malaya senior lecturer Raja Noriza Raja Ariffin, an adviser to the plan, said the plan is for buses to be at most 200 metres away from every home in the city.

“As PJ has an increasingly aging society who eventually may not drive any-more, it is better for us to promote the use of public transport,” she said

Among those who attended the dialogue were MBPJ councillor Tiew Way Keng and MBPJ Town Planning senior assistant director Faiwos Abdul Hamid.

By Alvin Yap

A M PA N G J AYA : D e vo te e s o f the 160-year-old Ampang Amitabha temple are appealing to the authorities to realign the proposed route of a highway to preserve their house of worship.

The Buddhist temple, one of the country’s oldest, is earmarked for demolition to make way for the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang (SUKE) highway project.

“It’s not too late to look into the plans and spare the temple,” said temple chairperson Fan Fui Siong on Sunday.

A signature campaign is under way to get SUKE’s concessionaire and the  Malaysian Highway Authority  (LLM) to realign the route.

The temple,  located next to the Ampang Light Rail Transport (LRT) station at Ta-man Dagang, serves almost 2,000 worship-pers a day during Chinese New Year and other Chinese religious festivals.

However, Fan said the temple should also be preserved for its  historical significance, adding that the Chinese-majority area of Pe-kan Ampang was built around the temple.

According to British Colonial Grant re-cords, the colonial government gave the one and half acre land to the first committee members a century ago.

Fan said, besides being a house of worship, the temple has also been a community centre since the 1900s.

“My grandparents recalled their child-hood when they came to the temple to play and to learn history and Chinese calligra-phy,” added the temple employee.

He said the villagers at Pekan Ampang want the proposed SUKE highway to cut through the LRT station carpark located behind the temple.

Construction of the SUKE, slated to begin in June, is aimed at easing congestion at the Middle Ring Road II which has seen traffic triple in volume since its opening in 1997.

Temple committee members have gar-nered some 250 signatures to petition the concessionaire and LLM to realign the highway.

Meanwhile, head temple caretaker See Bee Gan, 67, said the demolition of the temple would be a cultural loss to the coun-try.

The event was launched by Teratai as-semblyperson Jenice Lee who briefed the public on the highway project.

She said villagers were sceptical that the highway would solve the traffic jam on the MRR II.

“The opinion of the villagers here is that the SUKE highway will not do much to ease the traffic congestion at the MRR II.”

She said federal government officials should visit the temple site and intervene to save the temple.

Worshippers at the 160-year-old temple want the SUKE highway to be realigned.

Ihsan

Raja Noriza

Leow

9february 24 — 26, 2012

news

By Alvin Yap

PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya is being urged to get stu-dents to master their own mother tongues in order to safeguard the country’s unique heritage.

“The government should pursue a path towards a multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society in Malaysia,” said  Dr Toh Kin Woon at a International Mother Tongue Day 2012 forum at University Malaya on Tuesday.

To h , a f o r m e r three-term Penang state assemblyperson, was among civil soci-ety leaders who adopt-ed a resolution calling for Putrajaya to recog-nise and promote the multi-racial identity in the country. 

Toh pointed out that there were groups who  chose to ignore the cultural diversity in Malaysia which he described as an asset to nation building.

The former state executive councillor said Putrajaya has to reverse its policy of

sidelining vernacular schools.He said Chinese language independent schools contin-

ued to thrive even without government aid as parents want their children to have an education in their first language.

“I’m not chauvinistic. But many, and I included, feel that it’s the right of everyone to receive mother tongue language schooling,” he told a packed crowd.

Fellow-speaker Zaid Kamaruddin agreed with Toh, say-ing that the government had a huge role to play in keeping Malay dialects from the Malay archipelago alive in the face of globalisation.

The Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) chairperson said the Mandailing dialect from east and north Sumatra could have been his  first language if not for his grand-mother’s death while Zaid was in his teens.

“She taught me the dialect when I was a child, but after she died, no one else spoke it fluently and I lost the lan-guage skill as I had no one to talk to,” said the Bersih 2.0 steering  committee member, who is also president of Jamaah Islah Malaysia ( JIM).

He said the government should ensure that there is no discrimination in the usage of mother tongue languag-es as they usually belong to minority ethnic groups.

Tamil Foundation president S Pasupathy said being educated  in the mother tongue does not make one less Malaysian. 

“Speaking Tamil or Mandarin doesn’t lessen my loyalty and pride of being a Malaysian,” he said.

The other speakers included Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese  Assembly Hall president Tan Yew Sing and Te-

muan tribal leader Soeb Miah.

They later went on stage to adopt a resolution call ing for the  government t o g i v e f a i r a n d equal treatment to t h e l a n g u a g e s and cultures of eth-nic groups.

T h e c o a l i t i o n also called for the prestigious National Laureate   (Saster-awan Negara) award to include entries from minority lan-guages as well.

They also called for federal funds to be allocated for the  performing arts that showcase the  language and ethnic backgrounds of minority groups.

  International Mother Tongue Day is promoted by the  United Nations  Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

Unesco also holds the event  to remember University of Dhaka students who were killed in 1952 when protesting against the imposition of Urdu as the sole national language policy in Bangladesh.

Mother tongue languagesneed safeguarding

Toh says it’s everyone’s right to be schooled in their mother tongue.

Pasupathy says speaking Tamil or Mandarin doesn’t reduce a person’s loyalty.

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10 february 24 — 26, 2012

news

copies distributed weekly throughout Selangor & Klang Valley100,000

community

November 11 — 13, 2011/ issue 48

MBPJ budget:

RAs seek more

participationM

Ps and councillors:

distinguishing

their roles

p 9

p 12 & 13

state asseMbly

third sitting p 6 – 8

Cattle challenge accepted By alvin yap

shah alaM: Datuk Seri Noh

Omar’s challenge to the federal

opposition to take over the loss-

making National Feedlot Corpo-

ration (NFC) has been accepted

by the Selangor government.

Yaakob Sapari said the Selan-

gor Menteri Besar has given him

the green light to accept the chal-

lenge by the minister for agricul-

ture and agro-based industry.

Noh had on Wednesday issued

a challenge to the Pakatan Rakyat

to operate one of the 30 satellite

farms under the NFC, and prove

they could produce 600 heads of

cattle as currently done by the cor-

poration.“Th

e state and livestock breed-

ers in Selangor and Negeri Sembi-

lan are ready at any time to take

over,” said the state executive

councillor for agriculture during a

press conference on the sidelines

of the Selangor state assembly yes-

terday. Yaakob said he will contact Pu-

trajaya and assume control of the

NFC in Negeri Sembilan.

Operating on a 5,000-acre plot

in the neighbouring state, the

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim

informing nursery operators and Yayasan Selangor officials that

the state government w

ill not hand out TOL for Green Lane.

Sultan of Selangor Sharafuddin Idris Shah with M

enteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim during a cerem

ony to hand out awards to residents

of the Petaling Jaya Spastic Centre who successfully clim

bed Mount Kinabalu on O

ct 16. Also present were president of the Spastic

Children's Association of Selangor Datuk Dr Lam Peng Chong, Rotary International District Governor Dr S Raveendra Kum

ar, and Rotary

Club USJ chairperson Datuk Jimm

y Lim. Story on Page 2.

• Turn To page 2

community

November 11 — 13, 2011/ issue 48

MBPJ budget:

RAs seek more

participation

MPs and

councillors:

distinguishing

their roles

p 9p 12 & 13

state asseMbly

third sitting

p 6 – 8

Cattle challenge accepted By alvin yap

shah alaM: Datuk Seri Noh

Omar’s challenge to the federal

opposition to take over the loss-

making National Feedlot Corpo-

ration (NFC) has been accepted

by the Selangor government.

Yaakob Sapari said the Selan-

gor  Menteri Besar has given him

the green light to accept the chal-

lenge by the  minister for agricul-

ture and agro-based industry.

Noh had on Wednesday issued

a challenge to the Pakatan Rakyat

to operate one of the 30 satellite

farms under the NFC, and prove

they could produce 600 heads of

cattle as currently done by the cor-

poration.“The state and livestock breed-

ers in Selangor and Negeri Sembi-

lan are ready at any time to take

over,” said the state executive

councillor for agriculture during a

press conference on the sidelines

of the Selangor state assembly yes-

terday. Yaakob said he will contact Pu-

trajaya and assume control of the

NFC in Negeri Sembilan.

