2009 in a Nutshell

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

2009 in a Nutshell

Proposed Development of a 9 storey commercial building on Telekom land in USJ 6 (opposite True Fitness, Taipan)

On 28 October 2009, the councillors in MPSJ made a decision to revoke the Development Order given to the developer for the development of a 9 storey commercial building on Telekom's land reserved for telecommunication use in USJ 6.

According to S25 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976, no revocation shall have effect until confirmed by the State Planning Committee (selected State Excos are members of the State Planning Committee). I hope the State Planning Committee will do the right thing by preserving utility lands. We await their decision. I am committed to this cause - to ensure that unsustainable development does not take place under the Pakatan Rakyat government in the Subang Jaya constituency.

Gated & Guarded
A special consultation session was held recently in MPSJ together with MPSJ councillors for USJ zone - Rajiv Rishyakaran and Arumugam A/L Kalimuthu (rep), USJ Residents’ Association and representatives from all over USJ 1 to USJ 23. The discussion focused mainly on ways to improve the current guidelines pertaining to gated & guarded scheme and brainstorming on ways to address the challenges and limitations of such a scheme. MPSJ has started a sub-committee led by councillor Roslan Shahir, tasked at tackling gated & guarded scheme. A special state-wide town hall meeting will also be held by the Selangor State Government to look into this issue and how it affects every local council and residential community.

The Home Ministry must allocate more manpower and resources in urban constituencies such as Subang Jaya. The presence of policemen must be felt on the streets. We need an admission that security is a pivotal concern and there should not be an assignment of such a responsibility to foreign guards. Some residents have suggested that MPSJ should take up the role of the police by promoting or adopting crime prevention measures. While I personally think this is a good-to-have approach, we must not forget that ultimately the responsibility lies with the police force under the purview of the Home Ministry. I do not think we should reinvent or delegate such a duty to other agencies such as MPSJ. MPSJ should focus on improving basic infrastructure amenities and ensuring sustainable development in our township.

I have said it many times and I will reiterate the same here – gated & guarded should not be a long term solution in reducing crime. Once the Home Ministry allocates sufficient manpower here, residents should not have to pay extra (in addition to their income tax!) for security guards anymore.

Subang-Kelana Link
I am aware of the horrendous traffic jam in the evening at Persiaran Kewajipan ever since the opening of the Subang-Kelana Link. Passing and weaving traffic from nearby townships like Puchong and Kota Kemuning has made the drive home for Subang Jaya folks very unpleasant.
Also, the Subang Jaya Buddhist Association and Sri Varatharajah Perumal Temple in SS13 have collectively collected more than 1000 signatures petitioning for JKR to fulfil its promise of building a pedestrian bridge in front of their premises as part of the Subang-Kelana Link project.
I will continue to pursue this with JKR and the Ministry of Works.

Approaching year end
So quickly, we are in the month of November already. This year has truly been an eventful year. Notably, my friend - the late Teoh Beng Hock’s death has marred my 2009. Nevertheless, I am reminded that all across the world and all throughout history, the path for those involved in nation building and change was and will never be an easy one.
Having said that, I continue to fix my eyes on the goals I have set for myself in politics and they are:
(1)    To remain clean in politics
(2)    To make Subang Jaya a better place
(3)    To be a good role model and to give hope to the future generation
I remain committed and faithful to these goals, 19 months after being entrusted by the people of Subang Jaya to serve.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...”