“Hill-slope development: Planners must have flexibility to decide”

After so many “against-hill slope-development” articles on the papers, finally... I see a letter (in NST which dated 22 May 2008), written by S.S.S from Kuala Lumpur, which offers a different point of view. I hope more of the silent majority would come forth and speak against the ‘noisy’ minority.

“Hill-slope development: Planners must have flexibility to decide”

I AM an engineer and would like to clarify some misconceptions highlighted in the media regarding hill-slope development.
While I do recognise the Highland Towers tragedy as a lesson for all of us, we must also acknowledge that if proper precautions and technical plans are put in place, there is also nothing wrong in building houses or apartments on hill slopes.

What is important is for the engineers and builders to put in place the right plan and technology to ensure that the safety aspects of the development are given attention.

In this regard, I urge the public to not oppose all forms of hill-slope development.

As long as safety precautions are taken into consideration, city planners must be given the flexibility to decide.

“Pakatan reps could have done better” ??

The residents of Bandar Mahkota Cheras are caught in the middle of a right- of- way tussle between Cheras- Kajang Expressway concessionaire Grand Saga Sdn Bhd and Bandar Mahkota Cheras’s developer, Nurajaya Sdn Bhd.

A reader of NST had voiced his opinion regarding the “Bandar Mahkota Cheras Crisis” saying:

“Pakatan reps could have done better”

IF the incident at Bandar Mahkota Cheras is an indication of the post- March 8 political maturity of Malaysians, then I must confess that I am completely underwhelmed by it all.

The utter disrespect for the law, inept crisis management skills and weak leadership are not the hallmarks of a progressive society.

Many Malaysians understood the difficult situation the Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents were in. But despite my sympathies, I find it hard to accept the complete lack of respect for law and ignorance of the legal process by these residents.

They not only took the law into their hands but also continually resorted to illegal means to demolish the barricade put up by highway concessionaire Grand Saga.

If the residents' actions were disappointing, then the behaviour of DAP's elected representatives can only be described as loutish. Anxious to portray themselves as defenders of the people, they behaved in a highly unethical, reprehensive and undemocratic manner.
Instead of helping to find an amicable and legal solution, these members of parliament were guilty of prolonging and worsening the crisis. It is clear that these MPs had resorted to populist actions to promote their personal and party agendas.

The police, too, did not cover themselves in glory by certain of their actions and inactions, either.

In their misplaced zeal to maintain "law and order", they acted in a manner that was not consistent with their ultimate objective of serving the nation and people.

But I was happy to note that they later changed their approach to a more practical, people-friendly and non-confrontational one that was more appropriate for such a crisis.

The most disappointing performance of this incident must surely be that of Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Not only did he fail abysmally as a leader but the former corporate bigwig also allowed his executive council, state assemblyman and MPs to hijack the incident and turn it into a political drama that almost turned tragic.

Khalid seems to have failed to grasp the fact that despite the complexities of the matter, as the leader of the state, he should have been at the forefront in solving the issue rather than issuing contradicting and confusing statements from Shah Alam.

I shudder to think of the consequences if the federal government had not stepped in to solve the problem. My confidence in the leadership of Khalid and the Pakatan Rakyat government is eroding day by day.

NST, Letters Section, Page 27,
Published on 6 June 2008

I agree with the writer that more often than not, the PKR subscribes to populist actions. They pick and choose issues that have high media visibility for example this Bandar Mahkota Cheras issue and several hill slope developments.

Aside from making noise from rallies and demonstrations, nothing constructive has been proposed for matters that affects the nation. What are their recommended solutions for the increase in fuel price, food shortage, etc?

Petrol to cost RM2.70 from midnight

As I was driving back home this evening, I noticed scores of cars lining up at jam-packed petrol stations. All are scrambling to fill up at least one tank-full of petrol before the price increase by midnight. The same kiasu behavior was noted during the last price hike.

The fact is, there is only so much you can save from one pump. In the long run, what we all need to do is to change our lifestyles.

Based on a survey conducted (up to 2004) by the German Agency for Technical Co-operation, fuel price has been on a gradual rise (as below). Of late, the rise has been more dramatic. If anyone can find a comparison table from 2005 to 2007, please share! I think toll operators should subsidize our fuel price. What say you?

Malaysiakini posted this Malaysia-only table charting the spectacular price increase. Everything is increasing and my clients are not paying me more!

The Rule of Law

In Tun Mahathir's blog yesterday, he wrote:

Malaysia is a country which practices the rule of law. Our laws must cover every aspect of our societal life, so we will know exactly what we can do and what we cannot do. Prime Ministers in particular must have everything spelt out for them in this respect. This will enable them to be charged if they had breached the rule of law long after they had retired.

Governments, serving Prime Ministers and Ministers are well placed to initiate action against others. But when the Government, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister do something wrong, like cover-ups for example, then police reports may be made against them. But how can the person reporting be sure that the police will investigate without fear or favour. I believe some reports have been made but so far there have been no results. Public confidence would be undermined if investigations by the proper authorities are not made. If the investigation is only to clear the name, then can we say the rule of law is being properly practised?

We therefore need to have more Royal Commissions manned by people of impeccable character like the ones on the Lingam tapes. The Commissions can then make proposals based on speculations and possibilities can then investigate the possibilities and probabilities and help clear those in power. When this is done we can say that this beloved country practises the rule of law.

The rule of law, in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. Thomas Paine stated in his pamphlet Common Sense (1776): "For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other."