Operating on a 5,000-acre plot

in the neighbouring state, the

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim informing nursery operators and Yayasan Selangor officials that

the state government will not hand out TOL for Green Lane.

Sultan of Selangor Sharafuddin Idris Shah with Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim during a ceremony to hand out awards to residents

of the Petaling Jaya Spastic Centre who successfully climbed Mount Kinabalu on Oct 16. Also present were president of the Spastic

Children's Association of Selangor Datuk Dr Lam Peng Chong, Rotary International District Governor Dr S Raveendra Kumar, and Rotary

Club USJ chairperson Datuk Jimmy Lim. Story on Page 2.

• Turn To page 2

Tel: 03-5510 4566 Email: marketing@selangortimes.com http://selangortimes.com/

Your free community paper

For more informationContact:

Timothy Loh 019-267 4488,Ivan Looi 014-936 6698, Tony Kee 016-978 2798

Samantha Sim 019-382 7121

By Basil Foo

KUALA SELANGOR: Villagers whose livelihood is linked to the Raja Musa Forest Reserve have agreed to work together with the authorities to safeguard the area.

“We will be keeping an eye on the forest and will report any encroachment to the au-thorities,” said Sungai Sireh Home Stay man-ager Abu Bakar Moin.

Abu Bakar, whose business includes provid-ing guided tours into the reserve, pointed out the villagers’ rice bowl would be affected if the peat and mangrove forest were destroyed. 

The change in mindset among the villagers came about through the efforts of the Global Environment Centre (GEC) which has been working with villages and the Selangor For-estry Department.

The Malaysian non-profit organisation had been holding awareness campaigns on the im-portance of protecting the biodiversity of the area since 2008.

Two programmes, Friends of the Peatland Forest and Peatlands Forest Ranger, were ini-tiated here by GEC last Saturday in conjunc-tion with World Wetlands Day 2012.

Some 200 villagers and students from Kampung Raja Musa, Kampung Bestari Jaya, Kampung Seri Tiram and Kampung Sungai Sireh took part in the programmes.

“Since 2008, about 4,000 volunteers have

helped replant trees and monitor the area,” said GEC director Faizal Parish.

Four separate teams have also been set up among the villagers here to combat peat fires caused by illegal land clearing.

The move has received the thumbs-up from Kuala Selangor District Council (MDKS) president No-raini Roslan.

She said villagers could be instrumental in prevent-ing illegal logging and peat fires caused by burning, which has been one of the root causes of haze.

“While it’s easy to clear land by burning, it takes a long time to replant trees to return the forest to its former state,” said Sel-angor Forestry Department director Yusoff Muda.

He said participation of local villagers and students in the two GEC programmes was vital. 

They will be educated on the importance of peat land forest conservation and trained to report to the authorities cases of intrusion by outsiders into the forest reserve.

Yusoff pointed out that the 80,000 hectares

of peat land are important as they help to prevent floods. 

“The peat land acts like a sponge which absorbs rainwater. It is also one of the main water sources for padi fields in Sekinchan and Sabak Bernam,” he said.

Over 1,000 tree seedlings were planted during the event as part of GEC’s move to re-habilitate over 1,000 hectares of forest de-stroyed over the past decade due to illegal agricultural activities.

“This is an opportunity for the public to get involved and hopefully more groups will lend their support to this project,” said Parish.

The event was attended by Kajang state as-semblyperson Lee Kim Sin who is also the dep-uty executive councillor for Environment .

He said the state has allocated RM20 mil-lion for rehabilitation of peat land forests like the Raja Musa Forest Reserve under the Sel-angorku grants.

Villagers to the rescue of peat forest

Students from SK Teknik Kuala Selangor planting tree seedlings at the Raja Musa forest reserve last Saturday.

11February 24 — 26, 2012

views

What the Debate says about the Chinese

Just selangorTricia Yeoh

the electorate. Having said that, this particular

“Chinese” debate did not come anywhere close to having achieved such a standard, for several reasons – not to mention the crowd’s over-enthusiastic antics. First, a quality debate requires an extremely experienced moderator, not just a chairperson who introduces the speaker and calls for questions at the end (in the Malaysian-style forum we are so accustomed to today). The moderator ought to plan out his questions according to the most important issues of the day.

Much thought needs to go into crafting the questions succinctly and sharply enough to challenge the speaker, summarising his points and moving quickly on to his opponent. Topics covered in this case could have taken on a much broader scope: education, the economy, healthcare, social policy, crime and

security, urban development, and numerous others. This perhaps may have had to do with the limiting subject provided, which brings me to my second point.

The fact that the entire conference was founded upon the ‘future of the Chinese’, and that the debate was framed in racial terms, is an indictment on Malaysians. Or rather, on the inability to see the world in lenses other than that coloured by race. This is not a new problem – but that it is being perpetuated (and greatly encouraged by public response, no less) sends a signal that nothing much has really changed.

Reports of the debate stated that each side blamed the other for not being able to ‘stand up’ to their respective Malay-Muslim partner political parties. For example, MCA challenged DAP saying it would not b e a b l e t o s t o p PA S f r o m implementing its Islamic state agenda. The DAP leader also scoffed at MCA for not being able to stand up to the corrupt ways of Umno. To be fair, the Penang Chief Minister did articulate a host of policy

successes of his state, to prove that Pakatan Rakyat’s policies would be viable.

Although there was therefore an attempt to speak on policy terms, it was the theme of the debate, couched in ethnic language, that defined the boundaries of what the speakers were then expected to touch on. One might argue that it is a fair concern of the Chinese community, that their various “rights” are under threat under the looming possibility of “Malay supremacy”, such as Chinese schools, Chinese culture, and so on.

But, let’s be clear. The future of Malaysia cannot continue to be built upon a foundation that is, put simply, divisive. Is this not the same reason for which the likes of another race-based organisation (read: Perkasa) is criticised? Can we not imagine a similar conference o n t h e “ Fu t ur e o f Ma l a y s : Preser ving our R ac e” b e ing o r g a n i s e d ? If t h e C h i n e s e community considers the latter a racist movement, should it not look at itself squarely in the face when it, too, is thoroughly excited about

a debate that is centred purely on its own future (and not on any other)?

Many have applauded this advent of a debating culture, which does bring out issues into the open. More such live televised debates would certainly keep politicians on their toes. But for now, what this debate says about the Chinese in Malaysia is that this community still views its concerns as separate and distinct from the rest. This is the unfortunate result of more than 50 years of playing the game of ethnic politics.

Shaping a debate along ‘Chinese’ terms today is reflective of a system that has not adapted to its changing environment. Where once the country may have needed such an arrangement, this only reasserts an old paradigm that is narrow, regressive and dismissive of the plurality of identities that has collectively gained political traction. Despite efforts to move toward an era where needs and demands are shared and justice dispensed regardless of race, we have shamefully little to show for it.

T he much hyped-up debate between Lim Guan Eng and Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek

last weekend took place with as much drama as there was in the days leading up to it. Organised by the Asian Strateg y and Leadership Institute (ASLI), the debate themed as “Chinese at a Crossroads: Is the 2-Party System Becoming a 2-Race System?” pitted the leaders of political parties DAP and MCA against each other, both considered the de-facto ‘Chinese’ parties within their respective coalitions, i.e. Pakatan R akyat and Barisan Nasional.

There is some value in conducting political debates, and we have seen brilliant examples taking place during the American presidential campaigns, amongst others. Such debates are useful for voters to hear for themselves positions taken by election candidates on key subjects. It is also an opportunity for the public to come into close contact with political leaders, and raise pertinent questions from the floor. This interaction allows for some real face time between politicians and

Absurd cost of … everythingWell, Valentine’s Day has come and

gone. Along with the perennial, prere qu is i te ho o -ha h that

accompanies it. Which happens annually so that members of some religious groups can have their own brand of excitement celebrating their own brand of chaste, celibate activities. Like snooping and pontificating about this and that sin. For me Valentine’s Day is a day to reflect on how silly some things have become in this beloved country of ours, Malaysia. But I think that enough has been said and debated about Valentine’s Day before this so I shall leave it with this one thought which came from a radio listener caller who apparently is heading for a career in stand-up comedy.

