p 12 – 13 - Selangor Times

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News 10 JUNE 8 — 10, 2012 A transparent cemetery fund By Basil Foo petaling jaya: Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has allayed fears of mismanagement in the state’s cemetery fund. The Menteri Besar told a 300-strong crowd at a forum at the PJ Civic Centre on Tuesday ( June 5) that the fund would be scrutinised at the state assembly annually. “You can ask your state assemblyperson to raise it (at the assembly sitting). That’s the way we should run the government – transparent,” Khalid said. The trust fund is used by the state to acquire suitable land for burial sites and was first imposed in October 2001. Concerns were raised when compulsory contributions to the fund were increased last April from a previous amount of RM62.50. The contribution for each residential lot now is RM500 for Petaling, Klang, Gombak, Hulu Langat, Sepang, and Kuala Langat, and RM300 for Kuala Selangor, Sabak Bernam, and Hulu Selangor. The increase was based on valuation by the State Department of Valuation and Property Services as the previous amount was deemed too low compared with rising costs of land. Homeowners renewing leases or changing property ownership and developers changing land statuses have to make the contribution to their respective land offices. Many of the residents at the forum were from the older parts of PJ city who only had a short time left on their leases and were surprised they had to pay the fee. “If last time you have paid the contributions to the cemetery fund, now when renewing your 99-year lease, you still must pay again,” Khalid said. He explained that the state still needed the funds as there was a dire shortage of burial land in Selangor, especially in Petaling Jaya. He revealed that the shortage was caused in part by developers lobbying 15 years’ ago to move land meant for cemeteries further from their housing projects. “There is even land meant for cemeteries which now have 15-storey buildings on them. We cannot afford to have this situation any more,” he said. The forum was told of the four proposed cemetery sites in Selangor: Lot 3366 in Labu, Lot 5756 in Sepang, RRIM in PJ, and an integrated cemetery in Hulu Langat, which cover a total of 300.63 hectares. Dr Tai (right), Ahmad Khalif (centre) and Dr Mohamed Mustafa signing the MoU at Urban Park 2, Damansara Damai, on Tuesday. Urban parks connected by bicycle lanes petaling jaya: Damansara Damai’s four Urban Park Forest will be connected via a 60km bicycle lane under PJ City Cycleways Networks which aim to build dedicated lanes for cyclists around the city. “Our planning department is working on the plans and sorting out the necessary documents. We hope to get it ready by next year,” said Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) deputy mayor Puasa Mohd Taib. Upon completion, residents will be able to cycle through forest reserves which collective make up 48 acres owned by the area’s developer, M K Land Holdings Berhad. “We will also be gazetting the area as a green lung for recreational purposes to prevent it from being developed in future,” he said. The areas which will be gazetted are Urban Park 1 (Bicycle Park), Urban Park 2 (Exploration Park), Urban Park 3 ( Jogging Park) and Urban Park 4 (Family Park). He said this during a press conference after launching World Environment Day on Tuesday at the 17.14 acre Urban Park 2 forest. Also at the event were Emkay Group chief executive director Ahmad Khalif Mustapha Kamal, who signed a memorandum of understanding with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and University Utara Malaysia (UUM). The MOU will allow students from the two universities to conduct research at forest reserves and utilise Emkay Group’s research facilities. “It’s a significant day to be signing this memorandum on World Environment Day as students now will be able to research ways to maintain forests and identify endangered flora and fauna,” said Ahmad Khalif. Apart from researching forest reserves around the area, the students will also be part of the Effective Forest Management project at Royal Belum forest reserve in Perak. “The students will be the first people to explore the whole forest as it was only recently opened to public by the government,” he said. For six months, students will be stationed at the company’s research centre in Pulau Banding which is equipped with the necessary tools fortheir experiments. Ahmad Khalif said the 300,000 hectare Royal Belum forest will be a good opportunity for students to tap into its natural resources and study the exotic plants there. “Our School of Technology Management will be doing their research and training at the forest. “A report on sustainable forest management will be presented after they are done,” said UUM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak. He hopes the research will benefit all forest reserves in Selangor and ensure that green areas would be maintained for future generations to enjoy. Also present at the event was UPM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Tai Shzee Yew, who was happy his students are getting a chance to explore the Royal Belum forest. “This is an amazing opportunity for them as the students only got to conduct research near our Serdang campus,” he said. Among faculties which will be involved are the Faculty of Environment, Forestry and Science. Previously, the university had worked with the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) and Kyoto Institute Technology to convert biomass into fuel for energy. Biomass is the mass of living organisms in a certain area which can be used as a renewable energy source or to generate power and electricity. Also there were some 20 Orang Asli children who were taught how to reuse and recycle natural materials found in the forest for their art and craft work, by their teachers. During the event, schoolchildren were also entertained with an ecohunt, which required them to hunt for a few plants found in the forest.
