State allocating Reprieve Pandamaran –

suitable land for two Still a village

for orphanage villages at heart
p 4 p 6 p 12 & 13

community May 27 — May 29, 2011/ issue 26

ZERO TOLERANCE:
Shah Alam City Council
(MBSA) enforcement
officers carrying out
seizure operations on
business outlets with
assessment tax arrears.

By Gan Pei Ling • Story on page 9

SHAH ALAM: An alarming

nine in 10 welfare homes in Selan-
gor are operating illegally.
The state has ordered all licensing
authorities to act now before an-
other tragedy recurs.
Only 82 out of the 865 welfare
homes – both charity- and profit-
based – are officially registered with
the Social Welfare Department and
local authorities.
“Most of these unlicensed homes
are owned by private operators,” said
Rodziah Ismail.
The executive councillor, whose
portfolio includes welfare, gave the
figures in response to the deaths of
16 people in a landslide at the unli-
censed Hidayah Madrasah Al-
Taqwa orphanage last Saturday.

Most welfare homes

Its Hulu Langat premises, built
on agriculture land, did not comply
with guidelines, being located next
to a hill with an 80-degree slope.
Rodziah pointed out that more
than a quarter of the 783 unlicensed

unlicensed
homes are located in Hulu Langat.
Petaling, Gombak, Klang and prevent the Hulu Langat tragedy erators might have premise licences
Subang Jaya also have more than from recurring. and business licences from local
100 unlicensed welfare homes She said Selangor would assist governments, many did not obtain
each, according to statistics re- these high-risk welfare homes by operating licences from the Social
leased by the Selangor Social Wel- offering them a nominal premium Welfare Department.
fare Department. of RM1 to relocate to safe and suit- She said the one-stop centre
These homes are not only hous- locate other unlicensed charity trained professionals to take proper able state lands. would assist unlicensed homes se-
ing children, but also offer shelter to homes in their areas within the next care of the children or senior citizens Meanwhile, Rodziah also an- cure licences and permits.
senior citizens, disabled people and three months. to prevent abuse,” she said. nounced this week that Selangor Rodziah assured operators of
single women. “We want to make sure these Rodziah added that the state would be setting up a one-stop unlicensed homes that the state
Rodziah said the state had in- shelters are safe. [Not just in terms] would categorise these unlicensed centre to help unlicensed homes would give them ample time to le-
structed the 12 local authorities to
LB_246806_TheSun_m14.ai 1 of their 11:18
5/20/11 buildings
PM and facilities, but homes and give priority to tackling legalise their operations. galise their operations.
conduct a comprehensive survey to also to make sure that they have those located in high-risk areas to She added that while most op- • Turn to page 2
2
News
MAY 27 — 29, 2011

Selangor WEATHER
Friday Saturday Sunday

Morning

Afternoon

Night

Source: Malaysian meteorological department

Selangor remains
investors’
No 1 choice Khalid and Dr Siti Mariah Mahmood with the CDs and write-ups sent by post.

Sex videos distributed

By Brenda Ch’ng

SHAH ALAM: Selangor has attracted investments

worth RM2.5 billion in the first three months of the year,
topping other states while potentially creating 3,880 new

to village heads
jobs.
“Based on statistics from the Malaysia Industrial Devel-
opment Authority (Mida),  Selangor’s foreign investment
value totals RM1.5 billion, doubling Johor’s figure which
is only RM766 million,” said Teresa Kok.
The executive councillor for investment, industry and
trade added that Selangor is the number-one choice of local By Alvin Yap chiefs in the [Rawang ] area,” said received envelopes containing CDs
and foreign investors. Rawang assemblyperson Gan Pei Nei and a detailed write-up alleging the
She added that 60% of the investors are foreign. SHAH ALAM: Village heads in at a press conference on Wednesday. male figure in the video was Datuk Seri
Kok said the statistics indicate an increase in local inves- Chinese- and Malay-majority areas in Gan and the village chiefs in the Anwar Ibrahim.
tors’ confidence.  Selangor have received compact disc area had lodged a report at the Rawang “If the original was surrendered to
The state has approved 59 manufacturing projects, (CD) recordings allegedly showing a district police station on Wednesday. the police, where did these copies com-
amounting to 32% of approved projects in the country, prominent politician having sex with She said the scandal, which began on ing from?” he asked.
during the period. a woman. March 21 when businessperson Datuk Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mah-
Kok said 43 projects are new, while the rest are an expan- Envelopes with Malacca and Shah Shazryl Eskay Abdullah showed the mood, who was present at the press
sion of existing projects.  Alam postmarks containing four CDs 22-minute video to journalists at Car- conference, said the perpetrators were
“This figure, [which puts us at number one in Malaysia], were sent to village chiefs in Rawang cosa Seri Negara, had not resulted in any going against ethical, moral and Malay
contributes to 32% of total projects approved in the coun- and Shah Alam respectively on Mon- party being investigated and charged. customs in sending the pornographic
try,” she said. day and Tuesday.   At a press conference yesterday, material.
Currently, South Korea is the biggest foreign investor in At two separate press conferences, Shah Alam Member of Parliament She did not discount the move as a
Selangor with RM637 million, followed by Singapore with Pakatan Rakyat politicians con- Khalid Samad said Malay village heads tactic to erode support for Pakatan
RM485 million and Australia with RM102 million. demned the act, calling it a circulation in his area had also received the CDs Rakyat.
of pornography. by post. Khalid said he would accompany
“This is organised. The perpetrators On Tuesday, village chiefs of  Sub- the village chiefs to lodge a police re-
To place your Advert in managed to get the addresses of village ang, Meru, Kota Raja and other places port.

Welfare home operators need

Contact Timothy Loh 019-2674488, to follow guidelines
Ivan Looi 014-9366698, • From page One
or Vincent Boon 012-8902033 “We’re not here to point fingers, but to solve problems. We welfare homes in Selangor
acknowledge the operators’ good intention in setting up welfare
Not
homes, but they need to follow safety guidelines and proper District registered Registered TOTAL
procedures,” said Rodziah.
However, if operators refused to legalise their operations Hulu Langat 221 16 237
within the given timeframe, she said the state would not hesitate Petaling 134 11 145
to act against them.
She said the operators could be fined or closed down. Gombak 124 10 134
phone (603) 5510 4566
Klang 112 16 128
fax (603) 5523 1188
email editor@selangortimes.com
Proper procedures to set up a shelter
Subang Jaya 108 16 124
1 Inform the Social Welfare Department of your intention to
EDITORIAL set up a welfare home. Hulu Selangor 34 2 36
CHIEF EDITOR KL Chan
2 Register with the Registrar of Societies (for non-profit or- Shah Alam 26 8 34
COMMUNITY EDITOR Neville Spykerman
ganisations) or Companies Commission of Malaysia (for
private or commercial operators). Sabak Bernam 10 - 10
WRITERS Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Gan Pei Ling,
3. Apply for premise licences from your local authority. Private Kuala Selangor 9 2 11
Basil Foo, Alvin Yap, Gho Chee Yuan, Brenda Ch’ng
COPY EDITORS Nick Choo, James Ang
or commercial operators will need to obtain a business licence
as well. Kuala Langat 5 - 5
DESIGNERS Jimmy C. S. Lim, Chin Man Yen
4. Invite the Fire and Rescue Department to inspect your build- Sepang – 1 1
ADVERTISING Timothy Loh, Ivan Looi, Vincent Boon
ing and facilities.
ADVISORS Faekah Husin, Arfa’eza Abdul Aziz TOTAL 783 82 865
5. Apply for an operating licence from the Social Welfare De-
partment. Source: Selangor Social Welfare Department (as of May 2011)
 SElANGOrTIMES
SELANGOR TiMES⁄ ⁄MAY
MAY27
27––29, 2011⁄ ⁄33
29,2011

news
April 1 — 3, 2011 3

BCI AsiA Awards 2011

Top 10 property developers

BCI Asia (Building and Construction Interchange) named Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) as one of
Malaysia’s 10 most-active property developers on the 20th of May 2011.
The portfolios of these elite developers contain US$5.38 billion worth of projects. Through the BCI Asia Top 10
Awards the industry has a way of knowing who the leading developers in a given region are, and better understand the
importance these firms have in shaping our society and influencing the built environment.
Now into its 7th year, the BCI Asia Awards is a regional event to honour the best in building and architecture in Hong
Kong SAR, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
4
NEWS
MAY 27 — 29, 2011
EVENTS
Coaching clinic
A coaching clinic featuring tennis coach Kuldip
Singh Durbara will be held by the Malaysian
Association of Certified Coaches (MACC)
tomorrow (May 28) from 9.30am to noon at their
office at 62B, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, Taman
Tun Dr Ismail. Contact Rachel at 017-2238293
or 03-62054488 or visit malaysiancoaches.com
for more information.
Home and lifestyle expo
The Super Home Ideas 2011 will be held from
today (May 27) till Sunday (May 29) from 11am
to 9pm. Local and international exhibitors are
taking part. Come to the Mid Valley exhibition
centre to check out the home living and
lifestyle exhibition featuring interior designers,
renovation services, landscaping, kitchen
appliances, bathroom accessories, and more.
The exhibition will showcase more than 350
booths. Admission is free.
 
Book exhibition
 
Read Malaysia 2011 will be held today (May 27)
till June 5 from 11am to 10pm at the Malaysia
International Exhibition and Convention Centre
(MIECC) in Mines Resort City. The expo will
offer a wide range of educational, fictional and
general books, as well as comics, stationery,
and e-learning products. Expect an interactive
event with school performances, colouring
and spelling contests, and visits by astronaut
Dr Syed Mustaphar and sportspersons Datuk
Lee Chong Wei and Datuk Nicol Ann David.
Admission is free. Free shuttle bus services
will be provided from Bukit Jalil LRT and
Serdang KTM.
Blood donation drive
A blood donation drive by University Hospital
will be held on May 29 from 11am to 4pm at
11, Jalan SS26/6, Taman Mayang Jaya. It
is organised by D’Happy Club and Eulogia
Community Centre. Visitors can also attend
health checks and a health talk conducted by
Assunta Hospital and Eye Specialist Centre.
The event is open to the public. Call 03-
78062635 for details.
 
