community August 26 — 28, 2011/ issue 39

Privacy appeal for DUMC Dozen

The long sTruggle for Trial

p 9 p 12 & 13

local choir's firsT inTernaTional ouTing p 6

• Turn To page 2

Green Homes initiative lauded

By Alvin Yap

PeTaling JaYa: Petaling Jaya has become the second city in the world to reward owners whose home have energ y- and water-saving innovations and who recycle.

Former Malaysian Institute of Architects (MIA) president Dr Tan Loke Mun said only Freiburg, Germany has previously offered rebates on assessment rates to home owners.

“I’m amazed. I thought I’d see this in Europe only. For a local government to spearhead an initia-tive to reward ratepayers to go green in their homes is amazing,” said the architect and green build-ing consultant.

He lauded the Petaling Jaya City Council (MPPJ) for offering 100% rebates on the next assessment rate to owners.

Tan, who is a panellist on an independent accreditation com-mittee that audits and confers Green Building Index (GBI) rat-ings, suggested that the move be extended.

He proposed a new category where Joint Management Boards of apartments, flats and condomini-ums could participate.

MBPJ councillors who spoke to Selangor Times said they could see the potential in the idea because rebate savings could be channelled into a collective fund, most notably a condominium mandatory Sink-ing Fund.

“It’s an idea that we intend to chase further when the time comes,” said councillor Terence Tan.

The notion was agreed upon by fellow councillor Khairul Anwar.

The initiative was launched by MBPJ Mayor Datuk Roslan Saki-man on Monday.

"The first 100 green homes cho-sen by panel of environmentalists

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.

orphans from persatuan Kebajikan anak Yatim dan Miskin al-Munirah being treated to a buka puasa feast by première Hotel Klang.

• STorY on page 18

stand to receive up to RM500 off their 2012 assessment rates, [or 100%], whichever is lower,” said Roslan.

The judges include environ-mental experts from around the country.

The sustainable homes will be assessed based on energy and wa-ter conservation, as well as recy-

cling of food and solid waste.The incentive is cumulative,

and households with more green initiatives or facilities will receive a higher chance of obtaining the rebate.

Among the initiatives that will be considered are solar water heat-ing , use of energ y-saving Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs, and

the installation of a rainwater har-vesting system, along with turning food waste into compost.

The rebate will be credited to the winners’ MBPJ assessment account to offset next year’s assessment rates.

Roslan said the scheme seeks to reward ratepayers who have taken

‘Milestone’ initiative by MBPJ

phone (603) 5510 4566fax (603) 5523 1188

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2 August 26 — 28, 2011

newsGreen benefits

PETALING JAYA: Green-building designer and architect Dr Tan Loke Mun is applying for MBPJ’s assessment rebate scheme to create greater awareness of the benefits of going green.

Tan’s home in Section 11 is one of the greenest in Malaysia, and was awarded a Platinum-category certification in April 2010.

His energy- and water-conservation initiatives have seen his electricity bill drop to RM190 from RM700. He accomplished this by changing incandescent bulbs to energy-saving ones, as well as opting for energy-saving appliances.

He said the monthly savings would justify the investment into appliances that have the international Five Star Energy Rating, which are proven to consume less power.

He further said rainwater-harvesting systems can reduce consumption of treated water. Rainwater can be collected off roofs using a catchment system, and the water can be used for gardening, housekeeping and to flush the toilets.

Tan added that buildings can be kept cooler if the sides with more windows are designed to face a north-south orientation, away from the morning and afternoon sun.

He suggested that Selangor create a first by having new de-velopers build according to the north-south orientation.

Tan, who started going green five years ago, cited other green Do-It-Yourself projects that households could embark on.

He proposed that households use ventilation fans to draw hot air out from living room areas, instead of the area between the ceiling and roof.

Tan claimed that most homes in Malaysia are under-insulat-ed from the tropical heat, as the space under the roof usually does not contain sufficient insulating material. He said the material is not expensive and is available from construction companies, or can be installed by renovation companies.

“People don’t see the advantage of going green,” Tan con-cluded. “It’s something that enhances our quality of life, and saves our environment from damage while saving money.”

their own initiative to adopt green technologies.

He said a panel of experts from sustainable-development and environ-mental non-governmental organisa-tions will visit the participants to as-sess and verify the technologies in-stalled in their homes.

He said the “first come first served” 100 places will be expanded next year if there is wide reception from ratepayers.

Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong said the move was a milestone among MBPJ’s initiatives, and lauded the scheme as an elected representative in Petaling Jaya.

“Furthermore, I applaud the initia-tive as a resident of PJ,” said Wong, who is also the state executive council-lor for environment.

She said pollution in the city could be reduced or contained through such initiatives, and hoped other local

• From page one

No Raya return for EO trioBy Gan Pei Ling

SHAH ALAM: Three youths who have been banished from Selangor under the Emergency Ordinance will likely spend Raya away from their families after their appeal for release was adjourned to Oct 5.

Md Arif Abu Samah, 19, Md Rafe Md Ali, 20, and Md Ramadhan Md Ali, 22 from Batu Caves have been living in exile separately in Johor, Kedah and Pahang respectively since May 17 for alleged motorcycle theft (see pages 12 and 13).

The application for temporary leave for Hari Raya was heard and recorded yesterday during their application for judicial review to nullify their two-year Restricted Residence Order.

They are seeking declaration that the restriction order is invalid, null and void, and a mandamus order from the High Court to order the Prime Minister and Malaysian government to advise the King to lift the Emer-gency Proclamation of 1969 and/or repeal the Emergency Ordinance en-

acted during that period.In addition, the trio is

also seeking punitive, ag-gravated and exemplar y damages from the four re-spondents: the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Home Minister, Prime Minister and the Malaysian government.

They are serving a two-year Restricted Residence Order is-sued under Section 4A(1) Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Crime Prevention) 1969.

Their lawyers wrote to the Attor-ney-General’s Chambers to lift the two-year restriction order temporar-ily during Hari Raya so the trio can return here to celebrate the festival with their families.

“We hope the court will [at least] record the trio’s application to be al-lowed home for Raya,” one of their lawyers, Syahredzan Johan, told the Shah Alam High Court yesterday.

Under the Restricted Residence Order, the trio cannot leave the dis-trict they are currently living in with-

out police permission, must stay in-doors from 8pm to 6am daily and re-port to the local police station weekly.

Justice Datuk Ahmad Zaki Husni pointed out that the jurisdiction to lift the Restricted Residence Order tem-porarily lies with the police and not with the Attorney-General’s Cham-bers.

The court advised the lawyers to apply directly to the local district police stations for the Raya leave on behalf of their clients.

The court adjourned the hearing to Oct 5 as the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ counsel Nor Hisham Is-mail requested more time to prepare objections to the prayers related to the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance.

governments would follow in MBPJ’s footsteps when their budgets permit.

Entry forms can be downloaded from the city council website at http://www.mbpj.gov.my/web/guest/home, and are also available on Residents As-

sociation or Rukun Tetangga premises.Closing date for entries is Oct 21. The entry form also contains the list

of energy, water and waste-recyling criteria for households to receive the rebate.

(From left) Councillor Kahirul anwar, Wong, roslan and councillor richard Yeoh.

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Interior and exterior of Tan’s home.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ August 26 – 28, 2011 ⁄ 311UTAMASelangorkini 26 Ogos - 2 Sept 2011

4 ⁄ August 26 – 28, 2011 ⁄ SELANGOR TIMES

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ August 26 – 28, 2011 ⁄ 5

6 August 26 — 28, 2011

News

Local choir to pay tribute to Aussie Diggers

Cheryl and pianist Nish Tham after rehearsal.

MB’s open houseSelangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is inviting the public to his Hari Raya open house on the first day of Raya. The event will start at 11am and end at 3pm in the compound of Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam.

Dance competitionThe residents committee of USJ 2-15 and PSJ 7, 9 and 11 will hold a dance workshop and competition with prizes worth RM3,000 up for grabs. The workshop will be held on Sept 3 from 9am to 8pm at Urban Groove Dance Academy Taipan. The competition will be held the following day from 3pm to 6.15pm at the Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall. Registration is required. For more details, call 012-2133860 (Jason) or 017-2113550 (Vivian).

Heritage tourThe Central Market Heritage Walk for tourists and locals is on until Aug 31. The tour is useful for those keen to know more about the history of Kuala Lumpur and its early establishment. The walk starts from the Central Market information counter at 10.30am daily. For more details, visit www.centralmarket.com.my.

Buddhism coursesThe Subang Jaya Buddhist Association will hold intermediate courses every Friday starting on Sept 23. For five consecutive weeks, the courses will cover Buddhist views on contemporary issues and Buddhist living. Each session will last from 8.30pm to 10pm. For more information, call 03-56348181 (Lily).

Children’s performanceOperafest Children’s Choir Malaysia will perform at the PJ Live Arts Centre, Jaya One, Section 13, on Aug 27 and 28 in aid of Save a Stray Organisation. Operafest, which has been around for 25 years, will perform a repertoire of everlasting classics. The minimum ticket price is RM30, but audiences are welcome to donate as much as they please. For more information, call 017-8884081 (Tho) or visit www.operafestchildrenchoir.com.

Dogathon 2011The Students’ Society of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Veternak) and Zoologico Club University Putra Malaysia (UPM) will hold their 15th annual Dogathon on Oct 2. Proceeds will go towards a welfare project called “Pro-Kasih”, which aims to raise awareness of neglected animals. The event will be held at Bukit Ekspo UPM from 6.30am to 2pm. Activities include a 2.5 kilometre dog and master run, catch and fetch, and hide-and-seek for owners and dogs. For more details, call 013-3792124 (Nur Afiqah) or 012-3205065 (Ms Lee) or email dogathonpublicity@gmail.com or dogathon@vet.upm.edu.my, or visit www.vet.upm.edu/~dogathon.

Free coaching handbookCorporate Coach Academy (CCA), a ICF coach-learning institute, and the Malaysian Association of Certified Coaches (MACC) are offering free handbooks on how to embark on coach learning journeys. For more information, call 03-62054488 (Ng Koon Kow) or visit www.corporate-coachacademy.com.

EvEnts

By Alvin Yap

PETALING JAYA: The Philharmonic Society of Selangor’s first performance overseas next week will be for former Australian soldiers in Perth, who served in Malaysia during the Emergency.

“We’re honoured to perform for the soldiers who served to defend Malaya before and after independence,” said choir director Cheryl Teh at the sidelines of their last re-hearsal here.

The 53 cast members will sing a medley of songs from the 1950s and 1960s, among them the late P Ramlee’s Getaran Jiwa.

The favourite local oldie was chosen be-cause the soldiers had heard it sung by the singer-actor himself over the radio.

The community-based choral group was formed in 1958, making it one of the oldest and most established performing arts societ-ies in Malaysia.

During the practice, the full ensemble sang an eerily perfect cover of the song, reaching the right notes and hitting the right pitch.

The group will perform at the Soldiers’ Commemorative Day performance at the famous King’s Park in Perth, near a ceno-taph that lists the deeds of former soldiers in Australia’s overseas wars.

Cheryl said the members from the Ma-layan-Borneo War Veterans will turn up to listen to the 45-minute performance.

The Negaraku will be sung because the main performance falls on Aug 31, and also because it was requested by former soldiers who had heard it while serving here.

The Australian Army was involved in the Malayan Emergency from 1955, and Australian soldiers remained in the region until 1963.

Many more stayed on to take up various postings in the newly independent country.

However, the highlight of the show will be a rendition of the poignant Selamat Pergi Pahlawanku, or Farewell, My Warrior.

The song is often performed at wreath-laying ceremonies to commemorate War-rior’s Day in Malaysia, and will be sung for the former Australian soldiers’ fallen comrades.

Malaysian Consul General Hamidah Ashari will also attend the performance.

Cheryl, who took over the conductor’s baton two years ago, said the choir is ready

for its first overseas performance in its 53-year history.