He said that although everyone complains about the ridiculous prices of roses and other flowers and also dining out on Valentine’s Day, he is very glad that condoms were still at the same price! Yay! Wait a minute! Shouldn’t someone in some religious department insist that condoms be priced up too? So that it will discourage illicit sex, baby dumping and other immoral fun activities. Right or not?

Someone screwed up and missed this perfect opportunity to get into the media. Wait! Did I just say ‘screwed’? Sorry. I didn’t mean to put thoughts of fornication in your minds. Which of course would result in baby-dumping since illegal babies are……well, illegal. Which leads me to this part of the column which is about what I actually started to write about, the rising cost of everything.

There was a time, which now feels like soooooo long ago, when the family and I could afford to spend long holidays at a certain beachside hotel in Batu Ferringhi. Then they decided to “upgrade” and renovate. Now we can no longer afford the almost doubled up prices. (Actually, this has nothing to do with anything but I was upset when I found out and needed to vent it on someone. So I thought you’re as good as anyone. You’re getting the paper for free what!)

There was a time when I could turn on the tap and drink the water. Without having to pass it through an expensive filter. And without having to deflate my wallet for a plastic bottle containing water from someone else’s tap.

And there was actually a time when my

monthly salary could comfortably feed and house and clothe my small family. And still have some left over for a few beers and maybe a trip out to watch a movie. With popcorn.

These days I pay much more for what I used to take for granted. Like water for instance. And now I hear that some flers are charging up to RM1.50 for a glass of water with a meal. And that cup of teh tarik with that shrinking roti canai costs more than it did last year.

And now they tell me that my salary is going to be cut further by the deduction of 10% to go towards a revamped health-care system. I wasn’t even aware that there was something wrong with our healthcare system to warrant revamping. Did you? But we are on the verge of taking home 10% less money than we used to do. It’s all for our own good they tell us.

So that they can tell us which doctor to see for whatever illness we are suffering from at the time. That is of course assuming that we can survive long enough to get sick and require medical assistance la. On that 80+% salary that we will be left with to buy rice, books for the kids, water and other essentials

that most of the politicians who make rules and laws they do not have to worry about.

I know I might be stretching it a bit la. But there was a time, I think, that I could almost believe most of what my government tells me. That seems to have disappeared too.

How to believe in transformation this and that when there is a daily struggle to put food on the table? How to believe that there are billions of foreign investments coming into our economy when it takes 30 years to pay off a sub-standard house and nine years to pay off a car whose power windows stop working half a mile out of the showroom? How to believe that our country is a harmonious, cross-cultural melting pot of happy contented citizens when our government itself openly supports race-based policies?

And finally, how to believe that there is actually anyone managing the affairs of the country when on a daily basis I see photos of the prime minister shaking hands with professionally-posed people, kissing appropriate-looking babies, going on walkabouts in areas full of smiling , contented citizens. Nothing better to do issit?.

Teohlogy patrick teoh

12 February 24 — 26, 2012InsIght

By Gan Pei Ling

Regardless of public fears and concerns, when rather than if Malaysia goes nuclear seems to be already the case.

In May 2010, Malaysia had  announced plans to build two 1GW nuclear power plants. Five potential sites were identified in Johor, Pahang and Terengganu.

But due to public opposition, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was careful to stress in June 2011 that nothing was set in stone and nuclear energy remains an “option” for the country.

Public fear has centred on the dire consequences of a potential nuclear meltdown in Malaysia such as the scale of Fukushima (2011), Chernobyl (1986) and Three Mile Island (1979).

The ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which started last March, had displaced thousands of people and is expected to cost the Japanese government up to US$257 bil-lion (RM670b) in clean-up and compensation costs.

Countries like Germany and Switzerland had since re-nounced nuclear energy and would gradually phase out their nuclear plants but major powers like China and India have merely deferred their plans to build new reactors.

Closer to home, Asean countries have been flirting with the idea to go nuclear since the 1960s. The Philippines was the first to build one in 1976 but the project turned into a white elephant after the plant was found to be constructed near major earthquake fault lines.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, during a forum at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday, argued that nuclear energy was an attractive option. 

 Why nuclear?

Che Khalib said Peninsular Malaysia was currently highly reliant on fossil fuel sources, particularly lo-cal natural gas (45 per cent) and imported coal (44 per cent), to gener-ate power.

He noted that the c ountr y c onsume d 15,475 MW of power at its peak last year and the peak demand is pro-jected to increase 60 per cent to 24,770 MW by 2030.

But our local gas fields are depleting, he said. TNB has not built any new gas plants since 2003.

Instead, it is expanding and commissioning more coal plants as we become increasingly reliant on coal imported from Australia, Indonesia and South Africa to produce power.

“Nuclear energy can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and (mitigate) global warming,” said Che Khalib, adding that the cost of importing coal would increase in future.

He appealed to the 200-odd audience to set aside their prejudices against nuclear power and re-evaluate the energy option objectively.

However, Indian anti-nuclear activist Praful Bidwai said it was a myth that nuclear power can help to resolve the climate crisis as scientists have warned that global carbon emission must start falling between 2015 and 2020.

“(Nuclear power) is too slow to deploy and too expensive. In comparison, renewable energy sources like solar and wind are safer, cheaper and can be deployed quickly,” said the author

of The Politics of Climate Change and Global Crisis: Mort-gaging Our Future.

But Che Khalib argued that the combination of solar, biomass, hydro and other renewable energy sources was insufficient to cater to Malaysia’s rising power demand as a

developing country.He said nuclear power should be part of the country’s en-

ergy mix: “Renewable energy sources have their limitations: solar farms require huge amount of land and the installation cost is high, the wind in our country isn’t as strong compared to

GOINGAN OPTION?

Che Khalib

GOINGAN OPTION?

European countries.“We’ve also almost

fully utilised the hy-dro potential in Pen-insular Malaysia…(We need) nuclear plants to provide us base load power (continuous, non-fluctuating, en-ergy supply),” he said.

 Nuclear: Cheap or expensive?

The construction of the two nuclear plants, expected to cost RM21.3 billion, has been identified as one of the Entry Point Projects in Putrajaya’s Economic Transformation Programme.

Set up in January 2011, the Malaysia Nuclear Power Cor-poration (MNPC) has completed its preliminary feasibility study on nuclear power last July.

“(But) there is no final decision by the cabinet yet. The government will decide in 2013 or early 2014,” said MNPC chief executive officer Dr Mohd Zamzam Jaafar.

He said the government wanted to ensure public accept-ance of the project.

In addition, Malaysia would have to ratify relevant inter-national treaties, put in place national regulations as well as obtain approvals for the plant sites, including from the local communities.

If everything goes according to plan, the first of the twin units should be up and running in 2021.

Despite the costly capital expenditure, both Zamzam and Che Khalib claimed that nuclear energy was cheap in the long run compared to fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.

While we would have to import uranium, Zamzam said its price was low and has remained stable for the past decade.

However, Australian environmental expert Dr Mark Diesendorf dismissed the claim that nuclear power was cheap compared to renewable sources of energy 

The University of New South Wales Institute of Environ-mental Studies deputy director pointed out the nuclear indus-try often played down its costs by assuming a low-interest rate loan, ignoring huge government subsidies and insurance costs.

“Without government subsidies, no country would have nuclear energy. It’s not financially viable in a free market,” he said.

Indian activist Bidwai also highlighted that the nuclear in-dustry was notorious for cost overruns and construction delays.

A new generation reactor in Finland, which was supposed to be completed in 2009, has been delayed due to safety issues. Its original price tag of Euro 2.5 billion (RM100b) is escalat-ing by the year.

“When you factor in the decommissioning and waste stor-age costs, nuclear power’s capital costs become astronomical. The industry has only survived (over the past few decades) because of state support,” said Bidwai.

 What about nuclear meltdown and radioactive waste?

Bidwai added that while the probability of nuclear ac-

cidents occurring was low, they are “inevitable” and its conse-quences catastrophic.

Chernobyl, the world’s worst nuclear disaster before Fuku-shima, resulted in the death of 30 workers and fire fighters, and exposed thousands to radiation and cancer-related deaths.

Despite that, Che Khalib argued that Malaysia’s nuclear reactors will be safe and operated in adherence to stringent international standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Describing the Fukushima nuclear disaster as an “act of God”, Che Khalib highlighted that nuclear reactors usually have several safety features to prevent catastrophic accidents.