Charity concert
 
The Selangor Kuala Lumpur Orchestra and
Choir (Skoc) will hold a charity concert on June
12 from 3pm to 5pm at the Petaling Jaya Civic
Centre. They will be joined by SRJK(C) Lick
Hung Chinese orchestra and SRJK(C) Yak Chee
choir group. The concert will be conducted
by Xavier Anthony, a veteran with 50 years’
experience. Skoc aims to raise RM60,000 to
buy music equipment for their practice venue.
Call 012-295 1245 for details.  Wednesday, said a report would
UPSR English clinic
 
English Champ @ Literacy World in Taman
Megah, Petaling Jaya will hold a free UPSR
English intensive clinic for Standard 4, 5, and 6
pupils on June 9. Seats are available on a first-
come-first-served basis, with priority given to
Standard 6 pupils. For registration, call Aileen/
Christine at 03-78802460 or 016-2091989 or
e-mail info@englishchamp.com.my.
Micro-credit workshop
A workshop on Selangor’s micro-credit scheme
will be held on Sunday (May 29) from 9.30am
to 12.30pm. Come to the office of Klang MP
Charles Santiago to learn more. Micro-credit is
an interest-free loan available to those earning
below RM1,500. The scheme is meant to
assist the poor in Selangor regardless of race.
Remember to bring along your MyKad and a
passport-size photo. For registration, call 03-
33232122.
State allocating suitable
land for orphanage
By Alvin Yap
SHAH ALAM: The state is locating a
suitable site to house the Madrasah Al-
Taqwa orphanage following last Saturday’s
landslide which claimed16 lives.
The Hulu Langat district officer has
been directed to locate a plot for the new
premises as engineers have declared the
current building unfit for habitation.
“Our wish is to see the organisation
continue to provide religious classes as
well as house orphans and other children,”
said Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in a press
statement.
The Menteri Besar pointed out that the
state would gazette the plot as reserve land,
and the welfare group can submit its plans
to acquire it.
“We will arrange for the lowest premi-
um payable of RM1,” said Khalid.
He reiterated the state’s commitment in
assisting non-governmental organisations ment (PWD) officials have said the deaths Khalid said other residents would be
(NGO) to locate land for their premises, could have been avoided if authorities had placed at schools under the Selangor Is-
and would continue to ask welfare groups known about the orphanage’s existence. lamic Department ( Jais), and added that
to pay a land premium of only RM1. Several cases of soil erosion in the past the state was paying for their accommoda-
However, he said NGOs would have to few months had been reported to the tion at the nearby Azwen Resort.
follow regulations pertaining to the run- authorities. The Menteri Besar’s office and the state
ning of welfare homes and orphanages by The orphanage was operating at the administration have donated RM1,000
registering with the relevant authorities. bottom of the unstable hill slope, which and  RM5,000 respectively to each victim.
“This is to avoid a repeat of [this] tragic slid down last Saturday, causing tons of The Selangor Islamic Religious Council
incident from happening again,” he said. muddy soil to bury its victims at the back (Mais) and the Selangor Zakat Board have
Geologists and Public Works Depart- of the building. have also contributed RM217,000.
Immediate action Google Earth to help
on riverbank collapse prevent disasters
By Basil Foo “We understand the concerns
of the people who are worried SHAH ALAM: Local governments in Selangor
PETALING JAYA: Rather about the [collapsed bank], so we will use Google Earth’s real-time satellite images to
than wait for developers, the Pet- will be resolving the problem as monitor soil erosion in their municipalities.
aling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) soon as possible,” said Datuk Executive councillor for local government
will repair a collapsed riverbank Mohd Roslan Sakiman. Ronnie Liu said this after announcing that six
due to the danger it poses to The Petaling Jaya mayor said it local authorities had been instructed to form a
nearby residential buildings. would take two weeks to identify hillslope division in their engineering department
“Due to the severity of the the developer responsible for the within a month.
collapse, the council will be re- collapse of the riverbank, which The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) is
pairing the riverbank first. They has been eroding over the past the only local council with a hillslope division at
will then claim the repair costs three months. present. It was set up after the Bukit Antarabangsa
from the developer responsible,” The collapse affects about landslide in 2008 that claimed five lives.
said Ronnie Liu. 10,000 residents of the nearby The Petaling Jaya City Council, municipal coun-
The state executive councillor Ken Condominiums and Jasmine cils in Subang Jaya, Kajang, Sepang, Selayang, and
for local government, who visited Tower, Bestari and Aminah apart- Hulu Selangor District Council will be the next to
site along the Penchala river on ments on Jalan SS2/72. form their own hillslope division.
Repairs were initially request- “The division will strictly monitor buildings
be out in a week. ed by MBPJ councillor Mak before, during and after they are completed,” said
MBPJ will appoint an inde- Khuin Weng, but were deemed Liu on Tuesday.
pendent surveyor to determine unfeasible. The announcement was made in the wake of last
which developer is responsible for “This is because it involved Saturday’s tragedy at Hulu Langat, where a landslide
the collapse, and who will be foot- too many parties, including the hit Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa orphanage and
ing the repair bill estimated at Department of Irrigation and claimed 16 lives.
RM900,000. Drainage,” said Roslan. The unlicensed orphanage was built next to a
hill with a slope of more than 80 degrees on agri-
cultural land five years ago.
Liu said development is forbidden on all
hillslopes above a 35-degree slope in Selangor as
these Class IV slopes are classified as environmen-
tally sensitive areas.
Slopes can be divided into four classes: Class I
for slopes below 15 degrees; Class II between 15
and 25 degrees; Class III between 25 and 35 degrees;
and Class IV above 35 degrees.
Liu added that only selected development pro-
jects are allowed on Class III slopes, and the projects
must be approved by a state-level committee.
He said MPAJ has been conducting bi-monthly
checks on 28 hotspots prone to landslides.
The collapsed riverbank and its close proximity to condominiums.
SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ MAY 27 – 29, 2011 ⁄ 5

B.PG K.HQ (JM) 2011/195/2

6
News
May 27 — 29, 2011

Reprieve for
two villages
By Brenda Ch’ng barricaded the entrance of their
homes with vans while  developers
KLANG: Residents of  Kampung and contractors waited in their
Bukit Kerayong, whose homes are respective vehicles before leaving. 
earmarked for demolition, got a Santiago advised the residents to
reprieve thanks to the intervention take precautions and come up with
of Charles Santiago on Wednesday. backup plans to protect their homes.
The Klang MP, armed with “I’m worried this isn’t the end of
letters indicating that the matter was the story. The contractors might
still pending in court, mobilised the come back anytime to kick the
villagers to stand their ground in the residents out of their houses,” said
face of demolition crews. Santiago.
“This case is still an active court He said the residents may seek an Victims of Kampung Bukit Kerayong with Santiago (second left) showing their police report.
case, and before the case is closed injunction from the courts if
and a decision made, the developer contractors attempted to clear the The 40-year-old chairperson of me to wait?” Teow asked. demolition on Wednesday.
has no right to demolish any of the lots again. Kampung Bukit Kerayong’s urban Unlike other residents who He claims that his house had
houses here,” said Santiago. A nearby village, Kampung Jalan pioneers committee said the received notices, Teow was one of been built 70 years ago, and he
The residents of the 70-year-old Papan, has been facing the same developer is refusing to meet them.  the unfortunate ones whose house inherited it from his late father.
village are locked in a battle for their predicament since 2005, with the The residents held Temporary was demolished without his “How can I move out of my
homes with a developer who same developer who has plans to Occupational Licence for the land consent. house when the promised land by
acquired the land in the 1990s. redevelop the villages one section until 1993, when they were told by According to him, the house was the contractors is nowhere to be
Sections of the village had at a time. the Klang Municipal Council to demolished while he was visiting seen? Where can I go?” asked Goh.
already been demolished earlier. “The developer is slowly demo- cease making payments for it. and living with his son for a while. Goh’s neighbour said contract-
Warnings were issued earlier this lishing [the village] part by part, and “Ever yone stopped paying “When I came back, my house ors entered his compound a few
month that two homes and a after clearing Kerayong, they will be because we weren’t allowed to. We was gone,” said Teow, who is now months ago and cleared the grass
shophouse were next. moving on to Kampung Papan,” said were also told that the previous still appealing for what he is due. around his house.
For close to an hour, residents Dominic See Chee Yong. mentri besar had allocated 1,000 Following this, some villagers “I rushed home from work when
plots of land to all villagers in both were even forced out of their house I got a call from my mother telling
villages,” said See. harshly under the Emergency me there were people wanting to
Plans had been drawn and shown Ordinance Act.  demolish my house,” said Ng Cheng
to the residents committee, but Residents who were issued that Leong.
when residents went to claim their notice couldn’t appeal to court and The 29-year- old sa id the
land titles, they were told that the had to sit back and watch their contractors came three times – first
land had already been sold to a houses being bulldozed to the to clear the drains outside his house,
private developer. ground. next to clear his compound, and the
Since 2005, villagers in Kampung When questioned on the status third time to take pictures of the area.
Bukit Kerayong had been issued of the land they are living on, Ng chased them off his property
notices to move out of their homes, residents claimed they are urban when the contractors explained that
with a promise that they will be pioneers, and not squatters as they had to clear the land to make
given new lands and cash compen- labelled by the developers and way for equipment storage that
sation of RM7,000. enforcement agencies. would be used for the development.
However, villager Teow Chin Joo “My house has been part of my Currently there are 25 families in
was denied that compensation and family even before Malaysia gained Kampung Bukit Kerayong and 117
new land, despite his house having independence, and this land is families in Kampung Papan.
Santiago with villagers standing their ground and not letting been already demolished. rightfully mine,” said Goh Ah Soon.
bulldozers through. In the background are a house and car “I’m 78 years old, and I’ve been Goh, who owns a car workshop
workshop, both next on the demolition hit list. waiting to receive compensation for
five years. How long do they expect
and house in Kampung Kerayong,
was one of the victims of the
Crackdown
MPSJ keeping watch on errant
contractors
We are community newspaper which focuses on events and
on landslide hotspots SHAH ALAM: Contractors
happenings in Selangor. If you are interested to join a passionate By Gan Pei Ling who cut corners will be black-
team of young people bent on contributing to Selangor’s develop- listed by the state for two years
ment through the media, join us. SUBANG JAYA: The local council’s hill slope committee is keeping a with immediate effect.
close watch on 124 hotspots prone to landslides in its municipality. “We’ve found contractors
Accounts cum Administrative Executive Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) acting president Abdullah
Marjunid said only 13 are under the local council’s control, while the rest
who have cheated. That’s why
we’re carrying out this measure,”
• Candidates should have a Diploma or Degree in Accounting are private land. executive councillor Ronnie Liu
or LCCI Higher However, MPSJ engineering department director Ismail Shafie said they announced on Tuesday.
• Minimum 1 year experience in keeping full set of accounts are also keeping watch on three private high-risk sites. He added that company di-
• Familiar with accounting software – SQL Accounting Software They are Jalan Puteri 9 in Bandar Puteri Puchong, Jalan Kasawari in rectors of errant contractors
• Computer literate Puncak Kinrara, and Jalan Tiong 2 in Puchong Jaya. would be blacklisted as well.
• Able to speak good Bahasa Malaysia and English A landslide struck Jalan Puteri 9 last Sunday, damaging its retaining He said contractors must
• Self motivated with good communication skills walls. carry out their work in accor-
• Able to work with minimum supervision A natural disaster committee comprising representatives from MPSJ, dance with the specifications set
the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Land Office, residents and the out in their contract.
Job Description developer has been formed to find ways to prevent another landslide. “If [they are] found guilty, no
• Prepare and submit monthly accounts, billing statements, MPSJ has ordered the developer, Flora Developer, to lay plastic canvas warning will be given, and they
monthly payroll and expenses statements, prepare and distrib- on the slope and build an embankment to stop water from seeping into the cannot bid for similar projects
ute employees monthly pay slips and yearly EA Forms. affected slope. in the next two years,” said Liu.
• Monitor and update staff leave Other long-term measures the developer must take include conduct- All contractors are required
• Other administrative functions as assigned ing an investigation, preparing a design, and finding methods to protect to register with the State Eco-
the slope. nomic Planning Unit (Upen) to
Interested applicants must send a resume and letter to The developer will also need to submit its design and methods to MPSJ bid for projects.
editor@selangortimes.com by June 12, 2011. for review before implementation.

