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LABUAN: A total of RM10mil has been allocated to resolve the squatter problem in Labuan, said Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Raja Datuk Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
He said the allocation was to build low-cost flats over four phases in Kampung Sungai Bangat.
“We still have squatters in Labuan and efforts are in the pipeline to resolve the problem,” he said after launching quarters for civil servants and the extension of the National Land Code to Labuan in Kampung Bukit Kuda here.
Areas with squatters in Labuan include Kampung Rancha-Rancha, Kampung Sungai Bangat, Kampung Muslim and Kampung Kiansam.
Sumber: Bernama
FEDERAL Territories Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin yesterday clarified that his estimate of between RM100 million and RM200 million losses due to Saturday’s anti-ISA demonstration was not merely referring to immediate business losses suffered by the traders and big department stores but also took into consideration the potential drop in the tourist dollar, as well as loss in investments.
Raja Nong Chik told Malay Mail: “I was referring to the overall loss to the country. The demonstration was highlighted all over the world and this would serve to hinder future investments.
“We are trying to promote Malaysia as an investment centre for property and for international companies to set up headquarters here. But many corporations may rather go to Singapore now although it is more expensive because it is safer.
“As it is, tourist arrivals have dropped 50 per cent. This should have been the best time to encourage Middle Eastern tourists to come to Kuala Lumpur in view of the coming month of Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
This will affect the arrivals of not just international tourists but locals as well.
“Of course, immediate business losses on that day alone would not have amounted to that much but probably around RM5 (million) to RM10million,” he said.
As for allegations that many traders would not have had to close shop or incur damage if the police had not used water cannons and tear gas, the FT Minister said: “If they (demonstrators) had not instigated the police or fire department, maybe this would not have happened. I am sure there was some instigation. I am not trying to defend anyone but you cannot just blame one side for it, probably both sides.”
He added that the demonstration would not have been featured internationally had it not been an active demonstration.
“In fact, the government had more to lose by this if it got out of hand and things shown on television were not good, while the Opposition gained a lot of mileage from this coverage,” he said.
As for the exact losses suffered at the affected locations, Raja Nong Chik said he had asked his officers to meet traders to assess damage as well as ask traders to submit their estimated losses.
“Give me a week,” he said.
(Malay Mail)
Desa Tasik – Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan, Senator Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin member jaminan bahawa kawasan riadah bagi penduduk di kawasan ini seperti mana yang telah dijanjikan akan dipertahankan.
Beliau berkata demikian ketika menjawab persoalan yang timbul daripada wakil penduduk di sini Datuk Amil Salleh pada Karnival 1 Malaysia yang berlangsung di sini semalam.
Katanya, beliau akan berusaha mempertahankan kawasan rekreasi ini seperti mana yang telah dijanjikan pihak pemaju dan akan mengkaji hal ini secepat mungkin.
“Saya akan minta pihak pemaju berkenaan agar tunaikan janji mereka kepada penduduk di sini dan bagi lain-lain masalah yang dibangkit ini akan saya kaji secepat yang mungkin,” katanya.
Beliau berkata, mengenai masalah bangunan flat yang tidak dicat akan dirujuk secepat mungkin dan penyelenggaraan bagi flat di bawah kerajaan baginya tiada masalah perkara itu diluluskan.
Namun, katanya, bagi flat swasta ia mungkin mempunyai komplikasi kerana perlu berhubung dengan kementerian lain dan beliau memerlukan masa untuk berbincang dengan Kementerian Perumahan Tempatan dalam mencari jalan penyelesaian.
Pada masa yang sama wakil penduduk turut menyerahkan tiga memorandum kepada Meteri Wilayah untuk memanjangkan masalah mereka agar ada jalan penyelesaiannya.
Antara memorandum yagn diserahkan termasuklah, ketiadaan kawasan rekreasi di sini seperti mana yang telah dijanjikan dan termaktub di dalam Pelan DBKL 2020.
Manakala, memorandum kedua pula adalah berhubung masalah penempatan penjaja di sini untuk dipindahkan ke Kompleks Penjaja Desa Tasik yang masih belum dapat dilihat lagi.
Seterusnya, memorandum ketiga kepada raja nong chik ialah permasalahan, flat yang usang tidak diselenggara dan dicat hampir 20 tahun.