“I’m not a nuclear expert…But I was told (by the experts) that in an aircraft, they’ve 3.5 times (of safety features), if one fails, another would kick in. For nuclear reactors, it’s up to seven times,” he said.

“If you don’t trust local engineers, then stop flying. Our aircrafts are maintained by Malaysian engineers,” he said in response to doubts raised by the audience on the country’s poor maintenance record.

Besides safety concerns of reactors is the contentious issue of disposal of radioactive waste generated from nuclear plants.

Even the TNB chief admitted that “there’s no solution yet to dispose of the waste (permanently)”.

Radioactive waste - Plutonium-239 - has a half-life of 24,100 years. In other words, hundreds of thousands of years would have to pass before the element becomes non-radioactive.

Scientists have yet to find a way to safely dispose of this waste that is likely to outlive human civilisations. Most of the world’s nuclear waste, some 300,000 tonnes, are temporarily sealed and stored next to their reactors.

“Yes, we know there’s no solution yet, but we could contain the problem for the time being…in 100 years’ time, there could be a solution…at least we could defer the problem (now). That’s what we’re good at, anyway,” quipped Che Khalib.

His remark drew a cheeky response from Bidwai.“Building a nuclear plant without (a permanent waste

management plan) is like building a house without a toilet, hoping you’ll never need it,” said the founder-member of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace in India.

Should Malaysia continue to press forward? Is it ethical for us to harness nuclear energy to fulfil our current needs and leave future generations to find a way to deal with our waste?

Like other countries mulling to go nuclear, these are the questions that need to be answered.

The panellists (from left): Zamzam, moderator Datuk Khor Eng Hee, Che Khalib and Bidwai.

Zamzam

The audience at the forum.

• turn to PAGE 14

14 february 24 — 26, 2012

insight

Fukushima timeline March 2011

A magnitude 8.9 earthquake hits Japan’s north-eastern coast on March 11, causing a devastating tsunami and strong aftershocks.

A state of emergency is declared on March 12 and around 170,000 people are evacuated from a 20km zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant, after an explosion in one of its reactors. The next day, around 190 people are treated in hospital for radiation exposure.

Helicopters are deployed to pour tonnes of water over the Fukushima plant to cool the overheating nuclear reactors over fears of a meltdown.

On March 22, abnormal radiation levels are detected in tap water, vegetables, milk and fish. Japan extends the exclusion zone around the plant on March 25 and urges a further 130,000 residents to evacuate. Levels of radioactive iodine in the sea near the plant

are found to be 1,250 times higher than the safety limit on March 26. June 2011

Japanese citizen group The Fukushima Network to Save Children from Radiation finds radiation contamination in 10 children’s urine samples. July 2011Beef transported from Fukushima is banned but it was later discovered that meat from cattle that had fed on contaminated hay had already been distributed nationally. September 2011The Japan Atomic Energy Agency says a total of

15,000 terabecquerels (TBq) of radiation was released into the sea from the Fukushima plant.Core temperatures at the three damaged reactors drop below 100 Celsius for the first time on Sept 29. October 2011The Norwegian Institute for Air Research finds that the Fukushima plant is releasing twice as much radioactive Caesium-137 into the atmosphere, 36,000 TBq, rather than the original estimate of 15,000 TBq. January 2012It is revealed that the Japanese government had secretly planned to evacuate everyone living within 250km of the Fukushima plant, including Tokyo, if the situation had spiraled out of control. Tokyo is home to 30 million people.

Malaysia has been slow to adopt renew-able energy options   compared to regional counterparts Thailand and

the Philippines.Putrajaya only implemented the feed-in-

tariff system last December in a bid to boost the renewable energy industries in Malaysia.

Pioneered in  Germany, the feed-in tariff scheme allows individuals and companies to sell energy produced from renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic, biogas, biomass and mini-hydro at a higher rate to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

Currently, renewable energy sources con-tribute less than one per cent to our energy mix, with only 62.3MW capacity in 2010.

Malaysia targets to increase renewable energy sources’ contribution to 5.5 per cent in 2015, 11 per cent in 2020 and 25 per cent by 2050.

However by 2050, advanced countries like Denmark and Germany are aiming to source energy mostly, if not entirely, from renewable sources.

A recent report published in international journal Energy Policy claimed that the world can achieve 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 if proper measures are taken.

Australian environmental expert Dr Mark Diesendorf, speaking at a public forum in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday, pointed out that Malaysia has huge potential to develop renew-able energy.

“You receive more sunlight than Germany (where solar photovoltaic contributes to 3.5 per cent of its electricity production),” ob-served the associate professor and deputy di-rector of the Institute of Environmental Studies, University of New South Wales.

He said Malaysia should hire independent energy experts to conduct a comprehensive study on the country’s renewable energy po-tential.

TNB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh had told the 200-odd audience earlier that renewable energy options have limitations in Malaysia.

He cited cloud cover and high capital costs for solar energy, sparse location of palm oil mills for biomass, high installation cost for biogas, and remote locations for mini-hydro.

In addition, the energy supply from these sources fluctuates. Therefore, nuclear power is needed to produce stable and constant base-load electricity.

 New way of thinking

But Indian activist and author Praful Bid-

wai argues that the world needs to move away from the model of a centralised electricity production sys-tem.

“We need a much more flexible, de-centralised power production system that can adapt according to changing demand,” said Bidwai.

He added that it was more efficient to install in-dependent solar panels or micro-hydro system to sup-ply electricity to remote areas, compared to connect-ing them to the national grid to receive power produced miles away at a power plant.

His remark was echoed by Diesendorf, who described the concept of base-load power plants as “redundant”.

He said a combination of renewable en-

ergy sources can be used to meet electricity demand by the hour, with higher pro-duction during the day and lower production at night.

In addition, Diesendorf highlighted that Malaysia could explore its geother-mal potential if it wants a base-load power provider to support its renewable en-ergy systems.

Meanwhile, Dr Feroz Kabir Kazi from the Uni-versity of Nottingham Ma-laysia also highlighted our country’s biomass potential

via his case study.Our country produces around 18 million

tonnes of palm oil per year and oil palm plan-tations cover 15 per cent of our land – 4.7 million hectares. The empty fruit bunches, tree fronds, trunks, fibres and shell can be

burned to generate power.His 10MW case study showed that bio-

mass is profitable in the long-term with the introduction of the feed-in tariff system.

“Demo projects are essential. Renewable energy has a bright future in Malaysia and its growth provides opportunities for local em-ployment,” said the Associate Professor from the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department.

 Finally, Diesendorf also commented that Malaysia should strengthen its electricity conservation and energ y efficiency pro-grammes.

With the use of efficient electrical appli-ance and mindful consumption habit, Malay-sians can reduce our demand for electricity.

TNB’s Che Khalib noted that Malaysians usually take their electricity for granted as it is still subsidised and cheap, for now, but the country must find a way to stabilise power demand as the cost of power production is likely to rise in future.

Renewable energy alternative

• FROM PAGE 13

Dr Feroz Kabir Kazi from University of Nottingham Malaysia.

The cost generating electricity using renewable energy sources is expected to become cheaper and comparable to using fossil fuel and nuclear in future.

15february 24 — 26, 2012

views

Lord Bobo, do you think that Malaysians need guidelines for inter-faith relations? In Faith, via email

Malaysia is suddenly developing into a very strange place. For decades, it was hailed as the one true multi-racial nation, where people of different races and reli-gions co-existed in a harmonious blend of costumes, colours, food, and smiles. But now, one cannot go more than a couple of days without reading about “racial tension” or “sensitive issues” or arguments on the basis of “religion” or “faith”. What has happened?

Could it be that the country really is falling apart? That the people have suddenly decided to be intolerant? Or perhaps it is because the media and the po-litical and religious leaders keep g iving prominence to such discussions ? In the past week, we have been hearing about the need for guidelines for relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. The debate about the race relationslaw is still quietly rumbling on behind the scenes too.

This must stop. No such guidelines are necessary. And any efforts to introduce laws highlighting race or religion should be shoo-ed away as quickly as possible. The longer we allow these issues to be a part of our national debate, the more we give prominence to race and religion as factors that differenti-ate us.

Malaysians do not, and should not, need religious au-thorities or the state to regulate our interaction. This is not a boarding school. Enforcing “unity” by legislation will only lead to a false unity – one that is brought about artificially because of fear of punishment, rather than a true unity, which results from love and mutual respect.