“In a sense we are always ready, as we meet weekly to practise,” she said, adding that the choir had been practising three times a week over the past three months for the Perth performance.

Teh pointed out that the group per-forming in Western Australia is not the full ensemble, as the full Philharmonic choir rounds out at over 100 choral singers.

She said the group going to Perth was limited by the availability of funds, and the airfare was borne by members them-selves.

The choir will represent Malaysia, and each member will also be decked in batik shirts for the men, and sarong kebaya and selendang scarves for the women performers.

The Philharmonic society is on a five-day tour to Western Australia, and will also perform the annual First Day of Spring Concert at the Mandurah Per-forming Arts Centre.

In recognition of the group’s ability, they were invited to take part in another respected venue, namely the Interna-tional Spring Choral Festival Concert in Bunbury, some 175km south of Perth.

Male soloist Edmund Goh, 26, will sing some of the most famous hits from the 1960s and 1970s, mostly songs from the Beatles and ABBA.

“I’m excited to perform overseas, this is a dream come true,” the tenor said, add-ing that the group realises that they are acting as ambassadors for Malaysia.

During the practice session here in Petaling Jaya, the group gave a taste of their ability to harmonise and sing as a choir.

Soprano counterpart Wong Hui Lee, 29, described it was an “incredible jour-ney” for her as an amateur performer.

Wong joined the choir after she was dragged to the rehearsals only last year, but found out that she could sing well.

Both Goh and Wong said they were exposed to oldies from the Beatles, ABBA and other evergreen songs.

“I wish my family, especially my father, could hear me in Perth. He is the one who sang the Beatles to me,” Wong said, adding that she came from a family of amateur singers.

Her favourite singer is the late crooner Frank Sinatra, also known as Old Blue Eyes.

Membership to the Selangor Philhar-monic Society is open to the public, and the group will hold audition intakes this coming September.

Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan

yang ke-54daripada

Tan Sri abdul Khalid ibrahimdaTo' menTeri beSar Selangor,dan KeraJaan negeri Selangor

The Phil during the last week of rehearsals before the Perth performance.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ August 26 – 28, 2011 ⁄ 7

8 AUGUST 26 — 28, 2011

NEWS

By Brenda Ch’ng

SUBANG JAYA: Councillors unanimously voted on a resolution to amend the council’s parking bylaw, adding three new provisions, during the full board meeting on Wednesday.

The new provisions include legalising designated parking spaces in side and back lanes; the one-hour parking system, which started in Taipan; and the clamp-ing of cars that are in breach of the law.

“With these items gazetted and recognised in the bylaw, we plan to implement them throughout the municipality,” said Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) president Datuk Asmawi Kasbi.

This amendment to the bylaw comes in the wake of successful implementation of one-hour parking in Taipan from July last year.

Under this system, office workers who park for the whole day have to use multistorey parking bays, leaving public parking in front of shoplots available for custom-ers and those going to banks.

“Being the busiest business centre in USJ, the system reduces double parking and optimises the use of parking spaces,” said Asmawi.

The amendment to the bylaw further secures the one-hour system to be a permanent implementation in Subang, he said.

Meanwhile, the addition of parking boxes in side and back lanes will also help reduce parking woes in busy commercial areas around Subang Jaya.

“We currently have side and back lane parking boxes drawn up in USJ 9, used as a pilot project to study the effectiveness of it,” said MPSJ councillor R Rajiv.

He said by optimising the use of side and back lanes, more parking spaces can be created to lessen parking woes faced by residents every day.

Rajiv pointed out that by inserting this into the bylaw, parking in side and back lanes is now legal, and MPSJ can move forward by creating more parking spaces.

Both the one-hour parking and extra parking are crucial to avoid clamping of illegally parked cars by MPSJ officers.

Councillors make history by leading bylaw amendments

Parking in a side alley in Subang Jaya.

SUBANG JAYA: The Subang Jaya Municipal Coun-cil (MPSJ) has been urged to reconsider its decision to reject an application to turn shoplots into hostels for foreign workers.

Local Councillor R Rajiv, who raised the issue during the full b o a r d m e e t i n g o n Wednesday, said the application was reject-e d mere ly b e cause MPSJ did not have guidelines on it.

“I don’t see why the shop lot cannot b e turned into a hostel, just because the council do not have guidelines

permitting it,” said Rajiv.He said he had received a recent complaint from a

company in Taipan.Rajiv said the company manager’s intention was to

convert the upper floors into accommodation for his workers to live in.

However, the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) does not permit such accommodation as it is not in any of its laws.

“I hope the council can deliberate and come up with a guideline for hostels in shoplots to accommodate foreign workers who do not have anywhere else to live,” he said.

Rajiv urged the council to look into this matter, and to consider drawing up a set of guidelines and approve hostel accommodation in shoplots.

MPSJ president Datuk Asmawi Kasbi has agreed to look into this matter and work on a guideline.

Rajiv urges MPSJ to approve shoplot hostels SUBANG JAYA: Eyebrows

were raised at a full board meet-ing here when the Revenue Department sought approval for an overseas trips for a job well done.

The Subang Jaya Municipal Council’s (MPSJ) Finance De-partment proposed the trip as a reward for the entire Revenue Department, which exceeded ex-pectations in revenue collection last year.

“It is not fair for the 40 staff from the department to get bo-

nuses and not the rest,” said coun-cillor R Rajiv.

Rajiv said he had no problem with performance-based bonuses, but not for rewarding only one single department.

“The bonus system and rewards given should be fair. All depart-ments should be involved and re-warded if they deserve it,” he said.

He pointed out that the coun-cil should recognise incentives across the board. 

The council has yet to decide on the proposal.

Proposal for overseas trip causes a stir

SUBANG JAYA: The RM10 flat rate discount for traffic summonses has been extended by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) until the end of next month.

“The public should take advan-tage of this extension and pay RM10 for each of their unpaid summonses dating back to 1999,” said MPSJ president Datuk As-mawi Kasbi.

MPSJ had initially aimed to collect RM6.2 million before the offer was extended to Sept 30.

The extension was tabled and approved during the council’s full board meeting on Wednesday.

Asmawi said this is the final chance for residents to pay a low flat rate instead of RM80.

“We hope that by Sept 30, we can collect more than RM6.2 mil-lion. I think we can do it as we are already nearing the one million mark,” he said.

The campaign, which was sched-

uled to end on Aug 19, has col-lected RM866,347 since its launch on July 1. 

To date, MPSJ has 1,278,388 unpaid summonses amounting to RM100 million, most dating back to1999.

“We can get more payments set-tled if we publicise this campaign via social networking sites online,” said MPSJ councillor Tan Jo Hann.

He urged the council to put up banners on Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites to inform the public of this campaign and its ex-tension.

Meanwhile, those who do not pay their summonses after Sept 30 will have to face the consequences, including clamping and towing of their vehicles in addition to being blacklisted by the Road Transport Department.

Also, court orders will be issued to offenders after two months of unpaid recorded summonses.

Flat rate discount extended

R Rajiv

SUBANG JAYA: The municipal council’s online complaint system has come under fire by local councillors for being ineffective.  

“It’s not good enough because complainants are still required to hand in a hard copy with their signature on it,” said Subang Jaya Municipal Coun-cillor (MPSJ) R Rajiv.

He said this move defeats the whole purpose of the complaint system being online and accessible from home.

However, MPSJ president Datuk Asmawi Kasbi argues that hard copies are necessary as it is a more legitimate document.

“Usually official forms need to be signed and acknowledged to be true. This can’t be done online,” he said.

Asmawi stresses that hard copies of complaint forms are easier to manage and be sorted out by the respective departments.

Rajiv disagreed and remains adamant that the

online system can be taken a step further.“Instead of spending RM100,000 on that online

system, why not move to bring other council ser-vices online?” said Rajiv during the council’s full board meeting.

He was referring to other services like licence application forms, renewal forms, pet licensing, booking and rental of council halls and facilities, and bill payments.

Online complaint system inaccessible

Datuk Asmawi Kasbi

9August 26 — 28, 2011

News

Klang MP wants MACC trio charged

Lawyer appeals for privacy for DUMC DozenSHAH ALAM: A Syariah lawyer representing the 12 Muslims who attended a dinner at a church recently has urged the public and media to respect his clients’ privacy.

“Some print and electronic media are so irresponsible as to disclose the identities and per-sonal details of my clients,” said Muhamad Burok.

He said in a press state-ment on Wednesday that his clients might be subject to harassment and have their personal safety and security endangered due to the expo-sure.

He expressed regret that the controversy has caused the fanning of public sentiments which could incite religious tensions among Malaysians.

“We call upon everyone to refrain from making disparag-ing remarks in publications and postings in order to bring calm and perspective to our reli-giously diverse community,” he added.

Muhamad warned against calling his clients apostates, as accusing any Muslim person of being “murtad” can be tanta-

mount to the offence of “Takfil”.The offence is punishable

by a fine of RM5,000 or less, a maximum jail term of three years, or both, under the Sya-riah Criminal Offences Act 1997.

“Let us act with introspec-tion and circumspection to assist in the administration of justice in accordance with the Federal Constitution and the rule of law,” he said.

The 12 Muslims were pre-sent at a function organised by non-governmental organisa-tion Harapan Komuniti at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC).

The church was raided ear-lier this month by the Selan-gor Islamic Religious Depart-ment ( Jais), who had claimed that they received complaints that Muslims were present at the event.

The NGO has insisted that they were just raising funds for needy Malaysians.

While the DUMC 12 have yet to be charged in court, the Selangor state government has ordered Jais to present a full report on its raid.

By Brenda Ch’ng

KLANG: Three Malaysian  Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers implicated in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the death of Teoh Beng Hock should face criminal prosecution, said Charles Santiago.

The Klang Member of Parliament, who lodged a police report against the trio on Tuesday, said they must be held accountable for the death of the for-mer DAP political aide.

“According to the RCI report, Teoh was bullied and tortured while being interrogated by three MACC officers,” he said.

The report also stated that the of-ficers lied about the conduct of the interrogation.

“This is proof enough. I hope the police will look into the case im-mediately, while at the same time conduct a clean and neutral investi-gation,” said Santiago.

Justice has to be found for both Teoh and his family members, who were forced to believe he had commit-ted suicide, he said.

Teoh was found dead on the fifth floor rooftop of Plaza Masalam in

Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, after being interrogated by MACC.

He was brought to MACC head-quarters on July 15 as a witness to graft allegations.

The interrogation, which lasted nine hours, finally ended at 3.45am on July 16 when he was released. 

However, he was found dead at 1.30pm. 

“From the report by RCI, we found many elements of criminality which suggest that Teoh was murdered,” said

Klang councillor Robert Choo.Choo was among councillors who

were at the Klang district police head-quarters to call for the investigation of the MACC officers.

Lawyer Ivan Ho, who is also a Klang councillor, said MACC should work with the police and ensure those respon-sible for the death face justice.

“Why isn’t the police doing any-thing? The proof is out there. They shouldn’t wait for a report to be made before investigating the death,” said Ho.

Ho (third left), Santiago (fifth left) and Choo (third right) with other councillors in front of the Klang police headquarters.

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10 August 26 — 28, 2011

News

MPS to regulate hawkers outside school compound

Illegal scrapyards, businesses closedBy Alvin Yap

PETALING JAYA: All but seven illegal scrapyards, which have been a bane to residents here for the past two decades, have ceased operations.

“Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has shut down 50 scrap-yards as part of a taskforce with other enforcement authorities,” said councillor Latheefa Koya, who described the recent operations as a success.

She said in the past, such illegal businesses had proven to be resil-ient.

She credited the successful op-erations this time around to the concerted efforts of the Selangor Land Office, the police, and utili-ties concessionaires like Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

Latheefa said the illegal scrap-yards mostly operated in the Petal-ing Jaya Selatan area of Jalan Rail-way 1/2, PJS 3/55 and PJS 6/1 Kampung Lindungan.