Berkeley development on hold
By Brenda Ch’ng
KLANG: The developers of a proposed high-
rise near the already congested Berkeley
roundabout have two weeks to tackle resi-
dents’ objections before the status of the
project is decided.
 velopers fail to conform to objections and
“Developers will be asked to join heads
with their assemblyperson to solve residents’
complaints, and to come up with a win-win
situation that complies with all guidelines
issued,” said Lim Lip Suan.
 Currently, residents are in the dark about
The Klang Municipal (MPK) councillor
said the municipality has also determined that
the building, if approved, can only be nine
storeys high and not 25 as proposed.
 occupythe 25-storey building as proposed.
 construction might damage and crack roads
Monday’s decision by the council’s One
Stop Centre (OSC) comes in the wake of
Residents making their stand clear last Sunday.
objection by local residents, who pointed out
that the development would make worse an
already bad traffic situation.
 Residents Association thinks that the proposed
Lim assured residents that the OSC has
taken their views into account, and that the
project will not likely be approved if the de-
guidelines issued by MPK.
 Ang further highlighted several reasons the
He also said it would be great if the devel-
opers and residents could come together and
discuss the issue.
 pollution during construction, flooding and
development plans for the area, but are con-
cerned about the potential worsening of traffic
leading in and out of Berkeley if two major banks
“This will cause double parking along the busy
one-lane road leading to the roundabout and
Federal Highway,” said Datuk Ang Thye Chin.
The chairperson of the Taman Berkeley
building should not be higher than four storeys.
He said the building shouldn’t be taller
than any of the other buildings in the area as
it would stick out like a sore thumb.
 especially the traffic conditions, before con-
building shouldn’t be developed. Among
them are the possibility of air, noise and dust
traffic congestion before and after the building
is up, and possible invasion of privacy due to
the height of the building.
 with a signature campaign to make a stand
Residents are also worried that the building
around the proposed building land.
 The 34-year-old resident of Jalan Unta is
“I hope that MPK can be transparent about
NEWS
MAY 27 — 29, 2011 7
their development guidelines and not approve
a high-rise commercial building in the resi-
dential area without consulting residents
around it,” said Dr Loke Shuet Toh.

The 52-year-old resident of Jalan Rajawali
said MPK should study the surrounding area,
senting to this project.

Loke attended a dialogue last Sunday in
Taman Berkeley’s community hall along with
more than 50 of her neighbours who want the
development halted.

“I hope residents will set the ball rolling
and tell developers we do not want the 25-sto-
rey building,” said Suzy Sulaiman.
worried what might happen to the residential
area if a commercial building is built.

Suzy, who has been living in her house
which has been passed down for four genera-
tions, wants Berkeley to remain a family-ori-
ented neighbourhood and not turned into a
congested commercial one.

Of the residents at the meeting, Vincent
Chow is the only one who stood up and de-
manded a chance to meet with the developers.

“I want to hear the developers’ side of the
story, but if they are not willing to come and
share their plans with the residents, this will
forever be a one-sided debate and there will
never be a winning solution,” he said.

The 35-year-old resident of Lorong Bangau
said the developers have the right to develop
the area, but they should have the decency to
do right by the residents who have been living
there for many decades.
8
NEWS
MAY 27 — 29, 2011

Residents: ‘No’ to car park

By Alvin Yap
PETALING JAYA: A proposed
school car park under high-tension
wires in PJU 3 Tropicana has
sparked concerns among residents
of Laman Impian Condominium
of a possible landslide if the project
is approved.
The proposed car park is located
on a hill slope between Laman Im-
pian and SJK (C) Damansara, and
could reduce traffic congestion in the
area, according to town planners.
But residents are fearful any
move to clear the Tenaga Nasional
Berhad reserve of its foliage could
result in a tragedy similar to that at
the Hidayah Madrasah Al Taqwa
orphanage, which claimed 16 lives
last Saturday.
“We are the nearest neighbour
that will be affected by the con-
struction. If the land gives way, we
might be killed,” said Tengku Baha-
rudin Mahadi.
The 59-year-old retiree was
among 30 residents who attended
the heated  public hearing
on the issue at the Petaling
Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
on Tuesday.  the car park.
Laman Impian residents
also claim that contractors
have indiscriminately dis-
carded construction debris
in the area, and have also
blocked the monsoon drain
there.
They were adamant that
from the  school’s Parents-Teacher
Association (PIBG) committee
that they will undertake “every
measure” to ensure residents’ safety.
Former PIB G chairperson
Wong Siew Sang pointed out
that  engineers had been engaged
to “stabilise” the slope bordering
Laman Impian.
He denied allegations that con-
tractors had disposed of building
materials in a haphazard manner.
“There is other construction
work going on in the area. They are
the culprits,” said Wong.
However, not all the condo-
minium residents are objecting to
Mohamed Shukri Zain said it
would help to ease the traffic con-
gestion in the area.
“We want the traffic situation
there to be alleviated,” he said.
But he added that the
school committee and its
contractor had to address
engineering plans closely.
“If it does not meet safety regu-
lations, then do not build it,”
Mohd Shukri concluded.
A town planner engaged by the
school committee also indicated
that the move would reduce traffic.
The proposed car park is designed
to let parents drop off and pick up
their children during school hours
without causing traffic congestion.
It will consist of 273 bays, with
another area for 273 bicycles.
SJK Damansara has seen an in- Wong
crease in students and staff over the
last six years, after it was relocated location indicated that residents
from Section 17 to PJU3 here in support the building of the car park.
2001. The meeting was chaired by
It has some 3,000 students and MBPJ councillors Tiew Way
135 staff, and caters to the com- Keng and Chan Chee Kong, who
munity in a 10km radius. will refer the views of both sides
A survey conducted among the to the city council before a deci-
31 residents associations in that sion is made.