(SINAR)
KUALA LUMPUR 1 Ogos - Penghuni kira-kira 45,000 unit rumah Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) yang selama ini menyewa akan diberi peluang membeli unit kediaman mereka itu secara berperingkat mulai November ini, kata Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
Beliau berkata, harga yang ditawarkan kepada penyewa nanti akan diputuskan oleh Kabinet.
"Harganya memanglah di bawah harga pasaran dan menarik yang akan memberi peluang kepada mereka membeli rumah khususnya di kawasan Kuala Lumpur," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Majlis Anugerah Cemerlang Sekolah Victoria Institution di sini hari ini.
Raja Nong Chik berkata, golongan ibu tunggal dan berpendapatan rendah akan diberi keutamaan membeli unit-unit rumah PPR berkenaan.
"Golongan lelaki dan wanita yang sudah lanjut usia tetapi belum berkahwin juga akan diberi peluang membeli rumah itu.
"Kalau ikut syarat sekarang mereka tak layak sebab mereka tak ada keluarga, tapi saya rasa golongan ini perlu juga diperjuangkan, tapi had umur mungkin 45 tahun ke atas," katanya.
Bagaimanapun, kata Raja Nong Chik tindakan tegas termasuk hilang kelayakan membeli rumah akan dikenakan kepada penyewa rumah PPR yang menyewakan rumah mereka kepada rakyat asing.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Respectful Federal Territories Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin
Raja Nong Chik Facebook Here
Since appointed as Minister in Najib cabinet line up, FEDERAL Territories Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin (Raja Nong Chik) have pledge to have facebook session on every Wednesday 6.00PM ~ 7.00PM. To date the live facebook session is still much alive.
I always follow his facebook session to see what KL folks concern about and how did Raja Nong Chik answer to all question....meaning all uncensored question directly from public. He actually answer very well. He also promised to further reply on most question which need him to investigate...
On 24 June 2009 I have send Raja Nong Chik a message regarding illegal restaurant at main entrance to Bukit Jalil recreation park (beside Sri Petaling LRT station. For me it is a public utility abuse by the management and the owner of restaurant....
Raja Nong Chik replied was he will investigate the matters and thanks for raising the matters....a typical answer from any polite government servants RITE.
Yet today received Facebook message inform Raja Nong Chik have replied my question.... Below is the transcript;
Soalan:
Low Keen Wai at 6:18pm June 24
Salam Bahagia Dato,
Ingin meminta perhatian Dato' mengenai Gerai "Illegal" di pintu masuk utama Taman riadah Bukit Jalil (Sebelah Sri Petaling LRT station).
Pintu utama masuk taman sesak, penuh asap (masak), Container 20' di tengah tengah dan ada pula kemudahan Karaoke. Yang lebih sakit hati, kolam sudah busuk(bahan sisa gerai).
Saya selalu bersenam di sana tetapi kini sudah 2 minggu saya tak ingin ke sana kerana bau busuk dan persekitaran yang bising.
Mohon perhatian baik dato
Jawapan:
Low Keen Wai, tks atas maklumat. DBKL telah membuat siasatan di tapak pada 1 Julai 2009. Didapati penjaja tersebut mendapat kebenaran menyewa kiosk daripada Perbadanan Stadium Merdeka.
Penjaja tersebut telah memohon lesen sebelum ini tetapi ditolak kerana tidak memasang perangkap sisa minyak. Beliau telah memohon semula lesen pada 1 Julai 2009 & memaklumkan bahawa 2 perangkap sisa minyak telah dipasang. Beliau juga berjanji untuk memastikan kebersihan premis.
DBKL akan sentiasa memantau keadaan dari semasa ke semasa.
Maklumbalas dari tuan & orang awam juga amat dihargai di dalam membantu DBKL menjalankan tugasnya dengan berkesan.Harap Mr Low dapat meneruskannya.Tks
What can you say anymore...At least I feel satisfied after spending time to raise a complaint to government. And for the first time i really feel the enforcement really do something about it!
Posted By Sarjan low at 12:00 AM
Labels: Datuk Raja Nong Chik
"Terima kasih, terima kasih. Mak cik akan ingat hari ini (hari menerima tawaran rumah ini) sampai mati".
- Che Puteh Shuib, 63
KUALA LUMPUR 15 Julai - "Terima kasih, terima kasih. Mak cik akan ingat hari ini (hari menerima tawaran rumah ini) sampai mati".