She said MBPJ had formed a committee in October 2008 to regulate the unlicensed scrapyards due to the potential health and safety hazards they were posing to residential communities.

“These places breed aedes mos-quitoes (which spread dengue fe-ver); they are a fire and safety haz-ard to the neighbourhood,” the lawyer said after the council’s full board meeting on Wednesday.

She said MBPJ had sent out its own team to ascertain how many scrapyards were operating in the city area.

With 50 of 57 lots closed down, this meant an 88% success rate.

Head enforcement chief Mohd Fauzi Maarop added that seven “very errant” scrapyards had started operating very recently.

“I’m informed that the selling and trading of scrap metal and other recycled items is a lucrative business. As long as there’s demand

and supply, these illegal businesses will persist,” he said.

Fauzi said his department had fenced up the former scrapyards after sealing up the premises to discourage operators from starting up again.

In a related matter, MBPJ has also come down hard on illegal businesses, especially used car lots in the city.

It has identified 21 illegal busi-nesses around the Jalan 18 area at Taman Kanagapuram here, which have repeatedly ignored MBPJ summonses.

“Ratepayers there are up in arms that their residential area is being turned into an industrial lot,” said Latheefa.

She pointed out that most of the used car and accessories sales lots are unlicensed, and have been slapped with MBPJ summonses numerous times for flouting coun-cil by-laws.

However, MBPJ decided re-cently to clamp down on the illegal businesses. There are nine lots are still operating, while the rest have closed down.

She said the remaining operators have indicated that they are willing to relocate on their own.

“After showing to these errant unlicensed traders that we are seri-ous, the rest are shifting,” Latheefa concluded.

By Tang Hui Koon

SELAYANG: The local council here will set up a set of guidelines to ensure hawkers’ stalls do not cause traffic congestion during school hours.

The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) plans to ensure that vendors are stationed at least 200 metres from the main gates of any school, in the guidelines to be drawn up in the next two months.

MPS president Datuk Zainal Abidin Aala said many licensed and unlicensed hawkers have been flouting the local council’s absolute ban to trade outside any school compounds.

He added that the local council has yet to receive any formal com-plaints from parents, but school authorities have voiced out their concerns.

Therefore, MPS decided to set up guidelines to regulate the hawk-ers’ movement, and it will be first implemented in nine schools in and around Kampung Laksamana, Kampung Bendahara and Sungai Tua.

Before the guidelines are ready, Zainal said MPS enforcement offi-cers would monitor the hawkers to ensure they do not cause traffic congestion around the schools.

He was speaking to reporters after chairing the local council’s monthly full board meeting.

Meanwhile, a female enforce-ment officer who was involved with a fight with an acquaintance within the local council’s building last

By Basil Foo

SHAH ALAM: Clean ing contractors will be monitored by teams set up by the  Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) before they are paid for their work.

“We have told the contractors that we mean business. Every month before payment, we will check if their work is done prop-erly,” said MBSA mayor Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan.

Speaking to reporters after chairing the MBSA full board meeting on Wednesday, he said they would set up 20 audit teams to check on the city’s cleanliness.

He said the teams would com-prise councillors and officers from various departments.

“Each team will be assigned four or five areas. It would mean more work for us, but at least we make sure the places are kept clean,” he said.

Since the local councils took over cleaning operations from Alam Flora, MBSA has acquired additional equipment like lorries, sports utility vehicles and water tanks.

However, he said the council would be retaining the 163 clean-ing contractors previously hired by Alam Flora for a three-month transition period.

“During this period, we will observe the people’s reaction be-fore deciding to renew their con-tracts or looking for new contrac-tors,” Mohd Jaafar said.

month has been transferred to do administrative work until the in-ternal inquiry into the incident concludes.

Zainal said preliminary investiga-tion into the fight has been com-pleted, and the female officer, who has been working for the local council for the past decade, is ex-pected to appear before the panel

soon to explain herself.“The inquiry panel will then

decide on the fate of the officer and submit their final decision to me,” he said.

If the female officer is found guilty of violating civil servants’ regulations, she will either be de-moted or fired.

The officer was allegedly in-volved in the fight due to personal affairs, and the victim, who was hospitalised, lodged a police report against her.

The female officer is being inves-tigated by both the local council and the police.

Audit teams to monitor contractors

Datuk Mohd Jaafar

Datuk Zainal Aibidin Aala

Latheefa Koya

New

!

11August 26 — 28, 2011

views

The virtuous buffalo

My family’s traditions, by right, should be alien to the Malay traditions as practised today, but years of assimilation have carved away what little of West Sumatra we had since the migration.”

The writer’s great-grandmother.

Tripping Zero 3 Sharyn Shufiyan

I f I had been born in the 1930s, I w o u l d m o s t l i k e l y b e recognised as Minangkabau.

Minangkabau is thought to have been a conjunction of “minang/menang”, meaning victorious, and “kabau”, meaning buffalo.

The story has it that a territorial dispute between the people and a prince was settled by a fight between two water buffalos. The prince brought a mighty buffalo, while the people brought a hungry baby buffalo with its horns sharpened.

The mighty buffalo, thinking it was just a baby, paid no heed to it, but the baby buffalo thrust its head against the buffalo looking for an udder, and its sharp horns punctured the belly, eventually killing it. And so, the people won the dispute.

My paternal family was not Mel-ayu, and to be recognised as one denies my lineage and the history that comes with it. The Minangka-bau people originated from West Sumatra and borders Riau to the east, Jambi to the south and Mandai-ling to the north.

The capital of Minangkabau is Padang. The Minangkabau are fur-ther distinguished by clans such as Koto, like my grandmother Aishah, and Sikumbang, like my grandfather Shukur, among many others.

However, Minangkabau are not allowed to marry within the same clan. My grandfather had an old flame who also happened to be a Sikumbang, and his mother would not have it. She had preferred my grandmother instead, and had

“booked” her very early on. “Yang ini untuk Ujang ,” my

grandmother recalled her soon-to-be mother-in-law had said then. Although it was an arranged mar-riage, love eventually blossomed between the two, and till today, you can’t really take my grandpar-ents apart!

My grandmother’s mother, Dan-dalina, or Nek Dan as I remembered her by, came from Pariaman. She had left Pariaman with her father, who had opened the first Padang restau-rant in Jelebu. My father had piped: “They were kaki buka restoran”, and my grandmother’s family had opened many Padang restaurants in Johor and Singapore.

Dandalina married Baharuddin

when she was only 15, and subse-quently my grandmother was born in 1936.

The Minangkabau are famed for being merchants, and my great-grandmother was no exception. Often times she had travelled back to Pariaman trading batik and other goods.

My grandfather, on the other hand, was born in a shophouse in Beranang in 1926. His father, Ali, was Minangkabau from Jelebu, while his grandmother, Kandaha-run, was from Sungai Limau in the district of Pariaman. They had lived in Kampung Jalan Enam Kaki, right at the border of Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

My grandfather used to travel every day from Beranang to study at the Kajang High School, which was founded in 1919. During the Japanese Occupation, he enrolled at a school near the Japanese navy air base in Seletar, Singapore. He studied at Nasyo Koen Yoseijo (as my grandfather recalled) for four years, and later taught basic Japa-nese to new students.

World War II happened while he was still teaching at the school. He was due to continue his studies in Japan when he was advised against doing so for fear the ship would be bombed by British forces. True enough, had he gone, I might not have existed!

Towards the end of World War II, the airbase was bombed by B29s. My grandfather managed to escape to Johor, but not before helping to carry corpses, many of whom were workers at the base.

When my great-grandparents migrated from West Sumatra to Malaya, it seemed that they had left the Minangkabau adat and language behind and assimilated with the Malays of Malaya.

Both my grandparents do not practise the traditional Adat Pepatih, with which the Minangkabau people are so closely identified. Neither can they speak authentic Minang of West Sumatra, albeit my grandfather speaks the Negri Sembilan version. The elders of my grandmother’s family still retain the West Sumatran dialect, but the mother tongue was lost with the younger generations.

Indonesian ethnic groups are

identified geographically, from the area which they originated from and the culture, language and tradition that are unique to the area. For me, it is important to distinguish that “Malay” as an ethnicity refers to a group of people originating from and inhabiting East Sumatra, which spans Jambi, Riau and Deli.

My family’s traditions, by right, should be alien to the Malay traditions as practised today, but years of assimilation have carved away what little of West Sumatra we had since the migration. I have been reduced to only romanticised and imagined notions of a group that I have no connection with.

Even if I had a choice to identify myself as a Minangkabau, I can neither speak the language, nor have I even been to Minangkabau.

With the increase of the Ketuanan Melayu rhetoric that is plaguing our society, I believe it is crucial for the younger generations of Malays in Malaysia to trace their roots and get to know their lineage and history in order to better understand ourselves and our society. It is a shame that Malays do not inherit a surname, which makes it more difficult to trace our ancestry.

It is easier to assume one’s ethnicity as Malay (even if you do not come from Jambi, Riau or Deli) and fit into boxes originally created by colonial rulers trying to make sense of an alien society than to write “Minangkabau” in “Dan lain-lain”. The officer would most probably dismiss you as Malay anyway. It is unfortunate, really.

I ’m only fourth-generation “Malay”, and what right do I have to claim my rights to this land any more than a non-Malay who is also fourth-generation? Rights are as much a human creation as the tick box. And what’s created is not absolute.

So how many generations does it take until one is recognised as a true citizen regardless of race? For if we were to use the rationale of “we were here first”, then we were greatly erred.

We may not be able to connect with our past, but we can create the future. And as we grapple to find a unique Malaysian identity, perhaps we should find refuge and comfort in that there is more than one identity, given that we are a society of mixed ancestr y and many histories. There is nothing wrong with being a pendatang.

Selamat Hari Merdeka.

Kajang High School, attended by the writer’s grandfather, in the 1960s (left) and today.

Granduncle’s house in Kampung Sesapan Batu Rembau, Berangan.

Kajang High School crest and motto.

12 August 26 — 28, 2011InsIght

The emergency Ordinance (eO) was brought to the limelight recently when six Parti Sosialis Malaysia members, including Member of Parliament for Sungai Siput Dr Jeyakumar Deveraj, were detained under it on July 2 for allegedly “waging war” against the King.

They were subsequently released on July 28, a day after Dr Jeyakumar went on a hunger strike to protest against detention. The six were charged in court on Aug 3 for possessing “subversive documents” under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Civil society groups such as the Malaysian Bar and human rights watchdog Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) have condemned the use of eO. Selangor Times spoke to Suaram coordinator e Nalini to find out more about the eO and compare it with the ISA.

What is the Emergency Ordinance? How is it different from the ISA?The emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) 1969 is another law which allows for detention without trial like the ISA.

Better known as the eO, it is used to arbitrarily detain or restrict the movement of suspected gang members and criminals the police are unable to charge in court due to lack of evidence.

The process of detention under the eO and ISA is similar, but the mandate to detain a person under the eO does not come from the top levels of administration such as the home Minister.

Local police can detain suspects without a warrant of arrest under the guise of “reasonable suspicion” upon securing an order from Bukit Aman (the national police headquarters).

The broadly worded provisions in the eO allow police to arrest and detain people up to 60 days, without court order, if the police “suspect” a person has acted or is about to act in a manner prejudicial to public order, or if they have “reason to believe” that a person should be detained to prevent crime or suppress violence.

After the 60-day detention period expires, the suspect may be detained for another two years, renewable indefinitely like the ISA.

Otherwise, the home Minister may issue a restricted residence order to control the suspect’s movement and place of employment and residence for two years. The suspect will have to report to the police on a weekly basis and is required to remain indoors from 8pm to 6am.

How many people are currently detained under the EO? Why were they detained or are still being detained?We have not been able to get hold of the latest statistics from the home Ministry or the police, but over 3,000 people have been detained under the eO from 2,000 to 2009, according to the home Ministry parliamentary reply in 2010.

eO detainees are commonly held in two detention centres: one in Simpang Renggam, Johor and another in Machang, Kelantan.