What is the Competition Act? I heard that it has been in force effective January 2012, but have not heard much about it since. Is this some law that

intends to make us more competitive with each other? I asked some lawyer friends, and they gave a very long speech about how it is the same as “fair trade law” and “antitrust law” – but those don’t sound the same as “competition law”. Anyway, I think they just didn’t know the answer and just tried to sound smart like all these lawyer types do (no offence). Competitor, via email

The Competition Act 2010 came into force on Jan 1 this year. Competition law is really quite complex, and not many jurisdictions have managed to come up with a balance between enforcing fair business practices, protecting consumers, and not stifling innovation and competition.

The two most mature and influential jurisdictions for competition regulation are the United States (where it is known as antitrust law), and the European Union (where it is known as competition law). As your lawyer friends pointed out, it is also known as fair trade law, though this is quite rare. Whatever name is used, the basic intention is the same – the regulation of anti-competitive conduct by companies.

What is anti-competitive conduct? As you would ex-pect, this is a very simple question with a very complex answer. Entire books have been written just in response to this question. His Supreme Eminenceness will keep it

simple, as brain explosions are never pretty. There are three major no-nos.

The first no-no is getting involved in agree-ments or practices that are deemed to stand

in the way of free trade and open competi-tion between competitors. The most common practice that falls foul of this no-no is forming a cartel. As a simple example, companies that are in the same business cannot sit down and agree to fix prices. That would remove the com-

petitive nature of the market, which would hurt consumers.

The second no-no is what is called an abuse of dominant position. As kinky as this

sounds, there is no sado-masochism involved here. This focuses on the big boys, the dominant players in

any particular market. The intention is to prohibit the Big Kahuna from engaging in practices that would eliminate any small competitors. For example, if there is a new emerging competitor in the same market, a Big Kahuna could sell his product at a significantly cheaper price. By being willing to make a loss, the Big Kahuna would ensure that no one would buy the product from the new boy in town, and it won’t be long before the newbie is out of business. This is called “predatory pricing”, and is not allowed.

The third no-no is when it comes to a joint-venture or merger-and-acquisition that is deemed to result in the di-

minishing of a competitive envi-ronment.

Despite seem-ing new, compe-tition law is actually very old. From the early days of major organised trading, there have been anti-competitive prac-tices, and laws against them. In ancient Rome, some anti-competition laws even carried the death penalty. And despite the differing names and often differing policy statements, almost all competition regimes have the same general pro-hibitions and intentions.

In Malaysia, the enforcement and development of com-petition law will be spearheaded by something called MyCC – the Malaysian Competition Commission. It is early days yet, so MyCC have mostly been busy holding public con-sultations, holding talks and roadshows and issuing some basic guidelines. Hopefully they have been encouraging competition in the overly-sweet-hot-drinks, local kuih and currypuff market for the many meetings that they have undoubtedly been having. Time will tell how competition law develops in Malaysia.

Lord Bobo really must end this now. If you want to know more about competition law, go and read LoyarBurok – who knows, there may be some articles on the topic! There is so much more to learn, Lord Bobo didn’t even mention verti-cal and horizontal agreements (not the horizontal transac-tions that are caught by vice laws).

Inter-religious competition and anti-trust? Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by LoyarBurok

(www.loyarburok.com) where all your profound, abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite, sagacious, and

other thaesaurus-described queries are answered!

16 February 24 — 26, 2012

NEWS

Tanjung Karang MP welcome to show proof

By Basil Foo

SHAH ALAM: An open invita-tion has been extended to Datuk Seri Noh Omar to present any evi-dence he has on the alleged sand-mining scandal in the state.

“(He) is invited to a public hear-ing session to present proof of al-leged graft in Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB),” said Faekah Husin, political secretary to Selan-gor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

She said in a statement on Tues-day that the presence of the Agricul-ture and Agro-based Industry Min-ister at the hearing will demonstrate his sincerity in eradicating corrup-tion.

Noh was reported to have said he was prepared to provide evidence if the Selangor government conducts

Residents viewing the local draft plan at the lobby of MPSJ’s building.

a public inquiry into the alleged sand mining scandal in the state.

KSSB, a state government-linked company (GLC) established to spearhead the Selangor’s sand-mining industry, has come under fire recently over allegations of graft.

Noh claimed he had proof of graft in the awarding of sand-mining permits in Selangor, in the form of receipts and statutory declarations

from sand-mining contractors.“We have proof. Khalid (Ibrahim)

wants proof, we can give it to him,” said the Selangor Umno liaison com-mittee deputy chairperson.

The public hearing of the Selan-gor Select Committee on Compe-tency, Accountability and Transpar-ency (Selcat) on the sand-mining issue will resume for three days from March 5.

Selcat chairperson Datuk Teng Chang Khim said the decision to resume the public hearing, after it was postponed earlier, was made after the committee met on Feb 16.

The public hearing will be held on two other cases including Yayas-an Selangor on its 2010 audit report.

The hearing will also probe two Selangor Agricultural Development Corpora tion (PKPS) companies,

PKPS Agro Industries Sdn Bhd and Premium Agro Product Industries Sdn Bhd, on the purchase of ma-chinery.

“The Selcat hearing will disperse any bad reputation that is being levied by certain parties towards those state GLCs,” Faekah said.

She added that if the allegations were true, appropriate action will be taken against those responsible.

Residents urged to voice objectionsSUBANG JAYA: Resi-dents in SS19 are being urged to write in to the municipality if they want a vacant lot in their neigh-bourhood retained for recreational use.

The land, owned by Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS), is categorised as residential but has been mistakenly listed as recreational in the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) local plan.

The council  is now rectifying the mistake and changing the land status in its latest local draft plan on display at its building.

“I hope the land will remain as a green area be-cause SS19 is already overdeveloped. There is a shortage of recreational space here,” said SS19 resi-dents’ association representative Chin Fook Khiang.

He explained that new developments in the area will also cause more traffic congestion.

Currently, SS19 is already packed with a few residential developments like Sub-ang Park Homes and Subang Soho.

“I’ve already sent in my objec-tion to MPSJ and I hope those who want to keep the green area do so too,” said Chin.

According to the council, PKNS has not put in any application to develop the area yet.

“I hope residents will put in their objections now and not get a shock later when the land usage is changed to residential,” said Sub-ang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh.

She urged residents to study the changes to the local draft plan and write in their comments and objec-tions to MPSJ.

“There are lots of changes espe-cially in Putra Heights and even in Subang area, so do take note of it and object now before it’s too late.”

Other major changes to land usage in Subang include the 19 acres, which were initially com-mercial land, at Taman Subang Ria.

MPSJ changed the usage from commercial to recreational follow-ing the decision made by the Men-teri Besar in March last year. 

Now the entire 72-acre land at Taman Subang Ria can only be used for recreational purposes.

SUBANG JAYA: Some 135 trees along Persiaran Kewajipan will be felled and a pedes-trian bridge at USJ6 relocated to make way for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) construction next week.

“Chopping down trees is inevitable as it’s in the way of the LRT tracks. But do not worry because the council will ensure new trees are planted,” said Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh.

Construction work along the 3.2 km stretch between the Summit-Kesas Interchange until USJ 21 will start on Feb 27. 

The changes were announced last Tuesday, during a press conference with the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) and Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad.

MPSJ has imposed a condition for Prasarana to plant 10 new trees for each felled for the project.

“These new trees have to be at least two metres tall and planted in replacement of those cut down,” said Yeoh.

Meanwhile, the pedestrian bridge connect-ing USJ6 to Goodyear Court 3 will be relo-cated further down the road to make way for the LRT tracks.

Yeoh assured residents that the safety of

pedestrians will not be affected as the new bridge will be built immediately after the cur-rent one is dismantled.

Prasarana further reiterated that the new pedestrian bridge will be up before any con-struction works can begin.

Two other pedestrian bridges along Persi-aran Kewajipan, opposite Summit shopping centre and at Sekolah Wawasan (USJ15), will not be affected.

“Prasarana has also agreed to replace street lights and resurface service roads which are damaged during the construction,” said Yeoh.

Service roads will be resurfaced or patched after construction is completed while street lights will be replaced immediately.

Also, Prasarana will be monitoring traffic lights during the construction period, to ensure they don’t break down and cause more traffic congestion along Persiaran Kewajipan.