Itu luahan pertama Che Puteh Shuib, 63, kepada wartawan Utusan Malaysia selepas majlis penyerahan surat tawaran rumah Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Sri Cempaka di Pejabat UMNO Bahagian Lembah Pantai, semalam.
Apa lagi yang diperlukan oleh seorang pesara seperti Che Puteh yang sebelum ini tinggal di setinggan Jalan Tepi Sungai Pantai Baru yang serba daif dan kekurangan.
Kawasan perumahan setinggan yang sudah didiaminya lebih daripada 30 tahun sebelum ini sememangnya tidak sempurna dan terdedah dengan ancaman keselamatan selain kebocoran atap yang kerap terjadi apabila hujan turun.
Che Puteh merupakan salah seorang daripada 11 penerima surat tawaran rumah PPR Sri Cempaka yang menerima surat tawaran yang sama.
Tambahnya, kegembiraan itu kini tidak dapat disembunyikan lagi apabila membayangkan kehidupan baru yang jauh lebih selesa bersama keluarga kelak.
"Mak cik tak sabar untuk berpindah. Difahamkan urusan perpindahan akan selesai dalam masa seminggu.
"Ia membuka lembaran baru di dalam kehidupan keluarga mak cik. Mak cik rasa ini saat yang tidak akan dilupakan sehingga akhir hayat," ujarnya.
Kehadiran Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin pada majlis itu juga menambah keyakinan penduduk di Lembah Pantai tentang kesungguhan pemimpin mereka itu untuk membantu mereka yang memerlukan.
Kisah Che Puteh sebenarnya hanya cebisan daripada beribu-ribu kisah penghuni setinggan yang sudah diberikan rumah PPR oleh pihak Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL).
Seorang lagi penerima PPR, Mohd. Zamri Mohd. Nor, 33, pula menyifatkan penerimaan surat tawaran itu sebagai tuah yang tidak disangka-sangka.
Katanya, kecepatan pihak DBKL memproses permohonannya dan kemudian ditawarkan rumah menyebabkan dia tergamam seketika.
Namun, dia kemudian sedar dan yakin bahawa masih ada pihak yang benar-benar ikhlas dan mahu membantu golongan sepertinya keluar dari kesusahan.
"Ini tuah keluarga. Kami berhutang budi kepada UMNO khususnya UMNO Lembah Pantai, DBKL dan Raja Nong Chik sendiri kerana menawarkan rumah baru ini.
"Ini kesungguhan yang harus diberi pujian, selama ini saya sekeluarga tinggal di rumah yang serba kekurangan. Perpindahan ini pasti menjadikan kami sekeluarga dapat hidup dengan lebih selesa," katanya.
Seorang lagi penerima rumah PPR, Azizie Razali, 32, berkata, penantian keluarganya selama ini seolah-olah didengar dan rintihan keluarganya yang tinggal di rumah setinggan telah terbela.
Dia yang sudah tinggal lebih 10 tahun di rumah setinggan berkata, tawaran rumah PPR itu menjadikan dia mahu bekerja dengan lebih gigih bagi meningkatkan taraf hidup keluarga.
"Sudah lebih 10 tahun saya tinggal di rumah setinggan. Kini kerajaan sudah membela nasib kami dan ucapan terima kasih harus diucap.
"Saya mahu bekerja dengan lebih gigih. Saya mahu mencari duit lebih untuk membeli perabot dan mencantikkan rumah baru kelak," jelasnya.
Sementara itu, Raja Nong Chik berkata, baki kira-kira 100 lagi pemilik rumah setinggan di kawasan Lembah Pantai akan 'dibersihkan' dan nasib keluarga berkenaan akan terbela dengan menerima rumah baru dalam masa terdekat.
Jelasnya, sehingga hari ini, pihaknya masih berusaha untuk memastikan keluarga yang masih menetap di kawasan setinggan berpindah dan menikmati kehidupan yang lebih selesa.
"Kita akan beri rumah PPR kepada yang berkenaan. Kita akan bantu dan memastikan tiada lagi setinggan di Lembah Pantai dan Kuala Lumpur pada masa hadapan," katanya.
Tambah Raja Nong Chik, usaha yang dibuat akan diteruskan tanpa sebarang alasan penangguhan.