People who are likely to be detained under the eO include:

i) individuals alleged to be involved in cases the police do not have enough evidence to charge them in court with, such as motorcycle or car theft;

ii) individuals accused of being involved in gangsterism and secret organisations; and

iii) individuals the government wishes to isolate from the general public.

What’s the history of the EO? How did it come into force?The eO was enacted as a temporary measure to control the spread of violence after the May 13 riots. It was passed by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong after proclaiming a state of emergency in 1969, suspending Parliament in the process.

however, emergency laws such as the eO have yet to be revoked four decades after Parliament was restored in 1971. Our current de facto law minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, told the press in July 2011 that the eO is still needed to curb potential communists.

Nazri also told the Parliament in March 2011 that the federal government does not plan to lift the emergency Proclamation imposed in 1969 as otherwise laws enacted during that period will cease to have effect. he said this would cause difficulty for the government to control crime and maintain public order.

Should the EO be abolished? Why?It should be abolished because the eO denies a person’s right to a fair trial. It violates the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty. The police can detain a person indefinitely without evidence.

And the eO arrests are usually shrouded in secrecy. Suspects are typically denied access to legal counsel and family members during the 60-day detention. Most detainees’ family members are not even told where their relative is held and are given vague grounds for their detention.

The eO is open to abuse as police often seek an eO order to detain a suspect for an additional 60 days when they failed to collect evidence after a few rounds of remand orders. (The Criminal Procedure Code requires the police to bring a suspect detained without a warrant before a magistrate judge within 24 hours to apply for a remand order if they are unable to complete the investigation in time. The eO allows them to bypass the magistrate.)

Although the detainees can challenge their case in court if they were able to secure legal counsel, they cannot challenge the ground(s) of their detention, only the technicalities. The government amended the eO in 1989 to limit the court from reviewing the merits of eO detention.

Some lower courts have declared eO detention orders invalid on procedural grounds and have ordered detainees to be released. But the government usually re-arrests the detainees on the same charges as before.

The eO violates the principles of natural justice, and international laws such as the Universal Declaration of human Rights and our own Federal Constitution and Malaysian human Rights Charter. It’s an outdated law that should be repealed.

The Emergency Ordinance

By Gan Pei Ling

W hile most of us are looking forward to celebrating Hari Raya with family and friends next week, two mothers are bracing themselves to celebrate the fes-

tive occasion without their sons for the first time.Rani Rahmah Ismail, 59, from Selayang is preparing some

kuih raya to be brought to her sons, who have been banished to Kedah and Pahang respectively under the Emergency Ordinance 1969 for alleged motorcycle theft.

dhan and Rafe’s family lost RM13,000 when a person who posed as a police officer asked the working-class family to pay the “police bail” for the brothers’ release.

“Inspector Zulkifli” disappeared as mysteri-ously as he had appeared after collecting the money. This “Inspector Zulkifli” had also called Arif ’s family, but his parents had been unable to raise the RM15,000 demanded.

Rafe and Ramadhan’s eldest brother, Mohar Md Ali, 36, said they had lodged a police report on March 25. Their case was highlighted by the media in May, but they have yet to receive any updates on the investigation from the police.

When the 60-day detention ended, Arif, Ramadhan and Rafe were each served a Re-stricted Residence Order dated May 16, 2011 for two years, on the grounds that they are a threat to “public order” around Batu Caves.

 Banished

“The police instructed us to go back, pack up and report to the [respective] local police station [where we have been banished to] on the next day (May 17),” said Arif in his af-fidavit.

Arif now lives in exile in Mersing, Johor (a five-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur); Rafe in Kulim, Kedah (a four-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur), and Ramadhan in a kampung in Chenor, Pahang (a two-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur).

They must stay within the district, report to the local police station every week, and stay indoors from 8pm to 6am every day for the next two years.

Their Restriction Residence Order could be extended if they are found to have breached any of the restrictions to their movement.

“Ramadhan and Rafe wanted to come back to celebrate Hari Raya with us, but I told them not to risk it,” said Mohar.

Mohar has written several appeal letters on behalf of his brothers, and has sent them person-ally to the Home Ministry in Putrajaya.

“I want to appeal to the government to release my brothers. Charge them in court if they are guilty, but don’t [arbitrarily] detain and banish them,” he said in exasperation.  

Mohar said even criminals who are alleged to have committed more serious crimes such as rape are allowed to be bailed when charged in court, yet his brothers have been detained and banished without trial.

Arif ’s father, Abu Samah, 47, is also outraged by the police’s overreaction over an alleged mo-torcycle theft.

“My son didn’t have any criminal record, nor

The long

struggle for trialE Nalini: Suaram coordinator.

Her sons – Mohd Ramadhan Mohd Ali, 22, and Mohd Rafe Mohd Ali, 20 – have never been charged in an open court for their alleged crimes. Their alleged accomplice, Mohd Arif Abu Samah, 19, has also been expelled to Johor for two years.

“I’ve been praying day and night for their early return,” said Rani, who has daily telephone conversations with Ramadhan and Rafe.

 Detention without trial

Arif and the brothers were first arrested on March 3 at their homes and detained for a week at the Gombak police station without being charged. This is in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires police to apply for a remand or-der from the magistrate’s court 24 hours of the arrest if they are unable to complete their inves-tigation in time.

When the trio were finally brought to the Selayang magis-trate’s court, they were served a remand order for three days at the Kepong police station and for two days at the Bukit Jalil Remand Centre, before being brought back to the Gombak police station to be released.

Their families were not in-formed of their whereabouts throughout the detention pe-riod.

On March 18, the three men were re-arrested under Section 3(1) of the Emergency Ordi-nance for 60 days.

“We were slapped, kicked and beaten by the police during inter-rogation. They wanted to force us to confess to a crime which we didn’t commit,” claimed the trio in their affidavits.

Ramadhan added that the police had coerced them into signing documents that they were prohibited from reading, and were not told that they had a right not to sign it.

In addition, they were not informed that they had the right to secure legal representation.

To add insult to injury, Rama-

Mohar: Lodged a police report on March 25.

Injuries sustained by the trio while in custody.

...Ramadhan, Rafe, Arif and others serving detention or Restricted Residence Order without trial under the Emergency Ordinance can only continue to pray that they will be able to celebrate the next Hari Raya with their families.”

Proclamation.The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia

had in 2009 urged the government to review the Emergency Ordinance, which was enacted during the state of emergency in 1969.

Civil society groups have also described the law as archaic. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) has been advocating for its abolition along with the more well-known preventive law, the Internal Security Act (ISA), on the grounds that deten-tion without trial is a breach of human rights.

dhan and Rafe’s family lost RM13,000 when a person who posed as a police officer asked the working-class family to pay the “police bail” for the brothers’ release.

“Inspector Zulkifli” disappeared as mysteri-ously as he had appeared after collecting the money. This “Inspector Zulkifli” had also called Arif ’s family, but his parents had been unable to raise the RM15,000 demanded.

Rafe and Ramadhan’s eldest brother, Mohar Md Ali, 36, said they had lodged a police report on March 25. Their case was highlighted by the media in May, but they have yet to receive any updates on the investigation from the police.

When the 60-day detention ended, Arif, Ramadhan and Rafe were each served a Re-stricted Residence Order dated May 16, 2011 for two years, on the grounds that they are a threat to “public order” around Batu Caves.

 Banished

“The police instructed us to go back, pack up and report to the [respective] local police station [where we have been banished to] on the next day (May 17),” said Arif in his af-fidavit.

Arif now lives in exile in Mersing, Johor (a five-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur); Rafe in Kulim, Kedah (a four-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur), and Ramadhan in a kampung in Chenor, Pahang (a two-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur).

They must stay within the district, report to the local police station every week, and stay indoors from 8pm to 6am every day for the next two years.

Their Restriction Residence Order could be extended if they are found to have breached any of the restrictions to their movement.

“Ramadhan and Rafe wanted to come back to celebrate Hari Raya with us, but I told them not to risk it,” said Mohar.

Mohar has written several appeal letters on behalf of his brothers, and has sent them person-ally to the Home Ministry in Putrajaya.

“I want to appeal to the government to release my brothers. Charge them in court if they are guilty, but don’t [arbitrarily] detain and banish them,” he said in exasperation.  

Mohar said even criminals who are alleged to have committed more serious crimes such as rape are allowed to be bailed when charged in court, yet his brothers have been detained and banished without trial.

Arif ’s father, Abu Samah, 47, is also outraged by the police’s overreaction over an alleged mo-torcycle theft.

“My son didn’t have any criminal record, nor

The Home Ministry has thrice said it would table amendments to the Emergency Ordi-nance, the ISA and the Dangerous Drugs Act: firstly in June 2009, then in June 2010, and most recently on Aug 5 this year.

In the meantime, Ramadhan, Rafe, Arif and others serving detention or Restricted Residence Order without trial under the Emergency Ordi-nance can only continue to pray that they will be able to celebrate the next Hari Raya with their families.

The long

struggle for trial

has he been arrested previously. Even if the police think he’s guilty, he should be given a chance to defend himself in court,” said Abu, who works as a lorry driver.

Ramadhan and Rafe came out to work to support their mother having completed their SPM examinations a few years ago, but today they can barely support themselves with their meagre monthly income, much less sup-port their mother.

Arif now stays in a hostel in Mersing, paying RM300 a month for rental, and works in a restau-rant for living.

Rafe works in a factor y in Kulim for RM430 a month and rents a room in a terrace house for RM220 per month.

“Ramadhan has it toughest. He lives in an old wooden house in the kampung, paying RM100 a month for it, but his income from painting cars [in an automotive workshop] is not stable,” said Rani.

 Challenging the EO

The worst is the stigma surrounding the boys. In Ramadhan’s case, it did not take long for the kampung locals to find out that he had been expelled from Selangor.

“The youths are okay, but their parents would warn them against making friends with me,” said Ramadhan in a brief phone interview.

“We’re not greedy, we just want a fair trial,” he said.

Apart from adults, juveniles have also been detained and had their movement restricted under the Emergency Ordinance, such as in the case of Jiegandran Panier Selvan, who was only 17 when he was arrested for alleged motorcycle theft.

His case received widespread media atten-tion in mid-2010, and the Home Ministry later transferred the boy from Lenggang back to his hometown in Kajang to serve his two-year Re-stricted Residence Order from March 2010 to March 2012.

Ramadhan, Rafe and Arif are suing the Malay-sian government and police over their two-year Restricted Residence Order with the help of human rights lawyers.

They are seeking a declaration that the restriction order is null and void, and that the Prime Minister and the federal government should advise the King to cancel the Emergency

(From left) Rafe, Ramadhan and Arif.

Arif hugging his mother

before he was

banished to Johor in May 2011.

(Photo by Fadiah Nadwa

Fikri)

14 August 26 — 28, 2011

VIews

Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by LoyarBurok (www.loyarburok.com)

where all your profound,abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite,

sagacious, and other thesaurus-described queries are answered!

Merdeka, Malaysia Day, and Marge SimpsonHis Supreme Eminenceness’ email and Twitter

minions reported an avalanche of questions about Merdeka Day, Malaysia Day, and all

manner of things related to being Malaysian and displaying patriotism. They were all so similar that selecting which questions get chosen for publication (an honour recognised even in the darkest regions of TrES-2b – look it up) was tough. Tough, but nothing that a complex sequence of Russian roulette, darts, and lat-ta-li-lat couldn’t solve.

As Merdeka and Malaysia Day approach, I want to do something to show my patriotism. Any sug-gestions? Harimau, via email

Lord Bobo, my colleagues say I’m not proud of the country be-cause I don’t want to stick a flag on my car. Am I really? Flagellate, via email

I’ve been labelled “unpatriotic” because I sometimes (okay, al-ways) criticise the government. Is there any truth in that? Care Bear, via email

WE will answer your questions col-lectively, in the spirit of unity that has always been – and hopefully will always be – the hallmark of Malaysian society.

