Pothole causes meat seller serious injuries

Thursday November 13, 2008

A pothole in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Kajang, has caused serious injuries to a meat seller.

Ng Chee Heng, 40, who lives in the township and makes his living there, fell from his motorcycle when he hit the pothole in Jalan Mahkota. The incident occurred at 3.30pm on Nov 6.

A dazed Ng was later carried to the side of the road by passers-by.

He sustained a gash on his forehead that required two stitches and had bruises on other parts of his body.

When asked if he was contemplating legal action, Ng said the party responsible for pipe works in the area could not be identified.

“The work has been going on for a month but we don’t know by who. I only knew the pothole was there after I reached the safety cone placed in front of it but there was no time to stop,” he said.

Bandar Sungai Long Residents Association secretary Jeff Tung said residents of the neighbouring townships were not against development but wanted the parties responsible in digging up the roads to have regard for public safety.

“We are clueless as to who these contractors work for.

“Pipes and cables are being laid in the area without prior notification to residents and the potholes are only covered after residents have complained numerous times.”

Bandar Mahkota Cheras Section 4 Residents Association pro tem committee chairman Fok Ah Chai said there was no point in placing safety cones next to the potholes.

“Road users need to be warned earlier. Then there is the shoddy re-surfacing where the road slowly sinks and becomes uneven.”

Motorcyclists are prone to skidding on Persiaran Mahkota, as they approach the traffic lights junction heading out of Bandar Mahkota Cheras.

Large amounts of gravel on both sides of the road were seen during the media visit.

Tung said local authorities should instruct contractors to display signs for road, pipe and cable works because safety cones alone were insufficient and cannot provide the relevant information.

EPF to adjust members' contributions to 8% from January

Friday November 7, 2008

PETALING JAYA: Employees Provi­dent Fund (EPF) members will be able to benefit from the three percentage point reduction of their monthly contribution rate from January.

In a statement yesterday, EPF said the reduction of the employees’ contribution from 11% to 8% would be made automatically for the ease of members and to facilitate implementation measures.

“This arrangement will be implemented until the December 2010 wage,” said EPF public relations senior manager Nik Affendi Jaafar in a statement yesterday.

However, members who wish to maintain their 11% contribution rate can still do so by filling up Form KWSP 17A (AHL) and handing it to their employers for submission to EPF.

Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced recently that members could reduce their monthly contributions from 11% to 8% to give them more disposable income. The announcement was part of a stimulus package to help boost economic growth.

“The decision to reduce members’ statutory contribution rate was taken twice before in 2001 and in 2003 as part of economic stimulus packages,” said Nik Affendi.

EPF would be issuing a new monthly contributions schedule accordingly, he said.

“Members and employers may obtain the new schedule and Form KWSP 17A (AHL) from all EPF branches or download them from our website at www.kwsp.gov.my from Dec 1 onwards,” he added.

‘Bonnie and Clyde ’ team and Indonesian pair shot dead in separate incidents

Thursday November 6, 2008

PETALING JAYA: A “Bonnie and Clyde ” team were among four people killed in shootouts with police in separate incidents.

The couple were shot dead following a two-hour standoff yesterday, after shooting and wounding a police officer who had gone to investigate them at Green Acre Park in Bandar Sungai Long, Kajang,

Chief Insp Ang Weai Leong, 29, had led a six-man team to the condominium at 2am and was shot in his right and left calf when he entered their unit on the first floor.

Criminal Investigations Depart- ment (CID) director Commissioner Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin said they were being investigated for armed robbery of about 32 luxury cars valued at RM3mil.

He said the team was shot at when it entered the premises and reinforcements were sent in.

“We tried negotiating with the armed robbers who refused our demand to surrender peacefully,” he said.

They stormed the unit and shot dead the couple in the ensuing shootout.

Comm Mohd Bakri said the two had identity cards of a man named Goh Kiam Chye, 40, and a woman, Wong Sau Lai, 20.

Wong was believed to have rammed a police patrol car in May. She was arrested but jumped bail.

In Puchong, police shot dead two Indonesians in Kampung Tengah, believed to be hired killers and wanted in the killing of a couple in Klang on Aug 21.