"Macam hari ini, kita sudah bagi 11 keluarga rumah baru. Mereka juga akan berpindah dalam masa seminggu dan menikmati kehidupan yang jauh lebih baik daripada sebelum ini,'' ujarnya.
Perpindahan itu kelak, katanya, akan membawa penduduk setinggan yang selama ini sengsara dan hidup dalam kekurangan kepada situasi yang lebih selesa.
"Sebelum ini mereka tinggal di setinggan yang tidak mempunyai kawalan keselamatan selain diancam pelbagai risiko termasuk bencana alam. Kini mereka boleh mengukir senyuman dan berpindah ke rumah baru tanpa sebarang kerisauan lagi.
"Jangan risau. Mana-mana penghuni setinggan di sini akan terbela dan kemudahan PPR baru nanti diharap memberikan lebih keselesaan, selain membuka mata semua pihak terhadap keikhlasan kami membantu warga miskin," ujarnya.
(Utusan 16 Julai)
Tetap bantu tanpa kira politik
Oleh NORILA DAUD
pengarang@utusan.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR 1 Julai - Sebuah keluarga setinggan yang enggan berpindah selepas rumah mereka terbakar di Kampung Kerinchi dua hari lalu tetap akan menerima bantuan dan ditawarkan tempat di Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR).
Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan, Senator Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin berkata, keluarga berkenaan akan dibantu walaupun menimbulkan kekecohan kerana enggan berpindah ke PPR Seri Cempaka, Pantai Dalam.
"Saya percaya penduduk setinggan terbabit dan beberapa yang lain dipengaruhi pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab sehingga ada mendakwa pihak Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) sengaja membakar rumah-rumah mereka,'' katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian selepas menyerahkan bantuan kewangan daripada Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan masing-masing sebanyak RM1,000 kepada empat keluarga mangsa kebakaran, di tempat kejadian di sini hari ini.
Turut hadir pada majlis penyerahan bantuan kewangan dan surat tawaran rumah PPR itu ialah isteri Perdana Menteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor merangkap Yang Dipertua Badan Amal Kebajikan, Tenaga Isteri-Isteri Menteri dan Timbalan Menteri (Bakti) serta Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail.
Dalam kejadian dua hari lalu, rumah penduduk setinggan terbabit bersama empat rumah lain di penempatan setinggan Bukit B, Kampung Kerinchi di sini, hangus dalam kejadian kebakaran.
Katanya lagi, bantuan itu hasil usaha UMNO dan Barisan Nasional (BN) menolong penduduk di kawasan itu tanpa mengira kaum atau parti politik.
Bakti dan DBKL masing-masing menyumbang RM1,000 kepada setiap keluarga terbabit.
Sementara itu, mengulas kekecohan pada majlis penyerahan bantuan tersebut, Raja Nong Chik berkata, wanita yang membuat kecoh itu mendakwa dia tidak mendapat bantuan walaupun rumahnya hangus.
Sehubungan itu, katanya, masalah tersebut ada hubungkaitnya dengan tindakan suami wanita terbabit yang tidak menghendaki bantuan dan rumah.
Bagaimanapun, beliau berkata, wanita terbabit perlu mendapat persetujuan daripada suaminya sebelum ditawarkan rumah PPR.
''Dalam masa kecemasan, soal politik tidak timbul dan soal tidak bagi rumah juga tidak timbul langsung kerana kita beri bukan untuk mendapat kepentingan politik, tetapi hanya hendak membantu,'' jelasnya.
Dalam perkembangan lain, Raja Nong Chik turut memberitahu, baki lebih 100 setinggan akan berpindah ke PPR Seri Cempaka pertengahan Julai.
Menurutnya, bagi kumpulan yang enggan berpindah, pihaknya tidak boleh berbuat apa-apa kerana tanah tersebut kepunyaan swasta dan pemilik boleh berbuat apa sahaja ke atasnya.
"Kita menawarkan rumah yang terbaik, kini disewa RM124 sebulan dan pada masa akan datang, mungkin akan dijual.
"Hampir 90 peratus atau kira-kira 400 setinggan bersetuju untuk berpindah dan pada fasa pertama, lebih 200 setinggan telah berbuat demikian, manakala bakinya dalam proses bancian dan urusan pengenalan," jelasnya.