Let it first be known that Lord Bobo does not celebrate birthdays. When you’re as ancient as His Supreme Eminenceness, the com-plexities involved in calculating the right number and configuration of big and small candles are enough to slam the figurative door on any fancy do. Plus, it requires special clearance from the fire department and having firefighters on standby; too much of a hassle – unless you’re organising that kind of a party (which Lord Bobo would not).

This does not mean, however, that we are insensitive to the excite-ment Malaysians feel as their country gears up for her twin celebrations. Their enthusiastic patriotism is wor-thy of praise although His Foresight-edness has often wondered about the co-relation between flag-wrapped cars and road-accident mortalities.

Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day have regrettably turned into merely one of those superficial, materialistic, consumerist occasions to spend a lot of money on tacky purportedly patri-otic trinkets little different from one of the many MegaSales in Malaysia. It has become the day where scoundrels of every social strata seek to demon-strate their patriotism and love by adorning themselves or ornamenting themselves with the Jalur Gemilang, like some cheap perfume bought by the gallon.

A day meant to celebrate our patriotic spirit and commemorate the founding of our nation has regressed into a yearly occasion to insincere and cheap declarations of love for the country. Flags are hoist-ed, special television programmes aired, insincere speeches given by

the government, and these are all forgotten the day after as if it was some reckless drunken indulgence you cannot wait to forget.

Yet patriotism is a lot more than flying flags on sky-high spoilers, draping them over balconies, stick-ing them on cheap plastic flagpoles on your car, and wearing them like a sarong till it stinks. Patriotism is a relationship that goes deep. So deep that if you held it under a mi-croscope, you’d also see your jealous

girlfriend chucking a ninja dagger in your direction. Like any relation-ship, it’s what you’d do for a country that protects your freedoms, offers you employment opportunities and tries, through its policies, to provide you with the quality of life you seek.

Patriotism isn’t necessarily framed in the positive either, e.g. praising the government for every single thing – even bad decisions. After all, His Prodigiousness is certain you won’t tell your girlfriend she’s January Jones

if she’s really Marge Simpson (unless she’s really rich, maybe).

No, you’re just as patriotic if you, say, speak up against corruption within the ranks. The problem with many Malaysians that they think the country equals the government, and vice versa. That is wrong. We can’t really blame them though, as the Malaysian education system ingrains it into the minds of all who pass through it that the country equals the government equals Ba-risan Nasional. That is a false and completely dishonest representation of the democratic principles upon which Malaysia is built.

Lord Bobo believes that pat-riotism is not simply an act to be displayed on Merdeka or Malaysia Day. Patriotism is an act of honour-ing your country, its citizens and what it stands for everyday that you live, work and love in this country. Patriotism is the act of caring and loving your country by doing good

for it in the larger sense, and to its citizens on a more personal level. When you help a fellow citizen, whatever their race or religion, you are being patriotic. When you pick up a piece of rubbish off the road, that is patriotism. It is not patriotism to stick a cheap plastic flag on your car and litter the country when it falls off. So the demonstration of patriotism shouldn’t be confined to Merdeka or Malaysia Day. It should occur every day.

So what should you do on Merdeka and Malaysia Day instead of those callous and shallow displays of patriotism? Lord Bobo has two excellent suggestions: firstly, ask yourself – what has your country done for you (your country, not the government), and what you can do for your country.

Secondly, after you have an-swered that question, go out and do what you think best to honour this great and beautiful country. 

Have a question for Lord Bobo? Call on His Supreme Eminenceness by emailing asklordbobo@loyarburok.com, stating your full name, and a pseudonym (if you want), or tweeting your questions by mentioning @LoyarBurok and using the hashtag #asklordbobo. What the hell are you waiting for? Hear This, and Tremblingly Obey (although trembling is optional if you are somewhere very warm)! Liberavi Animam Meam! I Have Freed My Spirit!

The adventures of BulletABouT two months ago, our house in Taman Tun Dr Ismail completed its renovation. It wasn’t a very big renovation, but we did have to move out. From time to time, I would drop by to take a look at the progress of things. As you can imagine, getting a facelift for your house is exciting, and I wanted to make sure things were all in order.

on one of the trips, I began to notice that there was a little kitten, probably about a month old, lounging round the house. It seemed totally at home, just chill-ing out and enjoying everyone’s company. I thought it belonged to the contractors, but when work was completed, I learned that its mother left this little feline on the worksite and that they had been feeding it all this while.

So I thought, “Hey, little guy, you’re kinda cute. Why you don’t just stay with us?”

And so he did.Bullet, as he subsequently

named due to his constant playful shots at people’s feet and hands, became another member of our household.

About a month later, after we had settled in, one of the most dreadful feelings came over our home – Bullet went missing! I had

just came back from work, and I was informed that no one had seen him the last few hours.

So we spent the rest of the after-noon and into early evening walk-ing through the streets, past alleys and empty houses, calling out for Bullet – all to no avail.

We prepared flyers, pasted them on lamp-posts and stuffed them in our neighbour’s mailboxes – and not a single call back came.

I even publicised his disap-pearance on Twitter and Face-book (Bullet’s photo garnered an amazing 15,000 views after nu-merous re-tweets by friends) – and still no cigar.

Days went by. Shocking na-tional news after shocking shock-ing national news grabbed our imagination (share swaps, refugee swaps, and whatever other kinds of swaps), yet our little cat was still not home.

And then we realised we need-ed to do more than just leave it to fate. We had to speak to residents – more specifically, the domestic

helpers. First we spoke to those residing behind our house – “Ya, saya ada nampak, tapi dulu. Dia udah hilang?? Waduuuh, comel-nya...” – and then I decided to try those living slightly further away.

I must have been a strange sight, walking house-to-house ask-ing if people had seen my cat. In the big scheme of things, you’d think that such an animal wouldn’t inspire one to go out of one’s way ... but sometimes, it’s the little things that really count.

By this time, Bullet had been gone for about a week and a half. We began to lose steam, but we reminded ourselves to never lose

hope. Don’t give up.We discovered a small litter

born in the alley, and became tempted to sneakily pinch one away. Thankfully, mom kept giving us the evil eye, and that kept our grubby hands to ourselves.

And then, just when we were about ready to resign to fate, I got a phone call. “Ni encik yang cari kucing itu ya? Boleh jumpa?”

Wah, suddenly so clandestine! It turned out that one of the maids in the neighborhood sus-pected that Bullet was in the safe keeping of a family, but they were not sure which one. I was told to wait for more information. It felt like we were plotting to take over some government somewhere, and so I went home with high spirits, feeling certain that we would find him again.

That night, I suddenly received an SMS: “Please give me a call, I think we have your cat.”

The next day, I stopped by the said house and, YES, it WAS Bul-let! Alhamdulillah!

If this story had to have a mor-al, I guess it would be this: if something means a lot to you, never give up on it, and never give up hope – but most importantly, never do nothing.

Kthxbai!Fahmi Fadzil

15AUGUST 26 — 28, 2011

NEWS

By Brenda Ch’ng PORT KLANG: Community leaders of various faiths here came together on Monday night to share their beliefs on fasting, in a bid to foster inter-religious understanding.

The talk was organised by Klang Munici-pal Councillor Ismail Arsat, and was held at Surau Al-Huda Taman Kem.

It was attended by residents from the neighbouring low-cost flats.

“I want to create awareness among Mus-lims, to help them understand other reli-

gions’ practices and beliefs bet-t e r . T h e y should be aware that other reli-gions fast, too,” said Ismail.

H e s a i d many are kept in the dark on other religious practices and are curious to know how and why others fast.

“Having various community leaders here and sharing their beliefs is a good practice as this helps strengthen bonds among all races,” he said.

Joining him was fellow councillor Raju Veerasamy, who shared the practices of Hin-duism. 

“Hindus fast, too, but we only fast from meat. We become vegetarians instead of re-fraining ourselves from all food and water,” he said.

It is believed that this practice will help heighten their five senses and achieve a purer body and mind, he explained.

This helps bring them closer to nature and improve their spiritual wellbeing. 

“Despite the differences in fasting, we are all actually the same, as we practise self con-trol. It is also important to note that these practices come from our heart,” said Raju.

Agreeing with him was Buddhist com-munity leader Chew Song Kong, who is a member of the Tzu Chi Buddhist Founda-tion Malaysia.

“We are quite similar to our Hindu coun-terparts as we fast by being vegetarian. But being vegetarian isn’t a compulsory thing for all Buddhists to follow,” he said.

The 53-year-old president of the Rotary Club of Port Klang said some fast during the first and 15th days of the Chinese cal-endar month, some nine days during festi-vals, while others for a month, a year or their whole life.

Chew pointed out that most vegetarians not only refrain from meat, but also from

red and white onions.It is a belief by monks that the intake of

onions will cause their emotions to go out of control, while the consumption of meat is cruel to animals.

“We were taught to be compassionate to living things and not kill animals to satisfy our food cravings. All monks are not even allowed to buy meat that other people kill and sell in markets,” said Chew.

However, both religions are similar as by fasting and being a vegetarian, they cleanse their bodies, rid sins, and refrain from doing immoral things.

Klang MP Charles Santiago was also

present to encourage the sharing of common values and practices among races here.

“We have to build our multiracial nation on understanding, respect and good relation-ships among all cultures,” he said.

He believes that stronger bonds can be fostered once all races understand and accept the practices and beliefs of one another.

After the talk, hampers worth RM50 and Hari Raya cash worth RM130 were given out to 15 single-parent children from the Taman Kem Flats.

These children received rice, sugar, oil, and other edibles for the Hari Raya celebra-tion next week.

Different faiths share views on fasting

Ismail presenting Qurans to the surau president, while Santiago (right) looks on.

Chew: We were taught to be compassionate.

By Brenda Ch’ng

SHAH ALAM: Residents of the Bandar Baru Sungai Buluh apart-ments have been urged by Iskandar Samad to do their part by main-taining the cleanliness of their buildings.

“I hope residents can inculcate the practice of gotong-royong and togetherness portrayed in village people in keeping their homes

clean,” said the Housing executive committee member after breaking fast with residents recently.

Iskandar said a clean apartment would ensure a healthier and more conducive environment for resi-dents to live in.

Also present at the buka puasa session were Paya Jaras facilitator Khairudin Othman and Shah Alam City Councillor Mariam Abdul Rashid.

Residents advised to clean apartments

Exco Iskandar Samad (in green) after breaking fast and prayers with residents from the Bandar Baru Sungai Buluh apartment at Surau Al-Islah recently.

SHAH ALAM: The Shah Alam City Council’s (MBSA) Natural Disaster Operations Room will be standing by to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day during Hari Raya.

While the city council will be closed for the festive season, it will be business as usual for those running the operations room.

“Shah Alam residents can call if there are emer-gencies such as floods, landslides, fallen trees and uncollected rubbish,” said MBSA public relations officer Shahrin Ahmad.

He said apart from complaints, MBSA also welcomes all suggestions and views from residents to help improve their services during the Aidilfitri celebration.

All emergency complaints can be directed to MBSA’s complaint hotline at 03-55105811.

Suggestions and views can be directed to the Public Complaints Department at 03-55105133 extension 254 or 285, or via email at aduan@mbsa.gov.my.

MBSA disaster ops ready to respond

SHAH ALAM: Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) payment counters will close from Aug 30 to Sept 1 in conjunction with Merdeka and Hari Raya.

The counters include those at Wisma MBSA and council offices in Sungai Buluh, Kota Kemuning as well as their drive-through counters. 

“All payment operations will resume on Sept 2 from 7.30am to 5.30pm,” said MBSA public rela-

tions officer Sharin Ahmad.Counters will be closed from 12.15pm to 2.45pm

on Fridays as usual.Ratepayers can make online payments at www.

mbsa.gov.my.For further information, call the MBSA Public

Relations Department at 03-55222734 or 013-3380551.