Selangor Chief Police Officer Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said police officers saw them on a motorcycle at 12.20pm and ordered them to stop but one of them shot at them and police had no choice but to return fire.

Police found a bloodstained T-shirt, slippers, torchlight and a spent shell by a river nearby, leading them to believe that the duo had just shot dead or injured someone.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said police would not hesitate to use force to combat daring and dangerous criminals when the safety of police personnel came under threat while on duty.

EPF down from 11% to 8%

Wednesday November 5, 2008

PETALING JAYA: Employees can choose to reduce their EPF contributions to increase their disposable income next year.

The Government has allowed employees to reduce their contributions by three percentage points from 2009 to 2011.

Presently, the employer’s EPF contribution is 12% while employees contribute 11%.

“With the reduction, the total contribution is still at a reasonable rate of 20%, which is 12% from the employer and 8% from employee,” said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said if all contributors chose to reduce their contributions, it would come up to RM4.8bil annually.

“Assuming that only 50% of contributors take up the option, private spending is expected to go up by RM2.4bil,” he said.

“A person earning RM2,000 could gain an extra disposable income of RM60 monthly, while one earning RM6,000 will have an extra RM180 to spend.”

On the RM5bil fund injection into government investing agency Valuecap to stimulate capital market activity, Najib said similar moves had been implemented in other countries such as the Tracker Fund in Hong Kong in 1998, and recently by Qatar Investment Authority and the largest pension fund in Korea .

“The extra fund is acquired from EPF loans which is guaranteed by the Government. Therefore, the loan does not only guarantee higher returns compared with deposit rates from banking institutions but is also a minimum risk investment to EPF,” he said.

But, some workers’ unions felt that savings will be reduced and it will affect the people’s retirement funds.

National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) secretary general J. Solomon said he hoped that the voluntary offer was only for the time being during the economic crisis.

MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said that reduced savings would not benefit contributors.

“When savings go down it will be followed by a decrease in dividends.

Kajang councillors want action on MPKj officer

Saturday November 1, 2008

Story by GEETHA KRISHNAN

THREE Kajang municipal councillors want the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to investigate an alleged irregularity involving a council officer.

The case in Bandar Sungai Long, Kajang, concerns a hardware store that has encroached into the river and road reserve lands with the alleged sanction of a Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) officer.

Councillors Lee Kee Hiong, Tan Han Kuo and Carmen Leong told a press conference yesterday that the MPKj only acted when they highlighted the case recently.

They claimed the alleged officer was reluctant to take action although many complaints had been lodged with the MPKj.

The the store has been extended into the main road, narrowing it into one lane. The encroachment into the river reserve, meanwhile, has caused the erosion of certain parts of the Sungai Long riverbank.

A major landslide occurred there two years ago, swallowing part of the road opposite the Evergreen Condominium. Repair works were only recently completed after repeated delays.

According to Evergreen Condominium Residents Association president Leow Yung Kit, the store owner’s inconsiderate action was threatening the safety of residents and road users.

Leow said that the local authorities should take immediate action before a disaster occured.

Lee said that when the case was first highlighted, a RM25,000 compund was issued to the store owner under Section 70A of the Road, Drainage and Building Act 1974.

“Because the owner has refused to comply with our directive, the MPKj is now issuing a stop work order to protect the riverbank from further erosion,” she said.

“As you can see, a stairway built by the authorities is partially buried under sand. Such nonsense cannot continue,” Lee said.

According to MPKj engineering department technical assistant Subeha Mohd Saleh, the store owner has been told to temporarily cover the area with plastic sheets and, at the same time, to engage a consultant to design a proper bund for the store without encroaching into the river reserve.

Lee said the store owner was given temporary permits for two storage cabins till Dec 31 but it had built the illegal extensions.

“We are giving the owner 30 days from Oct 31 to tear down the extensions. If he fails to comply, under Section 72 of the Streets, Building and Drainage Act, we will demolish them,” she said.

Hulu Langat Drainage and Irrigation Department technician Azhar Ramli said the owner was instructed to submit a report to the department for further action by the Land Office but it had yet to comply.

“We cannot take any action before receiving the report,” he said, causing an uproar and protest among residents present at the press conference.

Lee said the council would take the necessary action to ensure that the safety of residents and road users was maintained.