Tengku Baharudin
the move should be
scrapped despite assurances
safety concerns, and pointed
out that MBPJ must vet the Demolished La Salle
bridge to be replaced
State to fund Kewajipan PETALING JAYA: A two-year

pedestrian bridge
The delay was also due to MB-
wait for a pedestrian bridge to en- PJ’s wait for an insurance claim
able students from two schools to from the bus company.
cross Jalan Gasing safely is almost However, the need for the pedes-
over. trian bridge became too urgent to
Peta l ing Jaya Cit y (M B P J ) ignore, and the city council decided
Councillor Derek Fernandez said to use its own funds first, instead of
work to build the much-needed waiting for the insurance settle-
bridge will start next week. ment.
“It is to encourage the students to Meanwhile, Edward Lee pointed
use the bridge, rather than cross the out that construction work for the
busy road,” he said to Selangor Times. replacement bridge will cause traf-
The previous bridge was demol- fic jams during peak hours.
ished by MBPJ engineers due to The Bukit Gasing assemblyper-
safety reasons after a bus crashed son, together with the MBPJ engi-
into one of the supporting pillars in neering department, met the La
2009. Salle’s Parents-Teachers Association
The ne w mo dern wa l kway, (PIBG) committee recently and
which will be equipped with close- briefed them on the upcoming
circuit television (CCTV) cameras construction project.
so that MBPJ can monitor security, “We told them to expect heavier
will cater to students from La Salle traffic during the construction pe-
PJ secondary and primary schools. riod,” he said over the phone yester-
Construction of the RM700,000 day.
bridge, which will be full-covered Lee said a suggestion has been
Khalid speaking at the Subang Jaya Wihara Buddhist temple. Looking on are Yeoh (second with a glass ceiling and decorated forwarded to the committee to have
left), Chim and Venerable U Nyaramsi. with murals, is expected to take them request for police to direct
three months to complete. traffic during peak hours.
By Basil Foo proved, will be built across the 10-lane It will also have shallower steps He said MBPJ should also cover
Persiaran Kewajipan which connects to facilitate an easier climb. up the monsoon drain on Jalan
SUBANG JAYA: The state government has pledged SS13 with SS14. Parents of students along with Cantek 5/13 to convert it into a car
monetary assistance for a pedestrian bridge across Persiaran “It is inexcusable for the federal gov- teachers of the schools had been park for parents to wait at for their
Kewajipan should approval be granted by the Public Works ernment to say they do not have a budget appealing for the bridge to be re- children after school.
Department ( JKR). to build the overhead bridge,” said Han- built as students are dicing with “It depends on funding and
“The state will help to build the bridge if JKR approves,” nah Yeoh. danger each time they cross the whether it is feasible or not,” Lee
said Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. The Subang Jaya assemblyperson busy road. said.
The Menteri Besar was addressing a crowd of 1,000 devotees said this was because Selangor residents Derek said two tenders for the “Furthermore, a restaurant that
at the Subang Jaya Wihara Buddhist temple during Wesak Day contributed RM16 billion in yearly construction of the bridge were is using the area near the monsoon
celebrations on Tuesday. income ta x while only re ceiving advertised in 2010 but there were drain will have to vacate the place,”
The temple, which faces the busy Persiaran Kewajipan and RM408 million for development. no bidders for it. he added.
Kesas Highway intersection, has been petitioning for the She added that the petition, which
construction of the bridge since the widening of Persiaran collected about 2,000 signatures from the
Kewajipan last year. temple and its next-door Hindu temple, was important to devotees which causes congestion, especially during major
“We petitioned JKR and wrote to the Prime Minister. We ensure the safety of pedestrians. festivals.
were told in April that they did not have a budget for building “Currently, it is not safe for devotees [of the temples], The temple committee has requested that the land next to
the bridge,” said Subang Jaya Buddhist Association president students from the nearby universities and members of the the temple, an estimated 1,200 square metres, be turned into
Chim Siew Choon. public to cross the busy intersection,” Yeoh said. a car park, but Yeoh said they were told it was gazetted as an
Chim said they have since sought approval to build the She added that this was due to fast-moving vehicles coming open space.
bridge using their own funds from donations. from the Subang-Kelana link, which was completed in 2009. However, the space could be given to the temple if an-
The bridge is estimated to cost RM1.5 million and, if ap- She also said the temple faces inadequate parking space for other piece of land is found and gazetted as a replacement.

Council: Settle
arrears or face
seizure of
properties
By Basil Foo
SHAH ALAM: The Shah Alam City Council
(MBSA) has warned business and home
owners with assessment arrears to pay up or
risk having their properties seized.
“We will hold a confiscation exercise soon
for 30,000 accounts which have assessment
arrears. Final reminders will be posted to them
on June 1,” said Khairul Nizam Zainal Abidin.
The M B SA R e venue Mana g ement
Department manager spoke to the press after
conducting their first confiscation operation
for the year on Wednesday (May 25).
He said 10 shops were raided by MBSA
enforcement officers who carried off tables,
chairs, television sets and computers.
“We will begin our operation on houses
soon,” he said.
Khairul, who showed the shopkeepers the
warrants for the seizure of properties, said they
were given ample time to pay up.
He said officers had earlier visited the outlets
to compile a list of items which were at risk of
Talent competition for youths
By Brenda Ch’ng
SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Young Talent
Award (Seyta) is an opportunity for youths to
showcase their abilities in the arts.
Organised by the Selangor Youth and Sports
Committee, the awards will also be a platform to
celebrate the works of Malaysian artists.
This award is open to Malaysian citizens
aged between 16 and 35 who have already
made a significant mark in the arts world.
For example, musicians must at least be
recognised domestically or internationally, and
three copies of their works have to be sent in
together with the nomination.
The same goes to all other categories, where
a substantial portfolio which proves their
achievements either in the local or interna-
SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ May 27 – 29, 2011 ⁄ 9
News
Khairul: The council will hold a
confiscation exercise soon for 30,000
accounts.
being seized.
“They were then given seven days to
respond, failing which we will confiscate their
properties,” he said.
Khairul said these operations were provided
for under the Local Government Act which
allows councils to confiscate items which are
mobile and easily removed.
The items would be returned to the business
owners once they settle their debt with the
council, failing which a public auction would
be held on July 1.
“Profits from the sale of confiscated items
will be deducted from the amount owed [by
the business owners],” he added.
Current arrears amount to RM24 million,
and the council plans to collect up to 70% by
the end of the year.
Computer
equipment
being
confiscated.
tional arena must be sent in.
Categories open for nominations are
performing arts, creative writing, visual art
and music.
However, if participants have other catego-
ries in mind, they can submit an application
for the “Special Jury Award”, where entries will
be individually judged and awarded.
All entries are open to four languages – Ma-
lay, English, Tamil and Mandarin. All catego-
ries have an open theme.
Winners will each receive a trophy, certifi-
cate and cash prize of RM3,000.
The Special Jury Award winner will receive
a RM20,000 grant.
For entry forms and more information,
contact Mazir Ibrahim at mazir@gens.com.
my.
10
News
May 27 — 29, 2011

Daily nightmare
from noise and dust

The turnout at the Mother’s Day luncheon in Ampang last Saturday.

Don’t neglect financial

Eng Yong (in white) visiting the cement factories with MPS officials.
SUNGAI BULOH: Residents at Kampung
Desa Aman, Taman Seri Aman and Taman
Suria are outraged that three illegal cement
factories near their neighbourhoods are still
operating.
Despite being closed down by the Selayang
Municipal Council (MPS), brazen operators
have ignored the council’s orders to continue
running their factories as usual.
Former Taman Seri Aman Residents As-
sociation chairperson Mah Swee Lye said
residents have to put up with the noise and
dust pollution from the factories every day.
He said close to 100 lorries travel at high
speed to and from the factories daily, with the
plants operating early in the morning until late
at night.
A cement truck leaving one of the
illegal factories.
Residents had protested before the third
factory was set up last year, but their objec-
tion was ignored by MPS, which approved
the factory’s planning permission before re-
voking it later.
Executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah
visited the site with MPS officials earlier this
week, and has instructed the local council to
resolve the problem with the operator within
three weeks.
He said the three factories are located on
agricultural land.
Only one operator has a temporary permit to
operate, but the permit will expire on June 30.
Two operators have agreed to be relocated.
However, the third factory, which was only
opened early this year, remains defiant.
security, mothers advised
By Basil Foo
SHAH ALAM: During a Mother’s Day
celebration here last Saturday, mothers
were advised to include financial secu-
rity as part of their responsibility to
their children.
“They have to understand their respon-
sibility as a mother. They need their own
savings,” said Hanizah Talha.
The Taman Medan assemblyperson
said it would be better if they could stand
on their own should their spouses pass
away or they get divorced.
“The problem is not only does our
status drop, our income drops, too,” she
said in her speech to 150 mothers at the
Darul Ehsan Club, in describing the dif-
Local singers entertained the moms.
ficulty faced by single mothers.
Hanizah said husbands should also
ensure their wives have enough savings to
raise their children in the event of an
emergency.
This is because many single mothers
depend solely on their husbands for finan-
cial support – a lifeline that is cut in his
absence, she explained.
“In assisting the single mothers, the
state has found many turned penniless
after a divorce or their husband’s death,”
Hanizah said.
She added that the state is continuing
to find ways to directly help single
mothers, and that those who run small
shops like food stalls could apply for
loans through the state’s micro-credit
programme.
Rokiah Maulud, a single mother who
attended the afternoon luncheon hosted
by the Ampang Women’s Development
Organisation (Awdo), said she was happy
to be invited.
“I used to work as a housekeeper in a
hotel to support my three children who
were nine, eight and three years old during
my divorce,” said the 58-year old.
Her youngest child is now 24, and
Rokiah, who has since started a fried
banana stall, said she still remains
strong-spirited.
Also at the event was state executive
councillor in charge of women’s affairs
Rodziah Ismail, Ampang Member of
Parliament Zuraida Kamaruddin, and
Awdo director Salmah Ismail.