Payment counters closed for the holidays

16 AUGUST 26 — 28, 2011

NEWS

By Basil Foo

SHAH ALAM: New helmets were handed out to 300 motorcyclists by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) to promote road safety ahead of the Hari Raya balk kampung exodus. 

“We hope our small contribution will help road users, especially motorcyclists, to be more careful on the road,” said Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan.

The Shah Alam mayor gave out the helmets at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UITM) and Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (SSAAS) last Friday and Tuesday respec-tively.

He said the safety campaign targeted students who will be returning to their hometowns by adopting a community-friendly approach.

“We met them each personally, shook their hands and advised them on road safety which they hopefully will remember,” he said.

Politeknik SSAAS disciplinary officer Mu-hamad Luqman Mohd Nazir said the students were also given reflective stickers.

He welcomed the council’s efforts to educate students on wearing their helmets properly and sticking to the speed limit.

“We want SSAAS to work together with the local council to have more safety programmes,” said Luqman.

Free helmets for Raya safety

SHAH ALAM: Residents travelling outstation for Hari Raya are being urged to take precautions to safe-guard their health from dengue before leaving home.

“These include  ensuring containers bearing stag-nant water do not become breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes,” said Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan.

The Shah Alam mayor said dengue cases have a tendency to spike during holiday seasons due to flow-erpots, gutters and toilets left unattended for days.

He said hotspots for dengue cases include high-rise residences and student hostels where water tanks for individual units are left uncovered.

“For those with landed property, they are remind-ed to spend a mere 10 minutes a week to clear their surroundings of things that can retain water,” he added.

Mohd Jaafar warned that precautions should be

taken as those infected by dengue hemorrhag-ic fever, which causes bleeding, only have a 50% chance of sur-vival.

Other safety tips before travelling in-clude informing local police on departure dates, contact num-bers, and registration numbers of cars left behind.

Residents are also advised to stop their subscrip-tions to avoid a pileup of newspaper deliveries, which may tip robbers off that a home is vacant.

Residents advised to do their bit to reduce dengue

Mohd Jaafar (left) presenting a plaque to Luqman.

A student from Politeknik SSAAS getting his helmet fastened properly.

Selamat Hari Raya

AidilfitriThere will be no publication on 2nd September. We will be back on 9th September 2011.

17AUGUST 26 — 28, 2011

NEWS

By Basil Foo

A KAJANG Municipal Council (MPKj) councillor has taken on the problem of continual floods that have troubled Bandar Damai Per-dana residents for over three years.

“In the commercial area of Bandar Damai Perdana, the drains clog very quickly during heavy rain. Then they overflow and cause floods,” said Chan Jeong Hon.

The three-term councillor said the drains have only one outlet to service the whole commercial area, which clogs easily and causes an unpleasant smell during dry spells.

He said a proposal to increase the number of drain outlets has hit a snag as a telecommunications provider has yet to transfer the land back to the council.

“After the laying of underground broadband cables, the land has not been handed over to us yet. We expect it to be handed over in a month’s time,” he said.

Servicing Zone 10 of the Kajang municipality, Chan said he deals with many complaints from the residents personally.

Living in Bandar Damai Perdana and having his office on Jalan 1/8B of the town’s commercial area, he said he is easily recognised.

“Even when I go out for a drink of coffee, people will come up to me with complaints. It can be quite difficult, but I take it as a challenge,” he said.

Another common issue he faces is residents’ requests for their hous-ing areas to be blocked off and turned into gated and guarded communities.

Looking ahead, he said a big problem could arise when one hous-ing area gets blocked off and causes crime to move to unblocked areas.

“Residents have to come up with a committee and go through the application process, where 85% must agree to the guarded-commu-nity plan,” Chan said.

He explained that the council’s high percentage for approval is to avoid payment defaulters where residents who disagree to the plan do not pay security fees.

The 55-year-old full-time coun-cillor said he is thankful that both his children have moved out and that he has finished paying off both his home and car.

Chan said these factors meant he could leave his previous job as a land surveyor and become a councillor.

“My family is also supportive of me taking up this job even though it pays a pittance,” he said.

The motorsports enthusiast and adviser for a 4x4 adventure club hopes that more funds would be channelled to acquire the basic necessities for residents, such as paved and lighted roads, and a clean environment.

Know Your Councillor: Chan Jeong Hon

KLANG: A pet rescue and adoption group received a special visit from Selangor Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim at their adoption drive on Saturday.

“You’re doing a great work of saving strays and re-homing the dogs in Klang,” Teng told independent canine rescue project group Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB).

It was MDDB’s first adoption drive at Teng’s Sungai Pinang constituency near his Pekan Baru service centre, behind Klang Parade.

Teng played host to the canine-rescue project, and fielded questions from prospective dog adopters who had flocked to the booth.

He said people could contribute towards reducing the numbers of strays by opening their homes and adopt-ing the puppies.

“One of the more humane solutions to reduce the number of strays would be to rehome the puppies born as strays. I support MDDB’s efforts in this.”

Teng added that the least the public could do to assist groups like MDDB was to donate cash or items in kind.

“We’re glad to be here in this new location. We hope to get good response from people in this dog adoption

drive,” said MDDB founder and coordinator Wani Muthiah.

She said Teng’s visit to the booth was important, and hoped more politicians would come forward to help.

Wani added that so far, there have been adoption drives at the service centres of Kota Alam Shah assem-blyperson M Manoharan and Klang MP Charles San-tiago.

According to Wani, MDDB was running short of food supplies such as canned and dry dog and puppy food, cat and kitten food, as well as rice.

She also said the group was in need of old newspa-pers, bleach, detergent and old towels and shampoo.

For further information or to help, visit www.malay-siandogsdeservebetter.blogspot.com or email malay-siandogsdeservebetter1@gmail.com. You can also call 012-2052906, 019-3576477 or 012-3739007.

Teng shows support for four-legged friends

By Alvin Yap

PETALING JAYA: Overtures from devel-opers to acquire eight blocks of low-cost flats on Jalan Universiti for redevelopment  have gotten mix response from residents. 

Under the plan by the Selangor Develop-ment Corporation (PKNS) and DKLS Ind-sutries Bhd, each owner of the current 592 sq ft flat in Section 17 will get a 700 sq ft unit.

The plan also proposes to pay a RM5,000 moving-out allowance, RM8,000 moving-back allowance, and rental subsidy of RM500 per month until the project is completed.

However, some residents say they are satis-fied with their 40-year-old flats, while others claim they will only consider the offer if PKNS sweetens the deal with more compensation.

Many owners are senior citizens and pen-sioners, who expressed fear over having to rent homes while the flats are being redeveloped.

“I’m fully paid up since the 1990s, and now if they (PKNS) take back my unit, I will have to rent a room,” said retired teacher Edna

Choo, who said her rheumatism makes it diffi-cult for her to move around.

C h o o d i d not attend a re-cent meeting b e t w e e n t h e prospective de-veloper, DKLS Industries Bhd, and residents,

but said the proposed compensation package of a one-off RM5,000 moving-out allowance, with the RM8,000 moving-back allowance, was not enough.

She also said the monthly rental subsidy payment of RM500 was not enough to cover the high cost of rental in the area.

Choo further dismissed the deal that would see the 30-year leasehold period re-newed to the maximum 99 years.

“I might not be around for even half the remaining leasehold period of 15 years, so the ‘enticing’ 99-year renewal isn’t important for me,” she explained, insisting that she wants to have a roof over her head.

Her neighbour, Florence Lee, feels PKNS could offer a larger unit than the proposed 700 sq ft space.

Lee expressed dismay that the compensa-tion amount was too low, adding that the developers would be reaping millions from the new development.

She said she had received news that the development would involve a mixed scheme of residential condominiums, office blocks and shopping units.

“I feel PKNS should offer us an 800 sq ft unit. I also feel that as we have to give up our current units to financially benefit PKNS for a multi-million [ringgit] project, they can increase the compensation package,” the homemaker said.

Another long-time resident, Liew Looi Ming, 64, said he was wary of giving up the current unit – which he described as solidly built – for what he claimed would be shoddy workmanship, especially in new low-cost

housing.He did not

deny that the Section 17/2 f lats , which h a v e b e e n around since t h e e a r l y 1970s, is in need of major maintenance and urban re-habilitation.

But Liew pointed out that PKNS could carry out urban renewal of the flats rather than tear them down for a new development.

He said PKNS and the partner developer did not furnish details over the proposed new development scheme.

He said long-term residents and others should speak up and let PKNS know that they are adamant against having to move out from their units.

Liew, who is self-employed, said the ground-floor shops consisting of a laundrette, s un d r y s h o p and hardware shop catered to the residents in the area.

He s a i d a new develop -ment in the area would drive out these businesses from the neigh-bourhood.

Another flat owner, Mohd Syed Firdaus, said the developer would be building a lot more than the 500 units, and felt that the compensation was below the projected profits.

Eight other meetings with residents and owners are in the pipeline, to be held every weekend at 9.30am until Oct 1 at the com-munity hall at Section 17/2.

PKNS and DKLS Industries Bhd have reportedly said they are open for discussions and will only go through with the project when they have 100% agreement from the residents.

Owners wary of redevelopment

Choo

The low-cost flats on Jalan University.

18 august 26 — 28, 2011

news

By William Tan

SHAH ALAM: Some 600 Tamil school pupils attended a motivation programme to help them cope with their upcoming Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) ex-amination.

The annual programme, which ran for the second consecu-tive year, is organised by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and was held at their headquarters on Aug 13.

“Parents pressure their children to study during this time of the year, and this programme is good at helping them cope with that,” said Bawani Senappan, a teacher from SJK(T) Bukit Subang.

She said the programme helps pupils learn that exams are only a part of their studies, and that they should learn to look at the bigger picture.

The programme was facilitated by University Malaya lec-turer Manimaran Subramaniam, an experienced motivational speaker.

The participants from eight Tamil primary schools were helped along by volunteers from two secondary schools.

“We saw the need for this event when we realised that Tamil schools were a bit backward,” said programme organ-iser Yogasigamany Krishnasamy.

Yogasigamany, who is also a MBSA councillor, pointed out that the pupils were from lower-income families that needed

the assistance.Yogasigamany said those

from lower-income families are more likely to suffer from lack of confidence in facing their examinations.

“These children are very good; I want to help them open their minds, to put them on an equal footing with the others,” said Yogasigamany.

Yogasigamany and his fellow councillors contributed to the programme, which cost RM25,000, from their allocations,

paying for buses and meals for participants.Shah Alam Mayor Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan offici-

ated the event.“Education is the only way out for many of these children.

We do not want them to be left behind as we move forward to [become] a high-income country,” he said in his opening speech.

Last year’s event catered to 450 participants.

Beating UPSR woes

University Malaya lecturer, Manimaran Subramaniam gives a motivational speech to 600 Tamil school pupils at Wisma MBSA on Aug 13.

Bawani Senappan, a teacher of SJK(T) Bukit Subang.

Seniors stock up for RayaBy Basil Foo

AMPANG: About 300 senior citizens were treated to a morning of shopping at the Tesco hypermar-ket here during the Jom Shopping programme on Monday.

“We bought a blender and some daily essentials. My husband is look-ing to buy a new songkok and baju Raya,” said Laili Noriah.

The 70-year-old, and others like her, were given RM100 shopping vouchers each by the state through their respective assemblypersons and constituency officers.

The elderly shoppers, who regis-tered with their respective state constituency offices, were brought to the hypermarket on chartered buses for the shopping session.

“As we live in Taman Cempaka, we were brought over here by buses. We are happy with the programme as it gives back to the people,” said Laili’s husband, Ishak Omar, 70.

Some took the opportunity to spend the vouchers on their grandchildren, with 82-year-old pensioner Tan Seng Toon buying packs of baby milk.