Utusan malaysia
Dinner with YB Dato Raja Nong Chik
By Syed Akbar Ali.
Yes the Bloggers did have dinner with YB Raja Nong Chik the Minister of the Federal Territory on Wednesday June 10th ‘09. And it was a good mix of Bloggers. There were the Right Wing Bloggers aka pro BN Bloggers (ultra right winger BigDog counts me as one of them) other wingers and also just Bloggers.
The other Bloggers were first of all Rocky’s Bru, Desiderata, My (Malaysian) Views, A Voice, I Am A Malaysian, De Minimis, Nuraina A. Samad, and Donplaypuks@.
I think first off Raja Nong Chik came across as the really new kid on the block in the Cabinet – he is a rookie Minister, taken out from Lembah Pantai straight into the Cabinet to hold the very important post of Minister of the Federal Territory. And he is learning the trade very quickly.
Although his functions oversee Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan the real plum in the pudding, the jewel in the crown is our Federal capital of Kuala Lumpur. But the thorn in the flesh and the pain in the behind is the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur the DBKL.
RNC acknowledged this himself when he said that out of 10 questions directed at him in Parliament, up to eight of the questions involve the DBKL’s goof ups, wrong doings and just bungling things up.
The DBKL has over 12,000 staff and was given an RM2.08bil budget for 2009 of which RM1.21bil (58.2%) was allocated for administration and RM869.1mil for development. This is a huge organization that has become a monster.
Without a doubt the DBKL has also helped the BN lose 10 Parliamentary seats in Kuala Lumpur. I hope RNC and Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak will pay particular attention to the deepest inner workings of the DBKL. The DBKL also suffers unnecessary intervention from the local politicians especially Federal Territory UMNO which also complicates matters. All this better stop.
After meeting us on Wednesday, Raja Nong Chik would have met the Persatuan Peniaga Wisma Yakin on Thursday to hear their grouses about the DBKL.
I think RNC is doing the right thing by getting direct feedback from the ground about what is really happening around Kuala Lumpur. But listening alone is not enough. There must be solid action. Otherwise people will feel even more insulted.
Buying the Bloggers dinner for example will not swing anything. Last night someone else bought dinner for the Bloggers too and I think more dinners are on the way. Many of the serious Bloggers are middle aged folks who watch their diet, but they care a lot for the future of their kids and the future of this country.
I was able to put across some of my concerns and complaints about the DBKL. Before the sun never set on the BN. It was blue everywhere. Now the scenario has changed completely. It is no more BN everywhere. And people voted for change because the BN’s delivery is falling down.
A case in point which I told RNC is the approval of building plans and development projects. The Pakatan Government in Selangor can approve single unit bungalow developments in just one day (Shah Alam, Kajang etc). They have fully utilized the One Stop Centre approach set up by the old BN Government in Selangor.
In terrible contrast the DBKL takes more than six months to approve a single unit bungalow project. There are hundreds of files that are waiting, waiting and waiting to be approved. The delays are due to poor system management. Of course when there are delays other demons appear who may offer to grease the path to slipperiness.
Considering that each of those backlogged files is worth at least RM1.0 million, it means hundreds of millions of Ringgit worth of development projects are not taking off in Kuala Lumpur. If all these projects are approved quickly, Kuala Lumpur will be humming with construction activity. The City can be its own economic stimulus. The DBKL does not seem to understand this very well.
I told RNC that many people can now make out the difference between DBKL and the Pakatan Government in Selangor. And people are beginning to talk about it. Contractors, architects and engineers (and there are plenty Malays there too) prefer to work outside the Federal Territory, beyond the clutches of the DBKL. There is less hassle to make a living.
We also spoke about the road closures, the really dense and wasteful Bazaar project in Jalan Masjid India and the problems that this project has caused. RNC acknowledged that one of the problems with DBKL is that it is a ‘closed service’ – meaning the DBKL staff cannot be transferred out to other branches of Government. So there is little renewal or rotation of Staff. Hence over time the people in the DBKL become entrenched and guard their turf like ‘warlords’. Inertia sets in and it is difficult to ‘move them’.
This situation really has to change. The BN cannot win back 10 seats in the FT when almost every citizen who has dealings with the DBKL complains about them.