Factory workers push for minimum wage

By Brenda Ch’ng
SHAH ALAM: The demand for
minimum wage echoed through
the halls of the Selangor Youth and
Cultural Complex as a thousand
workers came together voice their
demand for a fairer deal.
The factory workers from major
industrial areas in Shah Alam, Pet-
aling Jaya, Banting and Klang ex-
pressed their support for Buku
Jingga, a book produced by Paka-
tan Rakyat to outline short- and
long-term policies, including min-
imum wage.
“It is about time labour workers
learn their rights and stand up for
what is rightfully theirs,” said Yu-
soff Ahmad.
The 47-year-old manager was
one of the participants dressed in
orange, who were present at the
Buku Jingga congress in support of
minimum wage.
The father of seven children said
despite being a manager in a com-
pany, his wages are only minimal
and just enough to get his wife and
children through the days.
Being the breadwinner of the
family, he can’t imagine what it
would be like to be in the shoes of a
factory worker earning below mini-
mum wage and expected to feed a
family of seven.
Also present was a 20-year-old
factory worker who works a five day
week, earning an estimated RM900
a month.
“My monthly wages is only
enough for my own spendings in the
village. I can’t even have savings for
the future,” said Nurul Hana.
Nurul Hana (far left) with her fellow workmates.
Hana cannot imagine what it
would be like to survive in the city
with living expenses that are con-
stantly on the rise.
She hopes that all labour workers
will one day get the pay they deserve
so that they can keep up with price
increments.
With that, the state promises to
fig ht for minimum wa g e of
RM1,500 for all labour workers.
“The state has made a commit-
ment to ensure all workers are duly
paid, and we want to honour that
commitment,” said Shuhaimi
Shafiei.
The Sri Muda assemblyperson
was one of the many speakers pres-
ent at the Buku Jingga seminar.
Also present were Rafizi Ramly,
chief executive of the Selangor Eco-
nomic Advisory Office; former
Menteri Besar of Perak Datuk Seri
Nizar Jamaluddin; and director of
congressional labour Abdullah Sani
Abdul Hamid.
There to officiate the seminar was
state executive councillor Dr Xavier
Jayakumar, on behalf of Menteri
Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
 views 11
MAY 27 — 29, 2011

Scandals, property, contracts

and iPad 2
W
hy is it that the “most-read” articles
on Malaysian online news sites are
always either about gossip, sex
scandals, or other frivolous issues? @Regina
S, via email
We assume that this is because the other news
is just too boring, or hopeless. How many
times can one be expected to read about
promises made by politicians, or proclama-
tions that the Malaysian economy is in amaz-
ing health, when we know as a fact that the
price of our food, drink, rent, clothes, petrol,
and very survival is as high as it has ever been?
So it should be no surprise that the most
read “news” items are usually about tragedies,
celebrity gossip, or sex (including sex
crimes). Who knows why headlines like
“woman tricked into gang rape” seem to be
nomenon. But it is not a unique one. His
Supreme Eminenceness has experienced
if not immediately upon launching. People
complain about the prices on the secondary
market, but there are still willing buyers, and
of course very willing sellers.
The government has tried to rein in the
market in recent months, introducing a limit
on the margin of financing banks can make
available to buyers who are buying properties
for investment (as opposed to as their resi-
dence). It is a ridiculously unhealthy situation Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by
when buyers are allowed to finance up to 95% LoyarBurok (www.loyarburok.com) where
of the purchase price for more than 30 years. all your profound, abstruse,
As to the prices themselves, well, it’s a free erudite, hermetic, recondite,
market isn’t it? If someone owns a property, sagacious, and other thesaurus-
and wants to sell it, and people are willing to described queries are answered!
pay a high amount for it, which seller in his
or her right mind would not want transact on out. Unfortunately, that is as much infor-
the highest purchase price possible? mation as the lawyer minions were willing
to give. After all, they want to See Mah

L
irresistible to the Malaysian reader? Perhaps many property bubbles in his intergalactic ord Bobo, I’m thinking of setting up Nee too!
they expect photos? travels. In the Malaysian context, it has gotten my own business, but need a business

D
so crazy that even terrace houses which cost partner to provide the capital. What id you queue up to get an

D
ear Lord Bobo, I thought I read last
year that most “experts” were saying
that property prices had hit the
ceiling, and would soon stop rising. What’s
happening? @Homeless, via email
The seemingly unstoppable rise of property
prices in the Klang Valley is a strange phe-
RM500,000 five years ago are now going for
close to RM1,000,000. All this makes it very
difficult for the aspiring homeowner.
However, look deeper into the reality of
the situation, and one finds an even stranger
fact: properties are still being transacted like
hot cakes. Almost any half-decent property
development launch is sold out within a week,
are the key points to look out for in our iPa d 2 ? @ St e v e Jo b s , v i a
partnership agreement? @See Mah Nee, via em ai l
email
Steve! Good to hear from you! (We obvi-
ously know it’s not really you, since the email
was sent using a Yahoo! email account). No,
Lord Bobo does not queue, ever. Especially
for the purchase of earthly products.
His Supreme Eminenceness believes that
any manufacturer or retailer which makes
customers queue for hours to purchase a
product obviously doesn’t understand a basic
rule of retail: always have more products made
than you expect to sell. These Apple folk obvi-
ously don’t know how to make money –
which is why we prefer bananas.

BE
Lord Bobo is only joking, obviously. We
know that the shortage is intentional, and
helps create a hype and exclusivity around
products, which add to their desirability. This

THE
is exactly what happened with the limited
edition ONLY tee. Despite protests, pleas,
petitions and lots of wailing and gnashing of