Others steered clear of buying per-ishables and instead bought decorative items with which to remember the pro-gramme by.

“As foodstuff will be gone in a short while, I bought decorative flowers and a tablecloth for my grandchildren to look at for a long time,” said Kampung Pandan resident Chewah.

Menteri Besar Incorporated chief operating of-ficer Kamsani Nasir, who was at the hypermarket, said this was the 40th area to have the programme.

He said the shopping session here included sen-ior citizens above the age of 60 from the constituen-cies of Cempaka, Hulu Kelang and Dusun Tua.

“Those who first registered with the Mesra Usia Emas scheme in 2008 have been given early eligibil-ity to receive the shopping vouchers,” he said.

He hoped that the 150,000 senior citizens regis-tered with the state could all be brought for shop-ping sessions in their respective constituencies by the end of 2012.

Senior citizens wanting to register for the pro-

gramme must live in the state and have the address on their MyKad as Selangor.

“If they were born outside of Selangor, they must have lived in the state for 15 years,” Kamsani added.

Cempaka assemblyperson Iskandar Samad said not everyone who had been invited by his office could make it to the hypermarket as some were bedridden.

He said they would be visited at their homes and have groceries delivered to them.

“Registration from all senior citizens into this programme was accepted without regard to race or religion,” said Hulu Kelang assemblyperson Saari Sungib.

He said the creative programme was one of the ways the state government is returning Selangor’s resources to its people.

Iskandar with senior citizens at Tesco.

Senior citizens shopping for high-calcium milk.

By Brenda Ch’ng

KLANG: Première Hotel Klang opened its doors to 43 orphans from the Persatuan Kebajikan Anak Yatim dan Miskin Al-Munirah to break their fast on Tuesday.

The hotel, which is located in Bukit Tinggi and turns one year old this October, treated orphans aged six to 17 to a scrumptious buffet feast fol-lowed by gifts of books, food and cash.

“We are very pleased to fulfill our corporate social responsibility, espe-cially to help the less-fortunate orphans,” said BBT Hotel Sdn Bhd director Eddie Tan.

Tan said the event was part of the hotel’s efforts to share with and care for the less fortunate.

Also present was hotel manager Johnny Yap, along with hotel ambassadors clad in traditional Malay attire.

“These ambassadors were chosen to represent us in our local community to mingle and entertain the orphans,” said marketing communications manager Wendy Kok.

Kok said this initiative enabled them to give something meaningful back to the community living in the locality of the hotel.

During the event, young guests were seen feasting on the buffet spread comprising 150 kampung specialties and western favourites throughout the night.

Duit Raya was given out to all orphans, while the centre was presented with essential food items and learning materials and books to help stock their newly built library.

The new and old textbooks, storybooks and educational books were bought and donated by hotel associates and staff.

The welfare home is for orphans as well as poor children of single moth-ers in Klang.

Those who would like to help the children can contact the home at 03-33247758.

Raya treat for orphans

19AUGUST 26 — 28, 2011

MEDIA

By Basil Foo

SUNGAI BULOH:   A village in rural Sarawak will get its first kindergarten after a charity golf tournament raised RM72,592 for its construction and two and a half years of operation last Friday.

The Long Lawen Tadika Golf Tournament 2011 at the Rahman Putra Golf and Country Club was organised by Selangor Times, and saw 136 golfers taking part.

The money for the new kindie also came from sponsors, donors, and from an auction of golfing equipment during the event.

State executive councillor Teresa Kok enliv-ened the auction by putting her signature down on several golf bags.

A total of 524 pars and 46 birdies were scored during the tournament, with Selangor Times donating RM25 and RM50 for each par and birdie respectively.

Medals were awarded based on handicap, with the A Medal for handicaps zero to 12, B Medal for handi-caps 13 to 18, and C Medal for handicaps 19 to 36.

The A, B, and C Medals were won by Francis Ou, Toh Chee Wei, and Lam Weng Hern respectively.

Long Lawen village head Garajalong was present at the prize-giving ceremony and expressed his gratitude for the funds raised throughout the day.

“As it takes a long travelling time to bring our chil-dren to schools in town, we need to construct a kinder-

garten in Lawen,” said the 55-year-old.He said it would take eight hours from Bintulu by

car into the interior of the jungle where his village of 70 households is located.

A slideshow was also presented, featuring snapshots of day-to-day life of villagers in Long Lawen and their main economic activities like farming.

The village was displaced by the Bakun Dam project 12 years ago.

“I would like to invite you to visit Long Lawen so that you may understand our situation better,” Garaja-long added.

The event was sponsored by KUB Berjaya Enviro Sdn Bhd, and Srixon Sports Asia Sdn Bhd.

RM72k raised for Sarawak kindie

A golfer teeing off at the Rahman Putra Golf and Country Club.

SHAH ALAM: Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (Perang-sang Selangor) and its subsidiaries paid a total of RM501,716.07 zaikai for the year 2010 to Lembaga Zakat Selangor (Mais).

Perangsang Selangor chief execu-tive officer and Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd president Suhaimi Kamara l zaman presente d the cheque to Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah on Aug 16 at the Kota Damansara mosque.

This was followed by a breaking fast event with the local commu-nity.

Also present was Perangsang Selangor chairperson Raja Idris Raja Kamarudin and other mem-bers of senior management.

The yearly business zaikai came

from Peransang S elang or and KDEB’s subsidiaries – Cekal Tulin Sdn Bhd (RM39,691.98), KDEB Wa ste Mana g ement S dn Bhd (RM18,953.31), Hebat Abadi Sdn Bhd RM13,600.45, Hydrovest Sdn Bhd (RM6,786.26), Titisan Modal (M) Sdn Bhd (RM33,207.16), and V i a b l e C h i p ( M ) S d n B h d (RM164,237.19).

Other subsidiaries who contrib-uted to the business zaikai were Central Spectrum (M) Sdn Bhd (RM40,855.83), SAP Ulu Yam Sdn Bhd (RM15,862.36), SAP Urus Harta Sdn Bhd (RM94,027.41), Templer Park Development Sdn Bhd (RM175.96), Perangsang Ho-tels & Properties Sdn Bhd and Brisdale International Hotel Co Bhd RM18,470.32).

KDEB and subsidiaries pay RM500k in zakat

Suhaimi (second left) handing over a mock cheque for RM501,716.07 for business zakat to Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah at the Kota Damansara mosque last week.

KLANG: Celebrate Hari Raya and Malaysia’s 54th Merdeka Day at Première Hotel in Klang with a plethora of Malaysian favourites to whet your appetite.

Malaysia’s multiracial society brings out the best culinary highlights of each ethnic group. Delight in a “Go Local” high tea featuring Malay, Chinese and Indian favorites. This is a celebration that truly honours Malaysia’s diversity.

Guests can expect classics such as rojak, satay, dim sum, Indian curries, Penang laksa, curry mee, and ever-popular traditional dishes and Hari Raya staples such as lontong, ketupat, lemang and much more, laden at the buffet high tea.

Those born in August will receive a compli-mentary durian cake (500g), subject to a mini-mum booking of five diners on Aug 31.

The Merdeka Raya high tea is available on Aug 30 and 31 at RM38++ per person.

For children aged seven to 12 years old and senior citizens aged 55 years and above, there is a 50% discount.

For enquiries or reservations, please call The Buzz at 03-33256828.

Merdeka high tea at Première

Ou (left) being presented with a trophy for winning the A Medal.

20 AUGUST 26 — 28, 2011

tRAVEL

It is not often that one takes a good look at a full-sized lamb on

the roast. This happens occasionally, and it takes place at the Ramadan bazaar in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI).

This year’s bazaar seems to have shrunk in size. The previous ba-zaars were much bigger.

A few years ago, the TTDI Ramadan bazaar was located in the park-ing space of the wet mar-ket complex. Then it shifted to the present site where stalls occu-pied at least three roads. 

This year, the stalls are confined to a re-stricted space along two roads next to two private car park lots where the Maybank branch is located.

Malay residents of Taman Tun and Bandar Utama are having their fair share of homecooked dishes since the bazaar started at the end of July. Even though the number of stalls is not that large, the variety of food is still impressive.

Some stalls have given themselves interesting names to draw customers. For example, there are Melawati Kebab, Rendang Ibunda, Bubur Lambuk Kampung Baru and Dapur Minang.

Those who are not familiar with the titles can let their eyes be their guide. Chicken prepared in various traditional ways will always look different in its final form. These are ayam percik, ayam goreng berempah and ayam gulai.

There are Ramadan bazaars where the “mak cik” hold sway, but at the Taman Tun bazaar, the young people seem to surge to the forefront this season.

Some of the stalls with younger faces are selling pita kebab or the Lebanese-style kebab of chicken, lamb and beef; or the Dapur Minang, which specialises in dishes like masak lemak daging salai, asam pedas ikan pari and masak lemak siput sedut.

One of the food items which holds some fascina-tion for me is the nearly famous “Roti John”. This particular version of Malaysian burger has spread its tentacles throughout the peninsula.

Frankly, I am unable to fath-om why it is literally called “John’s bread”, when it is clearly just an elongated bun. However, this item has a loyal following at many bazaars.

Priced at just RM4 for the “long one”, it has mutated into several forms, including the black-pepper version.

The ubiquitous nasi dagang has once again reared its head and is joyfully doused with beef, fish or chicken curry. Its first culinary cousin, nasi kerabu, is usually eaten with salted egg, roast meat or daging bakar, solok lada and ikan celup tepung.

Solok lada is a dish consisting of green chillis stuffed with fish and grated coconut. Some-times, a Malay sauce called “budu” is added.

As for ikan celup tepung, it is basically fish (mackerel/tuna) dipped in flour. The recipe consists of rice flour, turmeric powder, salt, lime, warm water and egg.

If it is prepared correctly, you will have a winner of an ikan celup tepung. If your ex-periment has failed, you can always go out and buy another dish from the nearest bazaar.

There must be dozens of Ramadan bazaars in the Klang Valley right now, but if you truly want to sample some of the finest Malay cuisine ever made, effort needs to be put in.

I have so far visited three such bazaars. The one that I have seen but have not ventured into is in Sungai Buloh. From the main road, it looks huge and holds promise of offering some of the most interesting tradi-tional dishes to come out of the surrounding kampung.

Meanwhile, the folks in Taman Tun Dr Ismail are well served. Housewives can take a break during the fasting month because it is much easier to shop around for dishes from the hundreds of choices avail-able.

TTDI comes alive during RamadanTaman Tun Dr Ismail is well known for its interesting food stalls during the annual Ramadan bazaar. LIN ZHENYUAN visits some delicious stalls that he is well acquainted with

Lamb on the roast gets your tummy growling.

Smoke gets in the eyes of this ayam percik seller.

More than enough nasi kerabu and nasi dagang for everybody. The long and short versions of Roti John.

A young man in eager anticipation to serve customers.

21AUGUST 26 — 28, 2011

FICTION

Have you cHecked your electrical switcHes before leaving Home?

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

Take 5 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 holoday, have you checked all your electrical switches and turned off your gas tanks?

Call the SS17 BomBa for advise at

03-5634 9444

Fiction by Yusuf Martin

The midday sun burnt a sulphurous yellow, bleaching the azure of the equatorial sky. A bulbous-eyed lizard watched. He waited, in vain,

for the daily postman to stop – he didn’t.There was no letter, card, parcel – nothing to mark

his 60th birthday.The postman rode by.As the long, hot, day wore on, and because he had

received no card or parcel, he hoped, at least, to receive an e-card, e-mail, SMS or message on Facebook from his daughter in England. None was forthcoming. 

Despite many well-wishers, he never heard from the one person he longed to hear from. By evening all the excuses froze, like branches in the winter: cold, devoid of life and warmth.

Clouds misted over distant mountains, growing heavier, greying as the day wore on. They spilled over humid hills, becoming darker, more menacing as they reached evening, stormier. His mood matched.