However, procedures of court are still subject to manipulation and seasoned politicians cum lawyer have every opportunity to 'play the gallery' feeding clueless journalists with information leading to 'trial-by-media.'

Although the law is king, unfortunately, perception is truth.

Pulau Batu Putih

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim must be kidding. 12 to 4 is NOT a win-win judgment. For an island that is only 14.3km from Tanjung Penyusop in Johor and 46.3km from Singapore, the outcome is a national embarassment.

We have a long history and culture of 'tidak-apa' attitude as seen from this case. The loss is our own undoing. UMNO and BN also has a habit of losing Malaysian land without a fight. The biggest example is the loss of Singapore!

'You are a mouse!"

In response to Dr M's intention to quit UMNO, some veteran UMNO members have only this to say (in thestar.com.my, 19 May 2008):

PM Abdullah: Shocked

Meanwhile, Abdullah said he was shocked by the decision and, despite their differences, had not expected him to leave.

Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak expressed his shock ...

Umno veteran and stalwart Tan Sri Aziz Tapa, 85, said that he was shocked at the news and was at a loss for words.

Umno supreme council member Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik said, "It's shocking news to me."

In Narnia: Prince Caspian, Prince Caspian was taken down by a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep while running away from some Telmarines. With a sword pointing at the princes' neck, Reepicheep said, "What are your last words?" And the bewildered prince replied, "...you are a mouse!" To which the exasperated Reepicheep said, "You guys have no imagination."

'No dogs and Blacks allowed’ = ‘Only 10% non-bumis are allowed’

I was one of those who took the STPM route and got into a public university. During my orientation, a bumi senior asked me in a casual chat, "You dapat berapa principle ah?" I stammered in disbelief, "Errr... lima lah." We were required to take five subjects and the obvious answer would be to pass all of it.

I was appalled at the question because it implied that he did not pass all his subjects to get a place in the university. A more reasonable question should have been "How many A's did you get?" Or, a less kiasu question could sound like, "How did you score?"

Not much has changed I gathered, from all the top scorers crying foul over their failure to get scholarships (or even placements in courses of choice).

Disappointed Student wrote to Malaysiakini.com on April 25, 2008 venting her frustration of failing to clinch a scholarship despite getting 11A1s for her SPM. She said, in a response to other similar rants:

To ‘Schoolteacher, I would like to share with my case which is very similar to your case. I am a SPM leaver with an SPM result of 11A1s and I have a mother, whose is also a teacher in a government primary school. I am also the eldest daughter and I have two more younger brothers. With my family middle-class income, it's impossible for me to further my studies at a private college/university or overseas unless with a scholarship. I am pretty confident with my achievements as I hold extra-curricular posts eg, ,vice president, secretary, school prefect and I even went for the National Service programme.

I understand your daughter's feeling pretty well because I also was rejected for matriculation also for most of the scholarships that I've applied for (Petronas,Yayasan TNB,Yayasan Telekom,Yayasan Khazanah). Until now, I've only been called for an JPA interview.

Honestly, I don't really feel surprised I got rejected for those GLC scholarships and matriculation. As we know, matriculation is only open 10% for us, the non-bumis. Just imagine, out of 100 students, there are only 10 seats for us, the non-bumis. Frankly, I would feel surprise if I got an offer for matriculation.

In my school, there are about 20+ straight As scorers and they also did not get any offer for matriculation or other scholarships. We have only gone for the JPA interview so far. Even for the Petronas interview (they called it Petronas Educamp), out of the 20+ top scorers, only two managed to get selected. (One of them scored 11 A1s and one A2, another scored 11As and one B3, both non-bumis)

However, some of my Malay got an offer to do matriculation even with an SPM result of only 5As. I felt so hurt. I am so sad because I seem to be discriminated against. Nobody appreciates my talent, nobody appreciates my ability. As if our country has more than enough talented scholars.

So, to our country’s leaders, don't blame those talented scholars who do not want to come back to serve Malaysia. Don't forget who ‘threw’ them away before treating them as if they were rubbish. Frankly, sometimes I do question myself, why bother to torture myself? Why bother to wake up at 4am, sometimes even 3am to study? Why bother to score a straight A1s?

My mother once told me she is so disappointed with the Malaysian education system. Although I strived hard to score well in the SPM, but in the end, I ended up with no scholarship offer. Well, I am left the one and only hope- JPA. But my mother advised me not to put to much hope on this government scholarship.

Come on, after 51 years of independence, racism still exists in our country. We, the non-bumis, are like the blacks in US. In the past, US white people detested and discriminated against the blacks. They even put notices like,’No dogs and Blacks allowed’ in public places. Now, our government is putting up notices like ‘Only 10% non-bumis are allowed’ for matriculation. (And who knows if the figure of ‘10%’ is true? They might take 7% of non-bumis only, who knows?)

Our government also puts up notices like ‘These courses are only reserved for the bumiputera’ for IPTA course with SPM qualifications. For your information, courses like,’Asasi Sains’, ‘Prepatory courses for medicine’ at local unisare only for bumiputeras. Non-bumis, wait until your next life!

Most of my friends and me will choose to challenge of the tough STPM if we really don't get any scholarship offer.And I believe, STPM is the last choice but is it is also the choice of most non- bumis after a series of disappointments. I observed a few batches of my own Form 6 seniors and there were almost zero bumis in the Form 6 Science Stream. Of course, since they got into matriculation with 5As,or even with 2As from SPM, why bother to take the STPM?