BOSS!
teeth, no more ONLY tees will be produced.
Instead, LoyarBurok is coming up with
several brand-spanking-new designs. If you’re
interested in snapping up what’s left of the
ONLY tee (selected sizes only), or to be kept
Register To Vote Now up-to-date with the new tees, do drop an
First of all, See Mah Nee, the fact that you’re email to pusatrakyatlb@loyarburok.com. We
Before It's Too Late! writing to ask a monkey in a wig about an promise you won’t have to queue.
agreement that is going to define the success
Who is eligible? or failure of your partnership is alarming. Have a question for Lord Bobo? Call on
Despite appearances, His Supreme Emi- His Supreme Eminenceness by emailing
Malaysian citizen nenceness is not a lawyer – Lord Bobo did asklordbobo@loyarburok.com, stating
not manage to obtain any form of official your full name, and a pseudonym (if you
Above 21 years of age education or professional qualifications due want), or tweeting your questions by men-
to the tragic but ultimately happy nature of tioning @LoyarBurok and using the
his childhood. hashtag #asklordbobo. The first 100 ques-
Date: 28-29 May 2011 (Saturday & Sunday) Upon consultation with our earthly tions published will receive monkey-riffic
Where can you register to vote? lawyer minions, we can however tell you LoyarBurok merchandise courtesy of Se-
Kajang • 11am-9pm Petaling Jaya that the most important things in a partner- langor Times. What the hell are you wait-
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f
 Insight
12 MAY 27 — 29, 2011
Welcome to the New Village.
By Danny Lim
“
This was all swamp land, and all the houses were wooden
attap houses,” says Lim Ong Sian, a 60-year-old resident
of Kampung Baru (KB) Pandamaran. Lim was only eight
months old when his family was moved from his birthplace of
Dengkil to the New Village.
“During the British time, there was a military airport
where SMK Dato Hamzah and SMK Tengku Ampuan Je-
maah is now.”
The long rectangle of the airstrip land is today home to
a football field, sports complex, swimming complex, hockey
stadium and a clinic right beside KB Pandamaran.
Like most Chinese New Villages, KB Pandamaran was
Bak kut teh.
Pandamara
villag
known as a hotbed of triad activity. But Lim snorts at the
suggestion that the gangs here were taken seriously.
“There were all kinds of groups here – 24, 16, 18, 36, Ang
Soon Tong. But they just fight each other, no big deal. It’s
just to protect their territory and protect themselves.
“Most of us were farmers or port workers – coolies. We
earned about RM80 a month. There were a lot of pig farms
before the 80s. Now no more,” Lim recounts in Hokkien be-
tween sips of the dark zesty broth of bak kut teh, a particularly
Hokkien variant.
He sports a deep natural tan on his leathery skin that can only
come from spending decades working out under the sun. His
checked shirt is left unbuttoned, clad over that classic Chinese
working-class mufti – a white pagoda T-shirt. His parents were
vegetable and poultry farmers – “What else could they do?”
Sixty years since it was created, KB Pandamaran has changed
somewhat. The villagers who went to what was then Port
Swettenham just 2km away to carry goods by hand have been
replaced by crane operators and lorry drivers. Pig farms and
rubber plantations were swapped for light industrial factories
processing chemicals and imported timber, and churning out
gloves and car spare parts. Lim is now a contractor.
The starkly angular wooden attap houses have gradually been
colonised by gleaming ,
gaudy Corinthian-col-
umned double-storey bun-
galows with curvy balconies.
The surrounding forests
where Lim has seen tigers
prowling, and the swamps
once filled with crocodiles,
have made way for more
urban development. What
has remained constant is the
resilience of people like Lim
to stay in a place that was
forced upon them. And bak
kut teh.
In a basketball court
tightly flanked by a wooden
shophouse and a concrete Light industrial factories.
bungalow, Chew Kim Swee is helping to oversee a landmark
event in the annals of KB Pandamaran. This would be the first
basketball court among Selangor’s New Villages to have its own
roof. Chew helped to get support from a local condom manu-
facturer to rubberise the court surface (Selangor Menteri Besar
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim came to officiate this new installation
in an event last weekend).
Chew was six years old when his family was moved from
Banting to Kampung Baru Pandamaran by the British colo-
nial rulers in 1951.
“Each family was given a plot of land, some 80 by 80 feet,
some 100 by 100 feet. We didn’t have property, so we knew
this was our place now.”
From 1950, an estimated 470,000 people (about 10% of
the Malayan population then) were forced to resettle into
452 “New Villages”. This was part of the Briggs Plan during
the Emergency period designed to segregate rural communi-
ties from the communist insurgents, who relied on them for
supplies and support.
KB Pandamaran was divided into four sectors: Sector 1
housed families who were shifted from Dengkil; Sector 2
from Sijiangkang; Sector 3 from Sungai Manggis and Bant-
ing; while Sector 4 came from Tiram Buoh, Tanjung Karang
and Sekinchan.
The plan basically concentrated the dispersed rural com-
munities of western Selangor into a handful of New Villages.
As the population of these new villages was overwhelm-
ingly Chinese, political constituencies were inevitably di-
vided along ethnic lines, ensuring that a race-based political
paradigm would prevail.
Being shifted to guarded camps ringed by perimeter
fences was not a comfortable experience for these commu-
nities. It didn’t help that, according to Chew, they only got
electricity sometime around 1959 – after Independence. By
then curfews had already been relaxed, and people had al-
ready begun taking down the wire fences after 1955.
Those who owned estates and property were eager to return
to their former homes. Desperate to sell off their allocated
plot of land, they offered dirt-cheap rates. “RM50, at most
RM100 for a house,” says Chew.
Those who stayed were the landless peasants. Underpinin-
ing the dominant Hokkien culture of the villagers is an eco-
nomic ethos that comes from being granted land of their own
to live on. Particularly among the village elders there is a sense
of pride from building a closely knit community from the
adversity of forced resettlement on unwanted pieces of land.
Typically, small villages tend to have their youth siphoned
off into the bigger towns and cities, leaving the old to preside
over the inevitable decay. Not so for this Kampung Baru. Even
with Klang and Kuala Lumpur just 2km and 30km away respec-
tively, KB Pandamaran’s population has steadily increased,
doubling from 14,524 in 1980 to an estimated 30,000 today.
While KB Pandamaran remains more
sub-rural than suburban, “those
houses” along the village’s major ar-
Nan Tien Men (South He
an – Still a
ge at heart
Children playing basketball.
teries of Jalan Chan Ah Choo, Jalan Young, Jalan Pekan have
now been replaced by the suburban staples of commercial
activity – motorcycle repair shops, coffee shops, sundry stores,
bank and telco branches. Traffic congestion has become a
recent problem.
The two independent Chinese schools, SJK (C)
Pandamaran A and B, are packed to the brim, enrolling
over 4,200 students combined. According to Chew,
eaven Gate) temple. SJK (C) Pandamaran A.
who is a board member of both school
administrations, the schools are over-
as well as a source of
local pride.
loaded and do not have enough space to For now, life in KB
accommodate such numbers. Pandamaran still em-
“Ideally it should be about 1,500 phasises the “kampung” Chew Kim Swee
students per school,” he says. “Most of over the “baru”.
the students are not from here. They’re “During the [19]60s,
from (Taman) Sentosa, (Taman Sri) 70s, life was very simple,” says Chew. “People don’t close the
Andalas, Port Klang, Bandar Puteri.” doors, because they know each other. The old people are very
Given the village’s origins, there is a happy here, they like the living here. If one person dies, we
certain irony in the root of the school go for donation, they can collect RM50,000 to RM100,000.
capacity problem: “There is not enough Whether we know him or not, we all go and donate.”
land,” says Chew. And everyone insists that this trait has lasted till today.
Not that the area has been developed “Pandamaran is a nice place. Ang pek su (red and white
into an urbanised squeeze. Rather, the matters, i.e. weddings and funerals) … people see, we go and
schools have not been allocated land to help each other, we never demand anything in return.”
expand to meet their needs.
“In the Klang district, there are 22 lots • TURN TO PAGE 14
of land reserved for the Ministry of
Education. We need the land. The fed-
eral government should do something
about this. There will be more develop-
ment near Jalan Papan and Jalan Young,
these two are 100-plus-acre develop-
ments. I’m sure they’re going to build
housing estates. So there will be more
students. It’s going to be a huge prob-
lem,” Chew laments.
What KB Pandamaran has in abun-
dance are bak kut teh restaurants and
temples, both indicative of the village’s
working-class identity. In Sector 1
alone, there are seven temples. A hand-
ful like the Nan Tien Men (South
Heaven Gate) temple are large, well-
maintained and ornately decorated, but
most are small shrines, occupying either
a roadside corner or tucked away in the
fringes of the mangrove forests.
One folk story of the ubiquity of bak
kut teh in this region draws its origins as
the breakfast staple for the Chinese
coolies working at Port Swettenham.
This particular meal set of pork ribs in
Chinese herbal broth was supposedly a
healthy morning boost for the day’s slog.
Long after the last of KB Pandamaran’s Chinese coolies
had been replaced by containers and cranes, the bak kut teh Homes in the new village.
shops have remained, thriving as a widely sought-after dish
14
VIEWs
MAY 27 — 29, 2011
Girls and subcultures
Youthology
Lee Lian Kong
D
on’t accept the old order. Get rid of
it.So says Johnny Rotten, vocalist of the
Sex Pistols. That’s what subcultures are
all about: rejection of mainstream society,
whether in the form of music, fashion, visual
arts, dance, literature, films, etc. A subculture’s
intention is to differentiate itself.
Ironically, while Rotten denounces the old
order, subcultures are sucked into the gender
“norm”. Most major subcultures are male-cen-
tric and have male origins. Female-dominated
subcultures exist but are few and far between,
though this is quickly changing.
Mohd Ikmal, 23, a hip-hop enthusiast, at-
tributes this to the “headstart” men have “due
to the restrictions imposed on females in the
past”. Therefore, “it is more likely for a male to
have originated hip-hop,” he says. It follows that
since most cultures were dominated by males
for a long time, “it is only natural that most
subcultures are initiated by males”.
That said, it is a common sight to see hip-
hop girls. In fact, their numbers can rival those
of hip-hop boys. The same can be said of other
major subcultures such as punk, hipsters, rock,
bohemian and anime.
“A woman did not start punk. She could
have, but she did not,” according to Yench, 21,
a law student. “Men did. Or men popularised
it. Like any other revolution: a group of disen-
chanted, angsty young men.”
He believes the root of subcultures is the
need for expression, be it by smashing guitars
or smoking weed and listening to Miles Davis.
“Men were more likely to express these then.”
Gabrielle Chong, 23, a Malaysian student
at Wellesley College, disagrees. She reasons
that this perception of males being more
dominant, or creators of these subcultures, is
due to males having a more overt nature.
Young and mild-mannered
• FROM PAGE 12
KB Pandamaran veterans say things began to change in
the 1990s. The usual suspects were fingered: development,
development, development. Modern life was going to be
thrust upon them whether they liked it or not. But mea-
sured along the brief lives of two 23-year-old locals, Raison
Chenny Lim working at the morning market.
She cites queer subculture: “Gay males are added criteria to participate. To enter a male-
more visible than gay females, even though a dominated subculture involves manouvering a
larger percentage of females are bisexual, simply complex, set of norms i.e. being “one of the guys”
because women tend to be less promiscuous”. versus retaining their feminity. A girl racer might
Participation may be even, but they are nev- have the attitude, style of dress and language of
ertheless still different. For women, there is an counterpart male drivers, but would perhaps
Lee and Chenny Lim, “nothing has changed.” And they
might be right.
Tracing their young working lives, a metaphorical ba-
ton seems to have been passed from generations of yore.
Lee, born and bred in the village, went straight to work
in Port Klang after finishing
school, pretty much as his vil-
lage’s ancestors did. Only the
details differ: instead of a coolie,
Lee is a supervisor for truck re-
pairs at Westport.
His friend and former school-
mate, Lim, was born just outside
the village. But she has been
working at the Pasar Pagi on Jalan
Papan since she was 10, selling
food supplies.
“Business has gone down over
the last five years since Tesco (in
Bukit Tinggi) and Giant (in
Klang) opened up.”
While some friends have
moved on to KL (“They won’t
come back, except for Chinese
New Year,” says Lee), both of them
are content to continue living and
working in the kampung.
modify her car to reflect her feminine side.
So, why the need to be “one of the boys” in
subcultures participated by both genders? One
can go with Yench’s vulgar euphemism:
“Women still have that biological need to get
married and have babies so they don’t act all
different, while men do whatever they want
because they have penises.”
Ikmal believes women in hip-hop feel no
need to emulate men. They are not trying to be
like men, they are simply different.
Gabrielle gives another example of the gam-
ing subculture. “More girls play Farmville, and
more guys play Grand Theft Auto, [yet] both
genres are socially significant in terms of par-
ticipant numbers, industry size, and so on.”
Origins, dominance, dynamics. There is
much literature discussing women’s roles in
subcultures. This can be seen as too simplistic.
Dr Ong Kian Ming, a political scientist, reasons
this by giving the example of more “out” and
queer activists who disagree on gay marriages.
The question is not only about gender, but
also society’s limitation of the number of
gender and number of persons in a relation-
ship. “Advocates of gay marriages marry queer
people. There are others who choose other
arrangements. It can be a committed relation-
ship involving more than two people, or a
three-men-and-a-baby kind of a thing.”
Distinctions remain between the tradi-
tional “male” and “female” roles in subcultures;
the cacophony of factors involving these will
exist, at least for now. Ikmal states: “Regardless
of which gender initiated it or how big the
majority of the people in the subculture are of
a specific gender, the more important issue is
what the subculture is about and whether it
appeals to a certain individual.”
In a constantly evolving society, subcultures
are a permanent fixture. There will always be
rebels, be it a boy or a girl or whoever you are
within the 3D polygon of sexuality. At the end
of the day, the discourse on subcultures is not
about gender. It’s about individualism – that is,
the individual, you, against mainstream society.
Raison Lee
There’s hardly any crime or danger to be wary about.
“Gangsters were a problem in school,” says Lee. “They would
fight, and police come almost every day. But they fight over
small things only.”
They divide their free time between the “city life” available
in nearby Klang or Bukit Tinggi and the “kampung life” in
KB Pandamaran. After work, they hang out with friends,
yam char, play snooker, mahjong, or go to the nearest inter-
net cafe in Bukit Tinggi to “play Facebook.”
And what do they talk about during yam char?
Lee: “Work, girls.”
Lim: “We don’t talk about politics.”
Lee: “We don’t really know about it.”
Lim: “It’s not our business also.”
 NEWS 15
MAY 27 — 29, 2011