“For those worried about the possible noise disruption in future, Prasarana will be putting up sound barriers if necessary,” said Yeoh.

She explained that Prasarana will only be testing the noise level once the LRT is up and running to have a more accurate measurement of sound from both vehicles and trains.

In addition, numerous signboards and ban-

ners will be put up to alert residents of con-struction works going on.

Banners with Prasarana’s contact details and hotline numbers will also be hung around the area for residents to call if they have any com-plaints to make.

“Residents should take note of the numbers and call Prasarana directly if they have any que-ries or complaints during the construction,” said Yeoh.

In addition, Prasarana will try to close only one lane during construction and leave at least two lanes open.

“We’ll try to keep all lanes open along Per-siaran Kewajipan but for some areas one lane has to be closed,” said Prasarana’s Kelana Jaya line extension project head Faudzilah Razali.

During the press conference, Yeoh also urged the works minister to expedite upgrad-ing works at the Summit-Kesas Interchange to ease traffic congestions and help LRT construc-tion work to proceed smoothly.

“According to the works minister, upgrad-ing works were supposed to begin end of last year, but nothing has happened so far.

“I hope these upgrades will be carried out hand in hand with the LRT construction so as to reduce traffic congestion,” she said.

LRT works to begin in Subang

Chin

17february 24 — 26, 2012

news

By Alvin Yap

PETALING JAYA: Council canteens across the city have started to serve  vegetarian meals every Monday to promote a healthy diet among staff.

Mayor  Datuk Roslan Sakiman said the state-wide programme, which kicked off at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) this week, is aimed at getting more greens into staff dur-ing their working hour meals.

“MBPJ is glad to be chosen to lead the campaign to get more people to adopt a veg-etarian diet,” said Roslan during the campaign launch at D’Kelana community hall at SS7 hall on Monday.

He said MBPJ canteens will serve full vegetarian meals consisting of vegetables or soy-based meatless alterna-tives, adding the health and wellbeing of council staff would improve with the new weekly diet.

“I call it Meatless Monday, and hope that staff will re-frain from having meat which has a lot saturated fat,” he said.

The Monday meals would be prepared by  cooks who have undergone training in handling and cooking vegeta-bles without losing the nutri-ents. 

Earlier,  Dr Rishya Manikam, from the Univerity Malaya Medical Centre (UUMC), also  gave a talk on the health benefits of go-

ing on a vegetarian diet.The strict vegetarian refuted claims

that meatless diets lacked proteins and caused tiredness. 

“It’s a myth that you don’t get enough proteins from a non-meat, all vegetarian diet,” said the head of Trauma and Emer-gency at UMMC.

Dr Rishya said vegetarian meals had benefits of being low in fat while being cheaper to purchase.

He lauded MBPJ’s initiative to make its staff eat a vegetarian meal once a week.

Meanwhile, Tzu Chi Foundation spokesperson Tey Siong Chew said keeping to a vegetarian diet was the quickest way to reduce the carbon footprint and save the earth from pol-lution.

“A given number of lifestock produces more green house gas in a year than a fleet of cars,” he claimed when giving a video presentation on having a green diet.

He cited a United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource manage-ment report which said that lesser consumption of animal

products was necessary to save the world from the impact of climate change.

Later, state executive councillor Ronnie

Liu said the Green Monday Project would spur the public in adopting a vegetarian diet and would be a shot in the arm for the agri-culture sector in Selangor.

He said other local governments would also adopt the initiative and added he was glad civil service staff once again led the way in adopting healthy practices.

On a related matter, Liu said the state had identified corporate sponsors interested in paying for 200 boxes of take-away vegetarian

meals during state or local government func-tions.

“These companies want to do their part to promote a healthy diet,” he said.

However, he declined to name the spon-sors, adding that the state would announce the identity of the corporate good Samaritans soon.

The event was also attended by Petaling Jaya Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian and Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne.

Meatless Mondays at council canteens

Dr Rishya says vegetarians get enough proteins and vitamins from nuts and leafy green vegetables.

(From left): Deputy Mayor Puasa Mohd Taib, Liu, Roslan, Hee and Loh at the launch of the Green Monday Project.

By Alvin Yap

PETALING JAYA: An il-legal baby boutique in SS2 was raided and had its prams and baby supplies seized in a raid last Thursday.

“The shop has been operat-ing for 40 days without a busi-ness licence and it has illegal building extensions,”said MBPJ Building Supervision Depart-ment assistant director Ismathi-noon Abd Rahman

The road shoulder outside the premises at SS2/72 had also been converted into a carpark for patrons.

Ismathinoon also pointed out that the owner had not submitted an application for a trading licence despite two warnings last month to stop operating.

The council officers hauled away 35 baby strollers and 35 boxes containing other items from the shop.

Ismathinoon said the items would be used as evi-dence and would be impounded for seven days before being released to the owner.

Enforcement officers also tore down signs from the

front of the shop before serving the owner with a sum-mons.

The proprietor, who wanted to be known as Wong, said he was renting the premises, and had been informed by the landlord that he did not ‘need a business licence from the city council.

MBPJ gets tough on illegal ‘baby shop’

Building safety Enforcement

officers tearing down the illegal

signages.

SHAH ALAM:  Categorising spouses of army personnel   as postal voters in Kuala Kubu Baru is raising concerns of possible election fraud in the coming polls. 

Kampung Tunku state lawmaker Lau Weng San on Monday said objections had been lodged with the Election Commission (EC) over the move which was detected recently.

“It’s unacceptable for the spouses to be listed as postal voters because they are not on duty like their husbands and should go through the normal voting process,” he said.

Lau, Pakatan Rakyat’s coordinator for the BN-held state con-stituency, said 33 army wives were listed as postal voters in the latest electoral roll.

He pointed out that spouses of those in the  armed forces should vote at polling stations on election day.

“I hope the EC takes this more seriously and clean up the electoral roll by ensuring they are not listed as postal voters,” said Lau.

In addition, he added that an additional 400 postal voters had been added to the KKB electoral roll in the fourth quarter of 2011.

All 400 postal voters are from the Taman Seruling army quar-ters.

“Though this is a small figure, the influx of postal voters in such a small seat is very worrying,” he said.

Lau explained that this might affect their chances of wining the seat.

“In 2008, we lost by 448 votes,” he said.Lau also urged the EC to ensure all army personnel listed in

the roll are based there and not transferred from other camps.Also present at the press conference was Kuala Kubu Baru

coordinator for new villages Chng Boon Lai and Hulu Selangor district councillor (MDHS) Law Suet Peng.

Postal voting for army wives raising eyebrows

18 ⁄ february 24 – 26,2012 ⁄ SELANGOR TIMES

19February 24 — 26, 2012

Media

Exciting expo in store for adventurers

Zulkifli and Ness exchanging the MOU while SACC and Asia Events representatives look on.

By Brenda Ch’ng

S H A H A L A M : T h r i l l - s e e k e r s a n d X-games enthusiasts should head over to the Adventure World Expo 2012 at the  Shah Alam Convention Centre (SACC) from March 2-4.

From indoor rock climbing to scuba diving pools, visitors can look forward to three days of activities from 11am-8pm.

“There will be over 100 exhibitors present to showcase the latest land, sea, air and eco tourism adventure sports-related products,” said Asia Events Exsic director Ness Puvanes.

Asia Events Exsic, a company specialising in events and exhibitions, will organise their first ever Adventure World Expo to promote the sport and bring together adventure enthusiasts. 

“The event will provide the perfect platform to expose the public to a wide range of activities available at the expo,” she said at a press conference last Friday.

The expo will also enable adventure businesspeople to make new contacts, trade and find new support services..

She hopes visitors will get to learn more about the exciting range of sports activities, products and services.

Participants are encouraged to try out scuba diving in their pool, which will be set up in the SACC hall.

“We will be charging a nominal fee to cover expenses for equipment and gas tanks. This is a good opportunity for everyone to try out scuba diving,” said Ness.

However, admission to other activities like paint ball, archery and rock climbing will be free.

Among the highlights are lucky draws, dialogues with the Biker’s Club and talks on travel adventure experiences.

Power boats, speed boats and 4-wheel drives will also be on display.

“Admission is free and we are targeting over 5,000 participants for the event,” said Asia Events Exsic director Thayalan Kennedy.

He hopes more youths will come to the expo and pick up a sport or two as a hobby or even as a career choice.

