The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Three civilians honoured for bravery
- Developers lament extra charges
- Damaged septic tank causing a stink
| Three civilians honoured for bravery Posted: 03 Jun 2013 05:43 PM PDT TEMERLOH: Three civilians who managed to apprehend a snatch thief last month received recognition from the police. The three men were Shahrul Mimi Romlan, 32, Mohd Khairul Nizam Ahmad, 40, and Abdul Qayyum Abu Yazid, 20. Deputy OCPD Supt Zundin Mahmood presented commendation certificates to the three during the monthly gathering held at the district police headquarters here recently. Supt Zundin said the brave act of the three should be emulated by others to help the authorities in curbing crime. "The suspect has since been charged in court for the alleged offence. The neighbourhood and streets will be much safer with more civilians coming forward to help the police," he said. Supt Zundin said however, the public should exercise restraint and be extra cautious while making citizen's arrest. He said this was because the suspect could be armed and would turn aggressive in his bid to evade arrest. "We do not want the public to endanger their livesunnecessarily. "Crimes can occur anywhere and anytime and the people must not let their guard down," he said. Meanwhile, Abdul Qayyum, an undergraduate from Universiti Teknologi Mara, said he heard a loud commotion on May 14 at about 1.30pm. "I was on the way to meet a friend in Jalan Pak Sako when a woman shouted for help. I spotted a snatch thief armed with a knife before giving chase," he said, adding that two others responded by helping to chase after the suspect together. Abdul Qayyum said a struggle ensued before they succeeded in disarming the suspect and handed him over to the police. He said all three of them were not afraid despite facing an armed suspect as they wanted to detain the culprit and put him behind bars. Shahrul Mimi said he was proud to be able to play a role in apprehending the suspect. "I am not eyeing for a reward but just doing my part as a responsible citizen," said the entrepreneur who operates a workshop. Businessman Mohd Khairul Nizam said it was the first time he succeeded in making a citizen's arrest. "I will not hesitate to make more of such arrests in the future," he said. |
| Developers lament extra charges Posted: 03 Jun 2013 04:56 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: Developers in the state are crying foul over additional "utility mapping services" imposed by a private company appointed by the Johor government several months ago. Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) chairman Koh Moo Hing in a statement said that the association understood the Government's intention of coordinating the digging of public areas for the laying of services. "But to impose charges on areas not yet developed or on areas still under the maintenance of developers is not acceptable," he added. Koh stressed that the coordinating of the utility services within an area was within the power and responsibility of local authorities. "In giving the concession to a private entity, the local authorities have abdicated their power and responsibilities at the expense of the end users," he said. He added that Johor Rehda, which represents 110 developers in the state, was disappointed that the award of concession agreement to a private entity was done without transparency and prior consultation with major stakeholders such as Johor Rehda. "This has resulted in a lot of confusion when member developers started receiving bills from Tenaga Nasional for additional charges and deposits imposed on them by the private company. "Developers also received letters from Syarikat Air Johor (SAJ) to get clearance from the private company for diversion of pipe works within their development, which has not been taken over by the local authorities for maintenance," he added. Koh added that they understood that the Johor government had given the concession to the company to coordinate the utilities services and to impose charges on any party wanting to carry out any utilities works such as laying of cables, water pipes and sewer pipes. "The company officials have also been given wide powers to sit on the planning approval committee of the local authorities issuing approval letter for laying of services and to collect charges, issuing clearance letter before the architects or the engineers can issue certificate of completion and compliance," he added. Koh added that despite meeting up with various utilities agencies and state government agencies, the developers continued to receive bills from the company. "This is happening despite the assurance given by the former Housing, Local Government and Public Works committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Zahri Jamil that the guidelines will be reviewed and that the company will stop charging the developers until the review is completed," he added. Koh added that the imposition of these new additional charges could not have come at a worse time for developers as this would increase the cost of doing business as electricity and utilities applicants would have to pay additional charges to the private company on top of what they would already be paying the utilities agencies. He added that this would create additional bureaucracy, contravening the guidelines set up by the Housing and Local Government Ministry regarding the issuance of the certificate of completion and compliance and contravening the Competition Act as the company was given a monopoly to charge for "coordination" services with the relevant utilities agencies and local authorities. Koh added that developers were also made to pay for additional charges to the company even in the newly developing areas where roads were not even built yet or in areas where the roads were built but not yet handed over to the local authorities for maintenance. "Ultimately, the increase in cost will be borne by the rakyat. We urge the state government to seriously look into this issue for a healthy development of the housing industry and the interest of consumers," he added. |
| Damaged septic tank causing a stink Posted: 03 Jun 2013 05:45 PM PDT KULAIJAYA: Residents of the Taman Selesa flats in Senai here are fed up with the unsightly green liquid and unappetising stench caused by a damaged septic tank and the situation gets worse when it rains. Supervisor Ahmad Tarmizi Soid, 46, said the problem had been going on for the past three years and no actions had been taken despite numerous complaints to the property's developer and local authorities. He said the damaged septic tank usually caused murky waters to overflow onto the road, resulting in the foul odour. "The damaged tank also caused the drains to clog up and rainwater cannot flow properly into the sewerage, making the place a mosquito breeding ground," he said at the flats here on Sunday. Mother-of-four Wong Ah Moy, 51, also complained about the residents' bad habit of throwing rubbish everywhere as they liked. "Even residents from the terrace houses nearby are dumping their garbage at our flats and sometimes the waste are just strewn everywhere, making the place very dirty and smelly," she said. The housewife added that she had been paying a maintenance fee of RM30 per month but lamented that no consistent actions were carried out. They were among those who voiced their grouses in a dialogue session held between the residents and Senai assemblyman Wong Shu Qi. During the session, Wong listened to problems highlighted such as cleanliness, hygiene, for a proper residents association to be set up as well as the need for proper lighting outside the two flat blocks and stairways. She said that she would bring the matter to the developer's attention and urged the residents to also lodge complaints with the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (PPSPPA) and local council. |
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