Smash and grab New buildings to

on the rise in Klang
KLANG: Cars owners who un-
wittingly leave valuables in their
vehicles risk returning to find
their windows smashed and their
goods stolen.
“I only left my car for less than 30
minutes,” said Lee Huey Wen.
The 19-year-old, who lost her
laptop worth RM2,000 during the
incident on May 18, said nobody
heard a thing although the parking
lots were across the road from
where she was.
Her laptop was in the backseat
of community policing at Bandar
Bukit Tinggi 1 and 2, said seven
other cars on Jalan Batu Nilam 13,
Bandar Bukit Tinggi 1 suffered the
same fate.
Two other similar incidents were
reported at the Taman Chi Liung
night market.
Yap said all the incidents on the
same night, and he had rushed to
the scenes after receiving calls from
residents.
“Nobody heard anything even
though they were nearby. We sus-
tracting attention,” said Yap.
He said his members positioned
themselves around the area on the
next night in an attempt to catch the
thieves, but the culprits did not
show up again.
Yap said they would continue
to patrol the area to act as a
deterrent.
He added that he has checked
with the police, but none of the
victims lodged any reports.
Yap urged the public to alert
the police of thefts so that they
harvest rainwater
SHAH ALAM: Selangor will
accept Putrajaya’s new standard-
ised guidelines for universal
design and all its new buildings
must be installed with rainwater
harvesting systems in future.
Ronnie Liu, executive coun-
cillor for local government, said
only terrace and low-cost hous-
es are exempted from the ruling.
All other residential and
commercial developers are re-
quired to build a system to
harvest rainwater in their build-
ings in order to reduce the na-
tion’s demand for treated water.
The rainwater collected can
be used for gardening, cleaning
houses and cars and flushing
toilets.
Treated water is only needed
for cooking, drinking and bath-
ing.
Liu said the measure would
also help the public save on
water bills.
Meanwhile, Liu said Selan-
gor’s local councils would also
adopt the National Landscape
Policy and merge it with exist-
ing state-level landscaping
guidelines.

Green technology
while she went to meet her friends pect the thieves used special equip- are able to increase patrols in ar-
in a café for a short chat. ment instead of a hammer to smash eas where there are spikes in crime
Yap Kim Huat, who is in charge the windows quietly to avoid at- rates.

Tips to avoid car break-ins at property expo

1. Keep doors locked and windows
closed.
2. Keep valuables such as electronics,
accessories, as well as empty
shopping bags out of sight.
3. Don’t leave towels or sheets in the
car looking like they are covering
something.
4. Install an alarm system.
5. Park the car in well-lit and well-
populated areas.
Lee pointing to her smashed car window.
By Basil Foo He explained that there are
many benefits for homeowners,
SHAH ALAM: Green technol- businesses, and property develop-
ogy and environmentally friendly ers to initiate green practices in
products will be the focus during their buildings.

the Selangor Lifestyle and Property “I’ve been to a 16-floor apart-
Expo 2011 from June 10 to 12.
 ment in KL which used environ-
“Visitors to the expo can expect mentally friendly building materi-
to gain a lot of knowledge and learn als and managed to save RM1
more about cost-efficient green million while keeping their build-
technologies,” said Datuk Zulkifli ing temperature cool,” he said.

Mohamad.
 Matthias, who has been voted
The Shah Alam Convention Greenest Person on the Planet, said
Centre (SACC) chief executive he plans to create an awareness that

Emphasis on early
officer said they have invited guest
speaker Matthias Gelber, an inspi-
rational speaker on eco issues.
As entrance is free, Zulkifli
eco-friendly does not have to mean
inconvenient or costly.

The Selangor State Develop-
ment Corporation (PKNS), which

breast cancer detection estimates that about 30,000 visi-

Teng (right) with the participants of the free mammogram programme.
By Brenda Ch’ng
KLANG: Women are being urged to take advantage
of the state’s free mammogram programme to protect
themselves from breast cancer.
“It is disappointing to see the lack of response in
my area, Sungai Pinang, despite the numerous adver-
tisements and write-ups for the free check-up,” said
Datuk Teng Chang Khim.
He is urging all women to sign up at their respec-
tive assemblyperson’s service centre and make full use
of the opportunity for a free check-up.
Teng organised the first batch of 39 elderly women
from his constituency, who will be taken by bus to the
Selayang Hospital for their
check-up on Tuesday.
He hopes these women will
ask their friends and neigh-
bours to sign up for the second
batch of check-ups.
Breast cancer is on the rise,
and all women should take
advantage of this free check-
up to make sure they are
healthy.
Those who are tested posi-
tive for breast cancer will be
asked to go back for subse-
quent tests and consultations
by the hospital.
Teng wants to stress that
this programme is free and
participants are not expected
to pay for anything.
Transportation and food
will also be provided.
“I don’t think I could have gathered these women
if it weren’t for my friends, who helped me spread the
word directly to residents and helped them register,”
said Teng.
Teng thinks the programme is not reaching as many
women as it could because Selangor is currently the
first and only state in the country to have this free
mammogram test.
“It will take time for it to become a well-known
programme,” he said.
In the meantime, Teng hopes word of this pro-
gramme will spread, and that assemblypersons’ offices
will be more active in promoting it at events.
tors will attend the three-day
event, which will open from 10am
to 8pm daily.

“There will also be RM500,000
worth of prizes to be won by visi-
tors, over RM300,000 of which are
health-related like fitness-centre
memberships,” added Zulkifli.
 The PKNS deputy general
Matthias, who has been living in
Malaysia for several years, said he
would be “talking about hijau all the
way” during the lifestyle and prop-
erty expo.
 RM3,500 income group.
Solution to sticker
menace
By Gan Pei Ling  posters in just five minutes.
 
SHAH ALAM: The headache of
removing unsightly posters or
stickers offering services of illegal
loan sharks (Ah Long), massages
and sex toys is now over with a
special glue remover.
The special solution, which has
been adopted by local governments,
will easily remove the eyesore.
“We tried to use kerosene, pet-
rol and other solutions in the past,
but [it] didn’t work,” said executive
councillor Ronnie Liu.
A demonstration for the press
on Tuesday showed that the solu-
tion could remove stickers and
is the platinum sponsor for the
expo, set their sales target at RM34
million throughout the event.

“We have also started to install
green technologies in our develop-
ments, the first being the construc-
tion of our new headquarters in
July,” said Noraida Mohd Yusof.
manager of administration and
development added that they are
targeting house buyers under 35
years of age and around the
Local authorities will also be
using a special aerosol spray to
prevent Ah Long from pasting new
stickers and posters on traffic
lights, street lamps and Tenaga
Nasional substations.
Any sticker or poster will come
off easily if they are pasted on sur-
faces that are sprayed with the
special solution within six months.
Liu said both the glue remover
and aerosol spray would not affect
the paintwork.
He added that both solutions
are affordable, but he did not dis-
close the amount councils would
be spending on them.
16
NEWSMAY 27 — 29, 2011

Free services to
commemorate PJ city status
By Alvin Yap
PETALING JAYA: Folks will enjoy a host of free
services on June 20 in conjunction with the Petaling
Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) fifth anniversary.
“I call all Petaling Jaya residents to come and
celebrate the occasion,” said Petaling Jaya mayor
Datuk Roslan Sakiman.
On that day, parking fees will be waived by MBPJ,
and there will be no charge for using the city council’s
swimming pools and sports facilities.
Roslan also announced that the MBPJ commu-
nity library on Jalan Selangor will be giving free
one-year memberships to the first 500 visitors on
that day.
The first 500 members whose library cards have
expired will have their membership renewed for free.
Usage fee for using the library’s CD archives will
also be waived.
Roslan (centre) announcing what’s in store for PJ folks. The following hospitals will also provide free
comprehensive health check-ups: Assunta Hospital,
KPJ Damansara Specialist, Kelana Jaya Medical
Centre and Tropicana Medical Centre.
Alam Flora will collect large-bulk trash, and old
and discarded furniture from homes on that day.
MBPJ is also organising a host of events begin-
ning June 10 leading to the anniversary. On June
18 and 19, there will be a Street Food Carnival from
10am to 10pm at the Petaling Jaya Stadium at
Kelana Jaya.
Petaling Jaya, better known as PJ, grew out of a
satellite town around Kuala Lumpur in the 1950s
which had become overpopulated.
On 20 June 2006, it was granted city status by the
Sultan of Selangor, making it the first non-capital
city in Malaysia.
The local authority changed its name to Petaling
Jaya City Council following the granting of the
status.
It is home to some 600,000 residents.