“The business world of adventure sports is blooming and fresh graduates should venture into this business. It might make them a lot of money,” he said.

Also present at the press conference was SACC’s chief executive Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad, who signed a memorandum of understanding between Asia Events and SACC.

Under the memorandum, SACC will co-host the event with Asia Events for the next five years.

“Through this memorandum of understanding, we’ve agreed to help them promote adventure sports and ensure the success of the expo,” said Zulkifli.

Unique shopping experience at Markets @ Jaya OnePETALING JAYA: Markets @ Jaya One aims to offer a unique shopping experience with the support of independent businesses in its first session of the year this Mar 3.

Collectibles, trinkets, clothing, handcrafted goods, homemade food, stationery and home furnishings are some of the items on offer by 100 specially-selected vendors.

While shoppers can expect a broader cross-section of items than in anywhere else, they can also participate along with their community in various social causes.

SPCA will be holding an adoption drive to find homes for their rescued animals, and shoppers can also bring recyclable items to the entrance of Palm Square.

Items collected will be donated to Community Recycle for

Charity Malaysia, a non-profit organisation There will also be a Mitsubishi Car Boot Sale Challenge. Six

vendors - Things Eye Made, AZORIAS, Pestle & Mortar, Vintage 1988, Reveries and The Click Shop - will use the Mitsubishi Crossover ASX as their retail space and decorate their cars to represent their brand image.

The public can then vote for the best display after the event via the Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia Facebook page.

Markets @ Jaya One is open to the public and will run from 11am-6pm. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own shopping bags.

For details, visit markets.my and facebook.com/themrkts or follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/marketsmy.

Crystalville’s X-Factor in CyberjayaCYBERJAYA: Banking on its ability to adapt to market demands quickly, Crystalville Sdn Bhd plans to offer buyers a one-of-a-kind living experience in their upcoming developments here.

Their MyDiva line of homes and Vita commercial centre will include a unique take on design and standard of living that will set them apart from other developments.

“As we are a medium-sized company, we are more nimble and can adjust very fast to meet market demands,” said Crystalville director Datuk Azman Mahmood.

One of the ways in which market demand dictates their developments is the addition of two open-air terraces in their MyDiva Tropez semi-detached homes.

The two-and-a-half-storey semi-detached houses will feature a large, covered terrace on its first floor and a semi-covered terrace on its second floor.

“As people nowadays tend to spend more time at home, these terraces can be used for relaxing, parties, or even as a home gym if

going out again is a hassle,” said Azman.

Residents of these homes will also enjoy a lakeside view of the Putrajaya Lake and an exclusive guarded development with a single entry-exit point.

The 14 MyDiva Tropez units, each with a built-up area of 4,409 square feet, are set to be launched in May with a show house at the project site along Persiaran Tasik.

A n o t h e r w a y i n w h i c h Crystalville has come up with innovative features to its products is by providing ramps to the second-storey of their Vita commercial development.

“Using these ramps, customers who loathe walking can drive straight up to the shops on the second floor and park there, saving them time,” Azman explained.

He said this unique concept was intended to give the same value and advantage for buyers of the second floor shop-offices as the buyers of

the lots on the first floor.This concept was introduced

successfully in Crystalville’s previous development at Plaza Damas in Hartamas and he expects it to be well accepted here too.

Apart from the 98 units of double-storey shop-offices, the Vita

commercial development will include 1,280 elevated, basement, and ground-floor car park lots.

“We are also planning to build a 15-storey small-office home-office (Soho) building with 345 units sized an average of 450 square feet,” he said.

He said, with the Soho in place, it guarantees the project a core market of an estimated 1,650 residents who will shop for their essentials in the area.

The project will also further tap into the Cyberjaya market and be the focal point of the surrounding community with its location which is very near a bus terminal.

Vita’s double-storey shop-offices will be launched end-March while the Soho building will be launched in June.

Crystalville’s earlier residential homes launch included the two-storey MyDiva Ibiza semi-Ds with a build-up area of 3,856 square feet.

“Special financing packages are also available for buyers who approach us,” said Azman. 

To enquire about Crystalville’s developments in Cyberjaya, call 03-8318 5668 for its MyDiva range of homes, and 03-8318 8680 for the Vita commercial centre.

Azman with a model of Vita.

20 February 24 — 26, 2011

food

Much ado about cock-a-doodle-doo!

PJ and KL are home to thousands of restaurants and boutique eateries. LIN ZHENYUAN is enthralled by a new house of food in SS2.

M y sister, who has an admirable pas-time of eating well in all kinds of exotic and sometimes faraway places,

tipped me off on a new eatery along the main SS2 road in Petaling Jaya.

Since my diary was relatively free of engage-ments during the recent Chinese festive sea-son, it seemed logical and reasonable to agree on a lunch date.

  When I learnt that Tang Pin Kitchen was our destination, it suddenly dawned on me that it was linked to the Tang fishball restau-rants that have somehow captured the imagi-nation of a portion of the Chinese commu-nity in PJ.

  The headquarters of the Tang House of Fishball is in Sea Park, PJ. I have been there a number of times. The fishball and its related items are actually quite tasty.

  Michael Tang is the big boss of House of Tang. Currently, there are 10 outlets. He is the sole proprietor and he is so busy that he sleeps only about four and a half hours each day.

  Ordinary people like us would balk at his personal schedule because his sleeping time normally stretches from 2.30am to 6.30am. The rest of the time, he is on his feet and on the move.

  At 60 and single, his work sched-ule is demanding but like most high achievers who have set their sights on a goal, Michael has the tenacity of a prized bulldog and the stamina of an Arabian stallion.

  Michael said originally he had 13 outlets, but three were closed down due to operational issues. There is one Tang fishball outlet in Kajang.

  Although I am not unfamiliar with Tang House of Fishball, I was most curious about Tang Pin Kitch-en which has been open for business for about one and a half years.

  The fried porridge at this place comes highly recommended, so naturally it was at the top of my din-

House of Tang aims to please

ing agenda when I walked into the premises.

  The ambience of Tang Pin Kitchen is simply superb. I have a habit of feeling the vibes of a place which serves food. After 10 minutes of being inside Tang Pin, I could feel my body relaxing.

   The Chinese believe that if the feng shui of a place is excellent, good business is assured. With its present location, I have no doubt business is good because the restaurant was three-quarters full on a public holi-day at 2pm.

   The three of us breezed through

Tang Pin’s menu and settled on mee poke, sweet and sour spicy meat, fried fish noodle, fishball soup, rad-ish cake and golden noodles. For drinks, we ordered one of the house specialties, barley fu chuk.

  Barley fu chuk is popular among Chinese customers because it works well with the digestive system. Mi-chael disclosed that his restaurant is also well known for “tau fu fa” which his chefs have taken great pains to maintain quality and consistency.

  Right now, there are two facto-ries in Old Klang Road making all the necessary ingredients for the 10 Tang eateries. Each day, the Tang factories supply 230-250kg of fish-balls to the outlets.

  Even though the Tang eateries are famous for their fishballs, and to a certain extent the celery noodles, more items are in the pipeline.

  According to Michael, about 40 more new items will be offered to customers in due course.

  In fact, Michael and a business partner are planning to open a new outlet tentatively called “Just Five Noodle House”. Michael said noth-ing in the new outlet will cost more than RM5.

  Frankly, it sounds like a pretty good idea to me, considering the escalating cost of an ordinary meal these days.

  Michael will be making trips to Hong Kong and China soon to discover new culinary items which would be suitable for Malaysians.

  Right now, the House of Tang boss is looking for a suitable location for his Just Five Noodle House. He is thinking of a restaurant which has a seating capacity of about 100-120 people.

  That means the restaurant would probably occupy two shop-lots. Most of Michael’s workers are from Myanmar. His 130-plus work-ers are very diligent because they are paid well.

  Michael is proud that his fishball soup does not contain any MSG because of its unique recipe. Re-sponding to a query whether the rest of the items are also MSG-free, Michael candidly said: “It is impos-sible not to use any MSG when you run a restaurant but we make sure the food overall is well received.”

   The eight items that appeared on our table were better than aver-age. The fried porridge has an inter-esting taste. It is not your normal kind of porridge. Diners trying it for the first time will definitely have positive comments, as I did.