He would not have minded so much if it had been his fifty-ninth or sixty-first birthday – they lacked the significance of turning sixty. Sixty was a landmark, or it should have been.

There were those who left messages on Facebook, even one who took the trouble to send an SMS; but although in their own way heartening, they were but shallow of-ferings compared to his expectations of communication from his English daughter. The day felt flat on its face, air squeezed out like a party punctured balloon.

Morning came. He struggled to rise. The landmark birthday was gone. He was saddened, but he dragged himself to the breakfast table the morning after his sixtieth birthday. 

Sweet milky coffee had little effect. He was plagued by former decisions, hastily made in his former country. Over breakfast, harsh reality slapped him. Old age had slipped upon him during the night, covered him like some frayed and frazzled chequered blanket, slowing him down.

Somewhere inside a once bright and burning spark had spluttered, dimmed. His thoughts became dark – ennui, languor. It had been lighter, brighter, before.

He had snuck comfortably into his fifties, wearing age with flair and nonchalance, taking momentous decisions, leaping into the Southeast Asian unknown.

Twelve hours – he had been full of excitement, glad anticipation and with adrenaline-fuelled steps cheer-

fully bounded off the 747 into the waiting airport. A cab had taken him on the oil-palm tree bordered, hour-long journey into the city. The apartment had more resembled a holiday let, but that was fine, for it was only temporary – a springboard into his new life.

The first few years had gone well.He settled into a new life, new friends, but echoes of

his old life rippled on. He missed seeing his daughter grow up. His fifties slipped by unnoticed, easing one year into the hot and humid next. All thoughts lulled each into the next, except, that is, thoughts of his Eng-lish daughter sitting drinking coffee, eating Danish pastries, walking through the old Roman town dodging pigeon drops, eating pizza with chilli oil – those thoughts never left.

It was that way, and only in that way, that his aging and thoughts of his daughter were intertwined. He took succour in cherished memories of his English daughter – driving through the snow to see her; wrinkled, hairy, newly born; holding her hand to school.

Age was passing years, of little significance to him. As real life contact with his daughter diminished, so a passing concern with age began to grow. 

His life was a balance. The one weighed against the other – daughter and age, age and daughter.

Eden had her darker side. Constant rainstorms knocked out communication, dry-season heat bit.

Snakes, leeches, mosquitoes added to a dour mood, so too did the lack of correspondence from his English daughter.

E-mails, SMSes, Facebook messages, Yahoo Messenger messages became fewer and fewer. It began to be more difficult to connect with his daughter, to know her, to understand her needs – wants separated, as they were, by seven thousand miles. That once close bond frayed, slipped somewhere into one of the many seas between.

It was three days later, the mantle of being sixty still being somewhat new, when the postman stopped.

The sky was blue. The sun was hot. He sat on the terrazzo chair watching two small, yellow, birds pick insects from smaller pink flowers.  He was expecting bills. It was that time of month. He waved to the post-man.  He stretched his legs, walked across to the weather worn gate pillar housing his letterbox.

A pink envelope pushed the letterbox door open. Suddenly, it was as if the day, already bright, grew

brighter, the already blue skies became bluer, his step and his being much lighter. Sixty, it seemed, was not quite so bad after all.   

The English Daughter

22 August 26 — 28, 2011

Gallery

Shah Alam Mayor Datuk Mohd Jaafar putting a new helmet on a motorist. New helmets were handed out to 300 motorcyclists by the city council in a bid to promote road safety ahead of the Hari Raya balik kampung exodus.

Hulu Kelang assemblyperson Saari Sungib with helpers and senior citizens at the Jom Shopping programme in Tesco Ampang.

Selangor Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim and representatives of Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better, with rescued stray puppies at an adoption drive in Klang last Sunday.

State executive councillor Teresa Kok signing a golf bag that was auctioned off during a charity golf tournament organised by Selangor Times last Friday. The tournament raised RM72,592 for the construction and operations of a kindergarten in Sarawak.

Exco Iskandar Samad (in green) after breaking fast and prayers with resi-dents of Bandar Baru Sungai Buluh apartment at Surau Al-Islah recently.

Klang Member of Parliament Charles Santiago and councillor Ismail Arsat giving out hampers and cash to orphans at Surau Al-Huda Taman Kem on Monday night.

23August 26 — 28, 2011

CultureEditor’s PickWhite Trash Theatre; 24-27 Aug; Black Box @ MAP KL; / RM23 / RM18 (students and flat rate for matinee performances)

Compiled by Nick ChooSend your events to: nick@selangortimes.

Cartoon

Theatre; 18-27 Aug; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; www.klpac.org, 03-40479000; RM35 / RM25

A black farce of global proportions. It’s a War on Terror™ in Toontown! Chaos ensues after mischievous urchin Trouble steals the oversized yellow sledgehammer that bratty, Hitler-esque Esther commands her toonizens with. Paranoia, violence and gore follow a zany goose chase, as a band of mismatched cartoon stereotypes find themselves increasingly stuck in an existential rut – will there ever be a way out? Played through a series of TV episodes, Cartoon is a response to the rapid coalescence of media, politics and consumer giants – an in-your-face satire of a forthcoming totalitarian world, if you like. Written by American playwright Steve Yockey; directed by Kelvin Wong.

A Darker Shade of Red

Theatre; 24-28 Aug; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; www.klpac.org, 03-40479000; RM23 / RM15

A combination of six short plays wrapped around a central theme, this production is about the secrets we keep from ourselves, the lengths we go to on a “maybe”, and that strange moment in love when violence seems perfectly reasonable. From a post-apocalyptic western to a cramped confessional in a dusty abbey; from the future where the Mars colony is no longer a dream, to the locked confines of a man’s past. Directed by Marvin Wong.

Just a Dream – The Green Play

Theatre; 15-24 Sept; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; www.klpac.org, 03-40479000; RM63/RM38

Presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre’s The Little Company in association with Adventure Theatre Washington DC. When it comes to the environment, young Walter is far from enlightened. He’s a litterbug who believes sorting trash is a big waste of time. But one night, Walter dreams about a very different future. Filled with humour and fantasy, Walter’s dream is a wake-up call for him – and all of us – about what we need to do to protect and preserve the future of our planet. This original eco-play uses magical stage effects and lush soundscapes to create a theatrical version of Chris Van Allsburg’s beautiful illustrations, author of The Polar Express and Jumanji. All production materials (costumes, props and sets) will be made of earth-friendly and recycled materials. This is a play about making the green dream come true! Recommended for 4- to 10-year-olds.

Roar: Brutalism Art Exhibition

Exhibition; 1-31 Aug; Core Design Gallery; 012-6674348 (Anni), email: anni@coredesigngallery.com, www.coredesigngallery.com; free admission

Unlike what its name suggests, Brutalism is far from anything to do with being brutal. The term is derived from Swiss-born French architect’s “Béton brut”, French for “raw concrete”, a form of architecture largely unused today. Roar features the latest raw, anomalous and original artworks as presented by 15 emerging

local artists, based on the Brutalism style. Bear witness to their different designs and plans, painstakingly research and be marvelled as stiff, unpliable raw materials: concrete, metal, stone and wood are crafted into curious sculptures and intricate installation artworks.

INtERVIEWBy Nick Choo

JoDY Lancaster’s break-out play, White Trash, debuted in York (UK) in 2006, and is described as a “daring, morbidly funny at times and deeply moving in its portrayal of grief, spousal abuse and being, rather literally, caught in the middle”.

Unforgiving in its commentary on modern marriages and the human condition, the play challenges its audiences to regard what little humanity they have allowed to cultivate within themselves – with interesting and somewhat disturbing results.

Selangor Times chats with performers Michael Chen (M), Bella Rahim (B) and Adeline ong (A, below right).

Tell us about your character and his/her relationship with the others.M: My character is oliver (ollie), a therapist who specialises in hypnotherapy. He’s terribly intelligent and well-read, but beneath all that, he’s a borderline sociopath. He seeks humanity, not knowing what humanity is. This affects how he relates to his wife Minerva (Mini), and Evelyn (Eve), his best friend’s wife. ollie is mourning the loss of his best friend, who committed suicide, and also the loss of his love for Mini. Not knowing how to deal with it, he resorts to alcohol, drugs and abuse. It’s a terrible thing, but the reality is, these things happen.A: My character, Evelyn, is a young widow who has lost her husband Michael. She tries to seek comfort in longtime family friends, oliver and Minerva, but she ends up being entwined in their own problems. She is friends with them out of necessity, and they are the only company she trusts despite their dysfunctional relationship.B: I play Mini, who has a disturbing beauty to her presence. She manages to juxtapose the dark inner psyche of the mind with a certain clarity and innocence. Having to deal with a dysfunctional relationship with her husband ollie, and the murder of their son Nicholas, she still manages to draw an inner strength and endure everything she faced while holding her head up high.

She has a terrible longing for perfection in herself and people around her which can never be achieved. Her insistence creates stress in her relationship with

her husband, and sometimes pushes him to the brink. She is melancholic and draws her strength by creating a fantasy, a safe place that she goes back to. It’s her utter determination and sheer will to hold on to this poetic version of life that somehow calms Evelyn in her woes and bereavement over her dead husband Michael.

What is it about the play that you respond to; elements that appeal, or evoke, or provoke? M: White Trash frightened me as an actor and a person. The material is not easy for me as an actor, since ollie’s character is not one that is easily fleshed out. Is he good, bad, somewhere in between, or none of the above? You never really know where you stand. As a person, the reality that the play depicts themes of grief, marriage and spousal abuse is truly frightening. All of this could be happening behind closed doors all the time, and one would never know.A: There is a saying that goes, “A person leads three lives. A public one, a private one and a secret one.” White Trash highlights that part in every one of us. What we see on the surface is not necessarily true. As the play goes on, you see layers of mask being torn away to reveal the truth or hidden secret of each character. As an audience, the play makes you question your own life and the lives of others around you. Do you really know the people around you?

As an actor, I wanted to challenge myself, and this play has given me that opportunity.B: What drew me was the script. Jody Lancaster has a flair with words. The script is beautifully written. When everything started to sink in, I realised, this is really heavy! It’s an emotional roller coaster, and you cannot take it lightly. There are moments in the script where I thought, no one deserves to be in a relationship

that goes nowhere but downhill. It also makes me wonder why some people stay in a relationship such as this. It’s like the movie Fatal Attraction, the sequel: Fatal Relationship!! How do you hope audiences will respond to White Trash? M: one of the few people who has managed to witness parts of rehearsal has said: “It’s like watching a gruesome car crash scene. You know you shouldn’t look, but you can’t help it.” That would encapsulate it. When you see something like this, you walk away more thoughtful and maybe even slightly disturbed.

But there’s dark humour thrown into it, so hopefully you walk away entertained as well.A: To be honest, this piece can go either way, one might love it another might not. I just hope the audience comes with an open mind to accept something different.B: Theatre is not just about comedy and feel-good performance. Theatre is an outlet for a story to be told. This is a story that should be told. You’ll be surprised how many people can actually relate to this story, be it from a personal experience or someone who’s related it to you. Lancaster’s uncanny humour combined with Alex Chua’s direction equals fireworks – you’ll be blown away!

CALENDAR

Mourning the recent passing of her husband, Evelyn pays a visit to the home of her friends, oliver and Minerva, in search of solace and comfort in the familiar. Little does she know that their home and facade hides an uncomfortable and dark history. As the night wears on, Evelyn’s visit becomes increasingly surreal and disturbing as she finds herself trapped and drawn ever deeper into ollie’s and Minerva’s world – a world of discontent, malice and abuse. Forced to dwell deeper and deeper into the darker reaches of her mind, Evelyn will have to answer questions she never thought needed answering: Was her marriage to her husband that perfect? And regardless of the answer to that question, is life worth living without him? Written by Jody Lancaster; presented by the Electric Minds Project, directed by Alex Chua and featuring Michael Chen, Bella Rahim and Adeline ong.

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.