p 12 – 13 - Selangor Times

news
6 June 8 – 10, 2012
Tribunal to decide field’s fate
SHAH ALAM: The status of Kelana Jaya’s
football field been left in the hands of the
Selangor State Appeal Board which will
start
investigations next week.
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim
said the independent tribunal will listen to
all parties including the Selangor State
Development Corporation (PKNS), which
has proposed to develop the land, and residents
who are against the move.
“The public is welcome. We want to
make it transparent so the public will know
what happened. The Board will then decide
the right thing to do.”
He said if the Board determined the area
was indeed a “green lung”, it was then the
state’s responsibility to honour their decision.
He said the directive had already been
issued to MBPJ to set up the meeting and
it should be carried out in a week.
The meeting is scheduled to clear a mixup
as the field was gazetted as a commercial
site by the local council and as a recrea-
Selangor hosts Sikhs’ sports event
PETALING JAYA: Some 1,000 sportspersons
from the Sikh community from
Malaysia and Singapore will be vying to be
outstanding athletes during the 61st Gurdwara
Cup, Sikh Festival of Sports tournament,
which is hosted by Selangor this year.
The event, which kicked off at Petaling Jaya
City Council (MBPJ) Stadium here on
Wednesay, started yesterday and will continue
until this Sunday and will see participants
competing in hockey, football, netball,
golf and badminton.
“It is our hope that in the coming years,
other sports can be added on. A sport is included
if there is participation by a minimum
of four states,” said Selangor Sikh Association
president Amarjeet Singh.
The Gurdawara Cup championship was
last held in Selangor in 1998. It had its beginnings
in 1952 when it started in Ipoh.
States vying for this year’s medals and
trophies are Selangor, Federal Territory,
Perak, Penang, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Pahang,
Malacca, Johor, Sabah and Singapore.
Amarjeet said the games this year had attracted
the largest turnout, both at junior and
senior levels.
“It’s going to be a challenge for the organising
committee of the Selangor Sikh Association
to accommodate all the sporting
events as there are 1,000 participants and
officials involved,” he said in his opening
speech.
Event venues include the Royal Selangor
Club at Bukit Kiara, the Tun Razak Stadium
at Jalan Duta, the Education Ministry
The Selangor contingent
marching at the opening
ceremony of the
Gurdwara Cup.
Hockey Stadium in Pantai as well as the MBPJ
Stadium in Kelana Jaya and Tasik Puteri Golf
Resort.
While many participants at previous editions
of the cup started out as amateur-level
sportspersons, some have gone on to represent
the country at international level in hockey,
football and athletics, notably Datuk Santokh
Singh and Serbegeth Singh.
The event was officiated by Menteri Besar
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and was also attended
by PJ mayor Datuk Roslan Sakiman.
“This is a great event that not only fosters
healthy living, but gives many the chance to
make friends and compete in a friendly manner,”
Khalid told the athletes gathered there.
The Sri Damesh Brass Band with its bagpipers
and drummers accompanied the contingents
from the participating states as they
marched into the stadium.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here
has ruled that Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua
is liable for defamation in his remarks against
water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor
(Syabas).
Justice Amelia Tee Hong Geok Abdullah
ordered Pua to pay RM200,000 in damages
with a four per cent interest per annum, dismissing
the lawmaker’s defence of qualified privilege
and fair comment in making the statement.
“The defendant by failing to present all relevant
facts such as the CAPEX (capital expenditures)
freeze, the rights to tariff increase and
the refusal of the state government to any increase,
would result in the impugned words to
be not a fair comment,” she ruled in chambers
here on Wednesday.
Pua was sued for statements reported in a
Chinese daily where he said Syabas was incompetent
in managing water supply, as it was mired
in debts and unable to replace old water pipes
as a result.
The Nov 16, 2010 Nanyang Siang Pau article,
titled “Tony Pua: Selangor government
must have water rights to prevent rate hike”, also
reported Pua as saying that the water producer
was making improper claims to raise the tariff
by 37 per cent, to the detriment of consumers
in Selangor.
In her 49-page decision, the judge said Pua
tional site by the state planning department.
Redevelopment of the 30-year-old field
in SS7, which once hosted cricket matches
during the 1998 Commonwealth Games,
has been strongly opposed by residents.
It was reported that a protest by 200
people against the redevelopment was held
at the field on June 3.
Read more, Tweet less
PETALING JAYA: Instead of focusing
on social media, Malaysians should spend
more time reading books to become a
matured society, said Bukit Lanjan lawmaker
Elizabeth Wong.
She was speaking to a crowd of several
dozen parents and children at the launch
of the Story-Telling Festival last Sunday in
Bandar Utama.
"If more Malaysians loved books and
read them widely, I believe we could be a
tolerant, knowledgeable, and progressive
society with fewer banning of books. Unfortunately,
Malaysians don't read as much
as we ought to," said Wong.
She was referring to the recent banning
of Allah, Liberty, and Love, a book by
Canadian author Irshad Manji.
Wong said it can be hard to find time to
read in this day and age, but it is important
for people to spend time doing so.
"Books don't just contain words, they
carry within them wonderful stories, inspired
imagination, powerful ideas and
passionate arguments."
Jointly organised by the Bukit Lanjan
Community Service Centre and the Picture
Books Fan Club,, the story-telling
festival at the Petaling Jaya Municipal
Council (MBPJ) multipurpose hall,
Bandar Utama, was well received by the
community.
The event featured prominent storytellers
"Uncle Fat" from Taiwan, "Mama
Tok", Judith Anne Shaik, Sophie Lee, Kang
Lee Eng, Isis, Lim Meng Sin and Yeow
Fong Wei. Also present was MBPJ councillor
Chan Chee Kong.
Pua ordered to pay Syabas
had failed to prove Syabas’ failure to repay its
debts or replace water pipes was due to incompetence
or mismanagement or that the proposal
to increase water tariff by 37 per cent was
improper.
She also upheld an injunction on Pua from
repeating the claims.
Syabas claimed in its January 2011 suit that
Pua’s statements had affected its reputation and
goodwill and had subjected it to public ridicule,
resulting in it suffering injury to its trade and
business.
Pua, in defence, said his statements came
following articles published in The Star, The Sun
and The Edge as well as statements issued by
Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, which owns a
majority stake in Syabas.
The MP, who is also a member of Selangor
Water Review Panel, said he took reasonable
steps to verify his information, which was based
on those news reports.
He applied for Syabas’ suit to be dismissed
with costs and furthermore filed a counter-claim
alleging that the claim was unwarranted and
without basis.
He claimed the suit was frivolous, vexatious
and an abuse of the court process, which resulted
in him suffering losses and damages due
to unnecessary harassment and expenses, including
legal costs.