  As for the mee pok, I thought it was good enough to justify a second visit to Tang Pin Kitchen. The fish-ball soup was excellent as usual. No

Tang Pin Kitchen is very proud of its fried porridge as evident from the poster (top left).

Bamboo plants help soothe the image of this busy section of SS2.

21February 24 — 26, 2012

food

Have you cHecked your electrical switcHes before leaving Home?

Ibu pejabat polIs Daerah subang jayaTel: 03-5637 3722 Fax: 03-5631 9815

Take five 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.

Borang maklumaT Memaklumkan tentang meningalkan rumah kediaman untuk bercuti.

Kepada Kawasan pentadbiran balai polis

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

BuTiran penduduk:

nama: ..................................................................................

alamat: .................................................................................

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

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

nombor telefon bimbit/kediaman: ........................................

nombor telefon yang boleh dihubungi: ................................

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

tarikh meninggalkan rumah: ................................................

tarikh dijangka balik ke rumah: ...........................................

Kenderaan yang ditinggalkan (jenis model & nombor daftar kenderaan).

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

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

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

lain-lain maklumat:

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

✂

...............................................tandatangan

.......................................tarikh

Before leaving your home for a holiday, did you check all your electrical switches and turn off your gas tanks?

Call the SS17 BomBa for adviCe at

03-5634 9444

fishy smell or aftertaste.  But it was the ambience of the

place that made my lunchtime meal complete. There were big pots of bamboo strategically placed on the verandah which created an oriental atmosphere that would certainly please a lot of diners.

  There is actually another Tang outlet in the back row of shops be-hind Tang Pin Kitchen. The outlet is called Restaurant Tien Pin. It was originally one of those “char chan teng” eateries that the Cantonese-speaking people are familiar with.

  Later, Michael changed the name to Tien Pin to give it an origi-nal flavour and its own identity. Michael has been operating his res-taurants for the past seven years.

  Michael has a full calendar, but his tight schedule does not keep him away from his three constant com-panions, two Rottweilers and a Golden Retriever.

  His three “close buddies” help him to relax and keep an even keel on the business and private sides of his life. He is clearly very proud of his canine friends because there is a big picture of Michael and his Rott-weilers at the main entrance of Tang Pin Kitchen.

  Tang Pin Kitchen is located at 24, Jalan SS2/24, Petaling Jaya. Telephone: 03-7877-2376.

MSG-free fishball soup with bitter gourd.

Golden noodles that have earned top marks from customers.

Fishball soup with vegetables complements the other items.

The fried porridge that makes many sit up and take notice.

Spicy dry noodles for those who prefer it this way.

The radish cake side-dish that is pretty and tasty.

The curry mee selections are reasonably priced.

22 February 24 — 26, 2012

Gallery

Rawang assemblyperson Gan Pei Nei (second from left), Bukit Rawang Jaya Residents’ Association president Yap Koon Leong (third from right), a Gombak Public Works Department (JKR) engineer, and Bukit Rawang Jaya residents visiting traffic lights along Jalan FT001. Road accidents were reduced dramatically after the lights were installed three months ago. What remains to be overcome is the issue of prevalent floods at the road intersection.

Ampang Amitabha temple chairperson Fan Fui Siong, head temple caretaker See Bee Gan and Teratai assemblyperson Jenice Lee holding up a Chinese calligraphy written by child petitioners asking for the temple to be spared demolition due to the construction of the SUKE highway. The devotees of the 160-year-old temple hope the authorities will consider a realignment of the highway to save their place of worship.

SS18 resident Mukhtiar Singh, 69, received a lime tree sapling for paying his assessment via the Subang Jaya Municipal Council’s (MPSJ) payment kiosk, on Tuesday. The council is currently giv-ing away tree saplings to those who pay their assessment using the kiosk situated in the lobby of MPSJ’s building.

(From left) Selangor Water Management Authority information officer Ishak Kamaruddin, Hulu Kelang assemblyperson Saari Sungib, Melawati Bazaar Entrepreneurs’ Club representative Mohd Nor Md Dom and other traders pouring used oil into the collection bin to launch a recycling cooking oil campaign at Melawati Bazaar last Saturday.

Children and residents of Taman Subang Baru, Shah Alam, can enjoy their playground again after Kota Damansara assemblyperson Dr Nasir Hashim (centre) provided the funds to repair the damaged facilities. Dr Nasir said the youths can play badminton and sepak takraw at night now that the street lights have been fixed.

23february 24 — 26, 2012

culture

By Dominic Luk

‘BOOM’, the story of the end of the world, and maybe even the beginning of it, is being shown at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre from Feb 17-26. This Asian premier of ‘Boom’ is directed by David Lim, and the cast features Jon Chew as Jules, Sharon Lam as Jo, and B. B. Ostella as Barbara. The script was written by American playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.

The story’s complexities and sci-fi theme were probably attractive enough to keep the audience intrigued with a million and one questions on what was really happening. After all, how often do we get to watch a play about fish, the survival of humankind, two strangers trying to have sex, and a mysterious woman standing at the side in front of a huge machine and banging the timpani every so often?

Basically this doomsday comedy begins with Jules, a marine biology graduate student, in his underground lab. Jules has posted an online advertisement looking for a hookup with no real catch except that he

wants to have “sex to change the course of the world”. The only one who bravely responded to his ad was Jo, a journalism student, and that’s where the story expands.

Both of them debate on whether the world will really end soon as Jules insists that the fish in his aquarium show signs that a disaster is about to hit the earth. All Jo wanted was to get a story for her journalism class; she surely did not expect to be locked underground to make babies. The initial juicy part of the story starts when Jules tries to get Jo to agree to procreate with him, despite his homosexual tendencies.

Only later on in the story do we find out who Barbara, the woman hidden at the side of the stage, is. She appears to be some kind of guide in a museum who pulls levers and pushes buttons to control Jules and Jo.

Her monologues and sudden interruptions make things more interesting. In the end, it still isn’t clear who she really is and why she controls these two people.

Having said all that, the script was well written. The delivery of it in this particular production, though, seemed to have done the script very little justice. The two main actors on stage appeared uncomfortable playing their roles, which was a shame since these two characters have so much to offer to the storyline.

T h e i r l a c k o f chemistry as actors was evident, and more exercises and work should have been done to help them be more grounded and absorbed into their characters. Chew had some good moments playing the dorky Jules, but sadly that wasn’t enough to tighten the whole show.

O s t e l l a ’ s p e r f o r m a n c e w a s comical enough to make everyone laugh, but more confidence and conviction could have made a whole lot of difference. Lam was clearly not comfortable with her character: a journalist starting off as a strong girl who knows

what she wants but gets stuck in a situation out of her control.

There was a lack of clear direction throughout the play, and lines were often lost because the actors spoke too fast at times.

The story intrigued me very much, but sadly that was all that caught my attention. I’d love to see this restaged after more work is put into building a stronger relationship among the actors, the script, and the overall direction of the entire story.

Boom! You’re Stuck Underground!

review

Shakespeare on Film

Film: Feb 12-Mar 18; Indicine, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, KL; 03-40479000; www.klpac.org; Free.

Paul Loosley’s Shakespeare on Film is back for the sixth series and after more than 30 movies adaptations of the Bard’s works are still flowing. Among the offerings this series are Julie Taymor’s The

Tempest (Feb 12), George Cukor’s Romeo and Juliet (Feb 19) and John Farrell’s Richard the Second.

Weave Exhibition

Art: Feb 27-Mar 11; Pentas 2 Lobby, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, KL; 03-40479000; www.klpac.org; Free.

Faizal Sidik focuses on collective conscience, an idea he investigates using a variety of mediums. His earliest works, the War Series, use traditional techniques of drawing to comment on war and dissent, victimization and silence. The pathos of the images is intense, with figures skillfully enhanced by dark colour combinations.

Space

Theatre: Feb 27 (8.30pm); The Actors Studio @ Lot 10 Roof Top; www.nose2nose.org/n2n/; 03-79576088; RM25.

Space is an internationally acclaimed one-man show from Timothy Mann, directed by Neil Farrelly of Nose2Nose. What is Space? This infinite question is answered through an American psychic, an army general, a science professor and other characters. There are no props, sets, costume changes as lone performer Mann uses only his body and voice to tell the story.

CaLeNDar

Published by Selangor State Government and printed by Dasar Cetak (M) Sdn Bhd No. 7, Persiaran Selangor, Seksyen 15, 40000, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

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