SOMETIMES, I get accused of playing hero when I go public with issues. The accusations stem from the notion that I supposedly do not go through official channels to resolve matters and that I’m only interested in the publicity that the issue generates. Are such accusations true? Perhaps the best way to answer this is […]
KW Mak
Our right to open spaces
Ampersand by KW Mak
NEW development projects seem to be on the rise again in Petaling Jaya. Much of these are apparently over open spaces set aside by previous developers. Naturally, this would have existing neighbours up in arms and protesting against the new development. No doubt residents caught in such a situation would like to ask the following […]
Leasehold or freehold: What’s the truth about Petaling Jaya land?
Ampersand by KW Mak
LEASEHOLD titles in Petaling Jaya (PJ) are a controversial topic. The expiration date of the lease and the high premium that needs to be paid to the Selangor government has caused revival of much of PJ Old Town, comprising Sections 1 to 4, to stagnate. In my research into the issue, I have found evidence […]
To brand or not to brand?
Ampersand by KW Mak
SELANGOR Speaker Teng Chang Kim recently got some flak for the placement of his name on park facilities. A news report focused on the DAP politician alone, even though other politicians from both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat also imprint their names on public amenities. This left the impression that the news article […]
Car parking woes in SS20
Ampersand by KW Mak
BALANCING the needs of a residential community and a business entity in the same area is part of the work I do as a councillor. One such issue involves the illegal parking around the Damansara Specialist Hospital and the traffic nuisance it represents for the SS20 Damansara Kim residents. There are no morals to this […]
Advice to a councillor
Ampersand by KW Mak
IN the world of politics, making a stand on an issue can sometimes lead to friendly advice and curious SMSes. This is one such story, with no morals attached to the telling of the tale, save those that readers conclude for themselves. The advice I had just finished a local council meeting when a senior […]
A councillor’s life
Ampersand by KW MakMBPJ councillor KW Mak would like to someday return – via legal means – to an income bracket that allows him to pay taxes, as the benefit of having free parking in Petaling Jaya as a councillor is really overrated.
Why should we care what MBPJ does?
Ampersand by KW Mak
MOST ratepayers are unlikely to know this. But according to the Local Government Act, if a local council incurs a debt it cannot pay, ratepayers can be compelled to pay up instead. Section 45 of the Local Government Act states that should the local council default in payment of a loan for three months, the […]
Privatising rubbish collection: Who benefits?
By KW Mak
THE federal government wants to privatise rubbish removal services under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) and have local councils focus purely on enforcement. Technically, the federal government cannot legally force a local government to enter into a privatisation contract. A contract’s signatories would have to be representatives from the government entering the contract itself. However, […]
How MBPJ flouts the law
Ampersand by KW Mak
THE problems of poor and uncoordinated town planning were identified and recognised way back in 2005 when the Federal Town and Country Planning Department produced the National Physical Plan (NPP). The NPP was produced after town planning, which was to be dealt with in state and local plans, ended up being unguided and not in […]