And so it begins... going the distance Azmi ShArom T he scare tactics that a r e s o beloved by the ruling coalition. We have seen it before of course. Like an evil babysitter, the BN has constantly thrilled at telling horror stories to keep us in our place. There is of course the old chestnut of 1969. They like to pull that out of their Compendium of Frightening Bedtime stories every now and again. They haven’t been using it much recently, but you never know; when they run out of ideas, it’s always there, just waiting. Then there is the race card. The main culprit for this particular horror story is of course Umno. “If Malays do not vote for us, you will be doomed! Doomed to be left behind! Doomed to have your institutions destroyed! Doomed to be ruled by heathens! And by heathens we mean the DAP specifically! Doomed I tell you! Doomed!” But it is not fair to just single them out. The MCA too does its fair share of playing the race game. The funny thing of course is that if you listen to the MCA, they are saying the same thing as their fellow partners but with an alternative twist. “If you don’t vote for us you will be doomed to be ruled by an Islamic party! No more bah kut teh for breakfast! No more Carlsberg in a tiny little glass with your supper! PAS will chop off your hands and whip you! Doomed I tell you!” So which one is it? If the people vote for Pakatan, are we going to have a heathen DAP state or are we going to have PAS fundamentalists running around with cleavers and cats o’ nine tails? But then, fairy tales aren’t meant to be logical anyway. The latest story they have cooked up is that if Pakatan lose the next general election they (the dastardly Pakatan) PROPERTY & Lifestyle Supplement 100,000 copies distributed weekly throughout Selangor & Klang Valley will resort to mass demonstrations to wrest power from the Barisan. They will use violence. OK, let’s take a look at this violence theory. The main ammunition used by the Barisan against the opposition is the Bersih 3.0 rally. During Bersih 3.0 a police car was overturned and a few barriers were pushed down. Oh my goodness! How horrific. I’ll have to sleep with my lights on now. But then, any event or ceramah deemed to be against the Ads of half page and above will be entitled for editorial write-up. Press release to be submitted before the deadline. Interviews to be granted at the discretion of writers. Size of write-up to be at editor’s discretion and will be laid out as per the Selangor Times’ style. views June 8 — 10, 2012 11 government has been pelted with eggs and stones, gangs of thugs have set of fireworks and cut power supplies, private property have been purposely damaged, people have been threatened in their own homes, intimidation has become something that one expects not a rare anomaly. All these things happen, and happen consistently yet there is hardly a peep of protest from the top leaders of the Barisan. So who is being violent? But here is the funniest thing. The BN have taken to playing the victim. They say that any opposition to them is so unfair especially since: “Our election system is wonderful. After all the Pakatan won five (oops, sorry four) states and they managed to take away Barisan’s two thirds majority in the last elections. How can our elections be dirty? Boo hoo hoo. They are so mean to accuse us of being dirty! Sniff, sob, sob”. Actually, the way I see it, the progress made by the opposition in the last general elections happened despite a flawed electoral system. It happened even with the magical mystery floating postal votes, and the amazing disproportionate electoral boundaries, and the incredibly complete and utter lack of fair coverage in the mainstream media. The fact of the matter is the people’s voice in 2008 was too strong, too overpowering and too determined to be nullified by a poor electoral system. The question is will it be stronger now? Who knows? But one thing is for certain, it is doubtful that scary bedtime stories told by wrinkly old babysitters are going to make any difference. If only the playing field was truly fair and the referees are unbiased, then the results, whatever they may be could be accepted by all and even if it is not a happy ever after ending for the losers, they will know that there will always be chance for a sequel. Selangor Times’ Property & Lifestyle Supplement focuses not only on property developments and launches but also on the latest trends affecting the home and décor. Join us to bring up-to-date news and insightful lifestyle features affecting the property industry, real estate sector and interior design. Publication Date 20 July 2012 Booking & Story Deadline 10 July 2012 Material Deadline 18 July 2012 For bookings and further information, contact your advertising agency or the following: Call us 03 5510 4566 Email: marketing@selangortimes.com Timothy - 019 267 4488 Tony - 016 978 2798 Samantha - 019 382 7121 Kenneth - 012 906 2523 Adila - 016 288 9555
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p 12 – 13 - Selangor Times

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