Ching: Selangor not utilising road maintenance funds

KLANG: Funds allocated to the Selangor Government for the maintenance of some 16,013km of roads in the state had not been utilised properly.

Citing the Auditor-General's report, Klang MCA Youth chief Datuk Ching Eu Boon said the Federal Government has been giving RM375.9mil annually for road maintenance but the state government failed to manage the money well.

He said the state government's failure to repair and ensure that the roads were in good condition had caused accidents, including fatalities in the Klang district.

“The Federal Government gives out the money through MARRIS (Malaysian Road Records Inventory System).

“At the end of 2011, the state had an extra RM162.46mil, which means it only spent slightly over RM200mil.At the end of 2012, there was a whopping RM319.85mil extra.

“This means that the state has about RM700mil including the sum disbursed this year by the Federal Government.

“Boasting that the state is rich is pointless when problems are not solved,” Ching said after announcing a Barisan Nasional state-level Chap Goh Meh celebration at I-City on Sunday.

He named Jalan Banting and Jalan Batu Unjur in Klang as two accident-prone roads. Ching said three deaths were recorded in Jalan Banting and one in Jalan Batu Unjur last year.

Ching also took a swipe at state exco Ronnie Liu, who is in charge of local councils, for not doing anything to resolve this issue.

“If he doesn't know how to perform his duties, he should learn from the previous state executive councillors,” he said, adding that apart from the Public Works Department, local councils were also responsible for repairing and upgrading roads.

MB slammed over ‘Umno agents’ claim

ALOR SETAR: Several Kolej Universiti Insaniah (Kuin) staff have slammed Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak for accusing them of acting like Umno agents.

The staff claimed that Azizan was trying to divert Kuin's issues by blaming the staff, who were trying to stand up for their rights.

Kuin lecturer Mohd Farid Alias said Azizan's accusation was baseless and without proof.

“On what grounds is the mentri besar making the allegation? We are not politically inclined to any party. All we want is the welfare of the staff to be taken care of,” he said.

Mohd Farid spoke to reporters after he and 19 Kuin staff handed over a memorandum to Azizan at Wisma Darulaman here yesterday.

He was commenting on an article in a Malay daily last week, which quoted Azizan as saying the staff were acting like Umno agents when they lodged several reports with the Labour Department over the problems they were facing in Kuin.

Azizan's press secretary Mohamad Helmi Khalid received the memorandum on his behalf as the mentri besar was in Kuala Lumpur attending a meeting.

In the memorandum, the staff expressed their regret over Azizan's statement that they are agents of Umno.

They also hoped Azizan would settle the problem they had been facing for the past four years, which included salary increments, bonus, salary deductions and the existence of Kuin subsidiary companies, which the staff claimed were not making any profit for the university college.

Kedah Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Paduka Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said Umno had never appointed anyone to become an agent for the party at Kuin.

“It is easy for Azizan to accuse them, but where is the proof?” he said.

Selangor polls will be held along with elections, says Khalid

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Government agrees that the state elections be held together with parliamentary elections and leaves it to the Election Commission to fix the date.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said there was consensus on the matter among all state assembly members from the opposition pact.

“We agree that the date of the general election be decided by the Election Commission and we have no objection that the state elections be held simultaneously with the parliamentary elections,” he said after officiating at an event here yesterday.

Prior to this, Khalid had said that the date for the dissolution of the Selangor State Assembly would be announced after Chap Goh Meh following a meeting with opposition state assemblymen.

On the water issue, Khalid said he did not receive any complaint from investors in Selangor on treated water supply, noting that the number of foreign investors in the state last year was still high. - Bernama

Pakatan top brass weigh in on feud between Boo and Chua

PETALING JAYA: The discontent within the Johor Opposition front has come under national spotlight with Pakatan Rakyat's national leaders calling for action on the matter.

Shocked by Johor DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau's outburst against his PKR counterpart Datuk Chua Jui Meng, PKR vice-president Tian Chua said he hoped that DAP would “do something” about it.

“We will leave it to DAP to sort it out. As a coalition, it is not appropriate for someone in a leadership position to make such allegations so publicly,” he said.

Dr Boo had earlier issued a statement condemning Chua as arrogant, blaming him as the main cause for a split in Johor Pakatan Rakyat.

He claimed that he had dampened talks about seat allocations in the general election, alleging that Chua wanted a “safe seat” for himself.

However, Tian Chua said that “if Dr Boo thinks that what he is saying has merit, he should bring it up to his own leadership and talk to hissecretary-general Lim Guan Eng.”

Lim said both Dr Boo and Chua should refrain from making further public comments, especially on seat negotiations.

“The DAP central leadership appreciates the contribution of Dr Boo and acknowledges his frustrations on being dictated to, in the relationship between DAP and PKR in Johor. However, such matters, no matter how unjust and frustrating, should not be expressed in public unless all avenues for discussion internally between PKR and DAP have been exhausted,” he said.

This was to avoid giving “ammunition” to their opponents, he said.

In JOHOR BARU, state DAP leaders are backing calls for Chua, who is Johor PKR chief, to be dropped.

A DAP youth leader, who declined to be named, said he was in support of Dr Boo, claiming that there had been problems especially after Chua took over as state PKR chief in 2010.

“It is difficult for us to openly voice our opinions because we do not want to compromise our positions in the party but we have been facing a lot of challenges since Chua came into the picture.”

He claimed that he had received complaints about Chua not being able to communicate well with component party members.

“There has been several occasions when the DAP organised a fund- raising dinner and Chua would also hold a similar function at the same time,” he said.

Another DAP division leader said: “We have high hopes to make inroads in Johor and all our efforts will be wasted if this matter is not dealt with soon.”

Johor PAS commissioner Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed said the public clash between Dr Boo and Chua was not a wise move especially with the general election drawing near.

“Honestly, I do not want to get involved. There is no point for them to make derogatory statements openly,” he said.

Chua was quoted as saying yesterday that Dr Boo should be more more mature and humble, and not get “too excited” over his remarks.

In SUNGAI SIPUT, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the public discord showed that Pakatan members did not have a common stand.

Don’t feel sidelined, Indians told

IPOH: The Indian community should not feel that they are sidelined by the Government in any way.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Government did not discriminate and the Indian community should stop thinking that way.

“However, the Government can only help but the onus is up to the Indian community to strive harder to ensure success, especially if they are running a business.

“It is difficult and not easy to run a business, I know because I was in the line before,” he said before opening the Perak Indian Chamber of Commerce new building here yesterday.

Muhyiddin said the market was very competitive, and everyone had to work hard to conduct business.

Muhyiddin said the Government had reduced the approval time for business licences and company registration considerably.

“Now you can do it within one day and of course many other initiatives are also offered by the Government to conduct business with ease,” he said.

“We offer various incentives and schemes to all to ensure that the business environment is conducive.

“That is why Malaysia is the fourth best country to carry out business in a conducive manner as picked by international bodies,” he added.

Yesterday, Muhyiddin approved RM100,000 for the chamber to purchase office equipment as earlier requested by its president Sultan Abdul Khader.