LOCAL government elections seems to be a hot topic in Malaysia’s current political landscape. The belief is that a local council would be more accountable to the taxpaying public if elections are held. The Election Commission, however, will not conduct local government elections because it violates the Local Government Act. So while we are stuck […]
Ampersand
How MBPJ got it wrong
By KW Mak(Pic by moth / Dreamstime) IN the previous instalment of Ampersand, I established that there is a discrepancy between the deposited plan for Petaling Jaya (PJ) and the on-the-ground development in the city. Specifically, I highlighted that areas marked as open space in the deposited plan are now built over with commercial development. In this […]
Sabotaging public interest
By KW MakTHE local council often faces objections and sometimes outright hostility from the people when it needs to enforce the law. Protests by interested parties against enforcement measures, like the removal of illegal barricades, are the norm. In this exciting episode of Ampersand, I shall cover other issues that also face protests from interested parties. Three […]
Sketches of a councillor
By KW MakLOCAL council meetings can stretch on for four to five hours. Many issues arising from the non-adherence of the law by the previous government need the current administration’s attention. At times when the debate gets ridiculously long-winded or totally diverges from the topic at hand, I sketch. This drawing habit comes from my love for […]
Disputing PJ’s development
By KW MakCover of the PJ Local Plan 1 (All pics courtesy of KW Mak) IN the previous instalment of Ampersand, I explained how the Selangor government came up with the Rancangan Struktur Daerah Petaling dan Sebahagian Daerah Klang as the area’s blueprint for development. The said structure plan has since fallen into obscurity, and the Petaling […]
Understanding town planning
By KW Mak(Pic by moth / Dreamstime) THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is the law when it comes to development within Petaling Jaya. It is empowered to impose all sorts of rules and conditions on developers. This is fine, except the conditions and rules that have been implemented may not have adhered to town-planning laws in […]
No action on illegal structures
By KW Mak(Pic by cjung / sxc.hu) THE issue of whether barricades on residential roads should be allowed has been simmering for some time. By taking no action, the authorities seem to be encouraging the problem. These barricades are illegal by law, and the residents who put up these barriers are cognizant of this. But these residents […]
Tales from a Councillor: Barricades and racial quotas
By KW MakUPHOLDING the law should be what government is all about. But there are times when I find that majority rule throws out all those law books I have been reading. There are no morals to these stories, save those that readers interpret for themselves. Barricades (Pic by Laura Leavell / sxc.hu) A group of residents […]
Ratepayers as beggars
By KW MakNot doing wonders for property value(© Robyn Gallagher / Flickr) IN a previous column, a reader requested for help to remove rubbish in Section 5, Petaling Jaya. The rubbish had not been removed for some time. Such requests are not isolated. Other complaints are about pot holes or illegally parked cars outside commercial areas like […]
When laws are flouted
By KW MakCorrected on 1 Dec 2009 at 11.45am A FUNCTIONING community is predicated on its members’ acceptance of the laws of the land, and the fact that these laws are applied fairly and justly to all. In a community such as a nation state, the custodian of these laws would be the various government agencies. But […]