I hope RNC also has good and committed staff around him in the Ministry of the Federal Territory. He has set up a Facebook site where anyone can write to him. I had written to him about the long delay in getting approval for a small project I am doing in Kuala Lumpur. He replied and said that someone from his office would call me. That was a couple of weeks ago.
Well until today, even after Wednesday’s dinner, no one has called me yet. At the dinner I even met one of RNC’s junior officers who had been tasked ‘to call me’. The young man said he would give me the name and number of someone else and ‘Encik Syed boleh call dia’. I think it was taichi. Well its Friday today. Still no calls.
We can see a genuineness about Raja Nong Chik. We wish him well. He has spent a lot of time with the NGOs, fighting for the simple folks and helping them with their problems.
He is also very unassuming. After the dinner was over we all stood on the steps to say goodbye to him. I was expecting his bodyguards and driver to drive up but they were nowhere to be seen. He and the Mrs had driven over by themselves. And although there was ample space for VIPs to park their cars at the Lobby (Sime Darby Convention Centre) he had parked his car at the carpark outside the fence and across the road. So the Minister and his wife walked off by themselves in the dark got into their car and drove off.
I really wish great success at the Ministry of the FT.
Meeting the FT Minister
Brother Rocky was kind and generous enough to add a nondescript blogger like me to a dinner session with the Minister of Federal Territories, YB Datuk Raja Nong Chik bin Datuk Raja Zainal Abidin and his charming wife last night at the Sime Darby Convention Centre. The Minister has a dotcom that you can check out here.
Rocky has indicated the other, more luminous bloggers who were also present at the dinner here.
What struck me was the down-to-earth persona of the Minister and his wife. Absent was any air of condescension that tends to waft across whenever one meets a person with power. Maybe it's early days yet. But, that would be an unfair assessment of the Minister, who came across as someone who is sincere and, under no illusions as to the task that is before him.
The biggest single challenge for the Minister must be the cloistered and, comfortable super-bureaucracy that exists in Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. Putrajaya and Labuan pales in comparison. And DBKL is at the veritable centre of the Malaysian urban universe, the great city of Kuala Lumpur.
From the lofty perch of the leafy Bukit Tunku, Damansara Heights and Bangsar, to the stench of the depths of Chow Kit Market, to the frenetic traffic that criss-crosses Kepong, Jinjang and, of course, Cheras - that is the empire and fiefdom of the DBKL.
If you believe Syed Akbar Ali of OutSyed the Box and, it is hard to ignore Syed's in-your-face candour and brutal frankness, DBKL practises multiple standards. The level of attentive care and diligence that DBKL displays in Bukit Tunku, Damansara Heights and Bangsar is replaced with abject disdain and neglect in lesser suburbs. That is what he told the Minister last night. The Minister and his aides listened with rapt attention.
But, that point paled in comparison with Syed's pet peeve - the alleged shenanigans of DBKL in the Jalan Masjid India precinct. For that peeve, I shall circumspectly leave to whatever bolts of lightning that good 'ol Syed may choose to throw from his popular blog. I have no doubt that whatever "input" Syed gives on the matter will receive the necessary attention since he gives his views in good faith as a rate-payer.
The governance or, the lack thereof, of Kuala Lumpur is a super high-profile matter. Obviously, the overwhelming number of Pakatan Rakyat MPs in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur is a stern reminder to the Minister that his task is made all the less easy for that matter.
From the standpoint of the ailing rate-payer, the preponderance of Pakatan Rakyat MPs in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur that is being governed under the leadership of an UMNO-BN Minister is a positive tension that should engender better practises by the bureaucratic behemoth that is DBKL. Both sets of politicians from opposite sides of the aisle, so to speak, should put the necessary squeeze on DBKL's bureaucracy. That much still needs to be done in spite of that healthy political tension speaks volumes about the degree to which vested interests have embedded themselves into the DBKL superstructure.
So, our hope is that the Minister will find much common ground with the likes of Wangsa Maju MP, YB Wee Choo Keong and Lembah Pantai MP, YB Nurul Izzah Anwar, to place DBKL under intense scrutiny. That level of positive political cooperation can only benefit the ratepayers. And, it is a healthy competition for their voting sympathy.
I wish the Minister all the best in his heavy task and, I hope that he will reach out to the other FT MPs for the benefit of all ratepayers in Kuala Lumpur.