Record attempt Mother’s Day help

with photo collage for single moms

Datuk Abdul Ghani Pateh Akhir gesturing to a picture of the Kota Bridge. Looking on
is Tourism Selangor general manager Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din (left).
By Basil Foo
KLANG: Tourism Selangor
will attempt to set a record for
the longest photo collage in the
country by setting it up along
the Kota Bridge here.
“We chose this bridge be-
cause we want to introduce
Klang as a royal city which is full
of history,” said Fazly Razally.
The Tourism Selangor events
and marketing manager said
during a press conference on
Monday that the bridge had
been completed on the same
day as Independence Day.
The photo collage is planned
to be placed along 181 metres
of the bridge.
“About a third of the photos
we will use come from the
royal collection of the late Sul-
tan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz
Shah,” said Fazly.
According to the organis-
ers, this would be the first at-
tempt at such a record any-
where in the world.
Orang Besar Daerah Klang
Datuk Abdul Ghani Pateh
Akhir praised the efforts to
promote Klang as a historical
destination for tourists.
He said Klang has as much
historical depth as Malacca, but
the latter received more tourists
due to its aggressive approach
to marketing.
Malaysian Book of Records
representative Leona Paul said
about 250 pictures would be
Tourism Selangor events
and marketing manager
Fazly Razally.
used, and they had to be rele-
vant to the theme of the event.
“They must be of the pur-
pose to promote Klang, to be
approved by us,” she said.
The photo collage is part of
the Selangor Heritage Photo
Carnival 2011, to be held on
June 4.
Co-organiser Photo Creator
Publication chief editor Jessica
Chan said the event will not be
just for photographers, but will
be more of a family day.
Activities to be held include
photography competitions,
free children’s photography
workshop, traditional arts and
food demonstration, and fire-
works display.
“Those interested to take part
in the various competitions can
sign up on Tourism Selangor’s
website (www.tourismselangor.
org), through their Facebook
page, or at the Klang Municipal
Council building,” said Chan.
By Alicia Mun
PETALING JAYA: Schoolbags and
groceries were distributed to single
moms and their children here last Sat-
urday in recognition of Mother’s Day.
Edward Lee said the event was or-
ganised to ease the burdens faced by
single mothers.
“The state would like to address
their needs, and this event is a good
opportunity for us to get to know them
better so we can help to improve their
living conditions,” said the Bukit Gas-
ing assemblyperson.
A total of 28 schoolbags sponsored
by Tupperware and 35 bags of grocer-
ies comprising a 10kg pack of rice, a
bottle of oil, a packet each of sugar and
salt, were presented to single moms and
their children. The groceries were
sponsored by the state.
The event was jointly organised by
Bukit Gasing Leadership Services
(BGLS) and Lee’s office.
“The poor and and single mothers
are the most vulnerable groups in our
society. It is the responsibility of our
government and state lawmakers to
help them to cope with the many hard-
ships that they face,” said Lee.
He also urged the corporate sector
Lee presenting
a schoolbag to a
student.
to come forward and pledge their sup-
port to do their part to help needy
families and single mothers.
“Companies must participate in
more Corporate Social Responsibil-
ity projects in collaboration with
non-governmental organisations such
as BGLS to help those in need espe-
cially during difficult financial times,”
he said.
Diabetic patient Ong A Su, who was
among the recipients, said she was
grateful for the aid.
BGLS has been working closely
with Lee’s office to help the commu-
nity in Bukit Gasing, including offer-
ing free tuition services for Form Five
students.
Other projects in the pipeline in-
clude daycare services as well as pre-
school learning centres to provide free
education for poor children under a
programme called Projek Harap.
“The mission of Projek Harap is to
eradicate poverty through education.
[This will be done] by equipping
people with living skills to promote
harmony in Malaysia and instill loy-
alty to the country, because the future
of Malaysia depends on the future of
our children,” said BGLS adviser
Richard Rajoo.
 FICTION 17 MAY 27 — 29, 2011

A Starry Hill
Fiction by Alfian Sa’at appearance was not deliberate and laboured; own ironing. A couple of them had mixed studying at the London School of Economics,
they were effortless clouds of colour and scent. features, with eyes and hair that would prob- and was back for the summer vacation. He

D
uring their school holidays, Shazeela
and Nurdiyana always made it a point
to visit Kuala Lumpur. They would
save up for the coach ride and a three-night
stay at a modest three-star hotel.
Kuala Lumpur was different without their
parents around. They would not have to tail
them on trips to handicraft markets, where
their mothers would coo over gaudy batik
scarves, or eat at “Western” restaurants that
were not halal in Singapore, their fathers en-
thusing over grilled steaks and roast chicken.
There was something provincial about their
parents’ conception of Kuala Lumpur, which
was perceived as a place of both familiarity
(everyone spoke in Malay), as well as freedom
(there were few dietary barricades).
But the girls knew that the place wasn’t just
an expanded Geylang Serai bazaar. There was
a pulsing energy to the city, and a dizzying
cosmopolitanism that they could not find in
Singapore.
Once, after jaywalking in front of the Pa-
vilion Shopping Mall, they found themselves
assailed by a sight they could not make sense
of: Iranian women in chadors, Burmese men
in cleaning services polo tees, towering Scan-
dinavian backpackers.
The girls also felt that the nightlife in
Kuala Lumpur held more promises of noctur-
nal adventures (cars audaciously parked on
pavements, faces of indeterminate ethnicities).
One of their favourite spots was the Bukit
Bintang stretch. Since they were not locals,
the name still retained its etymological in-
nocence, and its very mention enchanted
them, conjuring up a hill where people
climbed to gaze at stars.
One night, the girls decided to check out
a bar at Bukit Bintang, which a website guide
described as having a “mixed expat and local
crowd”. The girls had spent close to an hour
ironing their hair, matching their clothes,
ensuring that their eyeliners ended in perfect
calligraphic upstrokes.
After all that, they would spray perfume on
themselves, to create the impression that their
The girls always felt confident walking
around Kuala Lumpur. They knew that they
were attractive, but part of that confidence—
or superiority—also came from a certain
self-image as Singaporeans. They were certain
that they had an advantage over other girls in
Kuala Lumpur, like the ones who came from
smallholder farms (whom they called Minah
Felda), or the “skanky ones” who wore low-
riding jeans which exposed spotty posteriors
(whom they called Minah Bohsia).
In the bar, the girls bought some soft drinks
and parked themselves in a corner.
The crowd was thickening, and the girls
tried to be nonchalant to the glances that were
darting in their direction. A group of boys
appeared and occupied the seats beside them.
They were Malay youths, but well-dressed, in
crisp ironed shirts, though something in their
manner suggested that they did not do their
ably reveal their fiery brown hues under the
sun.
After a few minutes, one of the boys turned
to the girls and asked, “Can I top up your
drinks? What would you like?”
He was not one of the mestizos, but he was
fair-skinned, with thick, inky eyebrows.
“We’re fine for now,” Nurdiyana replied.
“Where are you girls from?” the boy asked.
“Singapore,” Nurdiyana replied, flattered
that he had asked. “This is my best friend
Zeela. And I’m Diyana. Are you from KL?”
One of the other boys, who was listening
in, said, “He’s from the Royal House of Ke-
dah!”
The boy who spoke first frowned at this
interruption. “Are you on holiday?” he asked
the girls.
Nurdiyana replied that they were, and in
the next few hours found out that the boy was
bought jugs of drinks for his friends, who
would wander off and come back, but who
never attempted to join in the conversation
with the girls.
Shazeela could see that Nurdiyana was
quite smitten: she recognized the forced
laughter, the anecdotes she had heard before,
now polished for another airing. Shazeela
assigned to herself the role of a watchful but
somewhat indulgent chaperone.
When the girls left the bar, Nurdiyana
showed Shazeela the namecard the boy had
passed her.
“Tengku Azlan,” Nurdiyana said. “He said
he’s going to call me tomorrow.”
“But we’re going back tomorrow,” Sha-
zeela said.
“Maybe we can extend?” Nurdiyana asked.
Shazeela did not like the scratch of hope she
detected in her voice.
But the boy did not call. Nurdiyana waited
until it was time to check out, and then rang
him up herself. Three times. Nobody answered
her call. On the bus, she was silent, leaning
back in her seat with her sunglasses on.
“You know why we keep going up?” As her
eyes were shielded, it seemed as if Nurdiyana
was not addressing anyone in particular. “We
do it just like our parents. We go up to dis-
cover who we really are.”
Shazeela wanted to feel some sympathy for
her friend, but it was annoyance that she felt
instead. Nurdiyana was too old to be nursing
some fantasy of becoming a princess, or a
member of some royal entourage. She should
know better, coming from Singapore, where
there were no palaces or farms, no peasants or
kings. How silly these notions were!
No, Shazeela thought, we go up so as to
discover who we are not. And we’ll keep going
up to discover it again and again.
But she did not voice her thoughts aloud.
She turned to the window, watching curtains
of trees whisk by.
She wondered what it would feel like to
reach her hand out, through the glass, to brush
her fingers against the sun-shimmering leaves.

Students hold charity

concerts for Japan By Basil Foo

KUALA LUMPUR: Stu-

dents from Help University
College here held two charity
concerts to raise funds for vic-
tims of the recent natural dis-
asters in Japan.
“We hope our contributions
will help the people [there] to
recover faster,” said 22-year-old Cheong (left) with Deem, a musical group from Help, at
Howen Cheong. the concert.
The Music Club president
said singers and bands from the food and their way of life. We Guests were serenaded by
student body took part in the also admire their handling of members of Help’s Music Club,
concerts. the tragedy,” he said. where Cheong also serves as a
Cheong, a public relations The concerts, themed “love” vocal trainer and multi-instru-
student, said many students and “hope”, were held at the mentalist.
wanted to contribute as they 160-seat Theatrette Hall in the Cheong said they would
felt they owed a lot to Japanese Pusat Bandar Damansara cam- hold a ceremony today (May
culture. pus on Wednesday and Thurs- 27) to hand over the proceeds
Help University College volunteers who helped to raise funds for Japan’s “People here love Japanese day (May 18 and 19). to the university.
disaster victims.
18
technology
may 27 — 29, 2011

Playing safe on Facebook

By Edwin Yapp posting things in an open manner, they are
using this resource safely. For instance, your

S
ocial networking came into being
more than five years ago with sites like
Friendster and MySpace, but it was
not until Facebook appeared that the world
was bowled over by the social media
phenomenon.
Today, Facebook is the undisputed king
of social networking, with over 500 million
members and counting. But as the world gets
so dependent on this social media utility, the
risks of exposure are also greater.
The fact is that as more of us go online
and post personal information about our-
selves in that space, we’ve got to realise that,
probabilistically speaking, the risk of us be-
ing exposed is higher.
So unless you’re going to completely shun
social networking, there are some steps you
can take to ensure that you’re not totally
exposed.
The first thing to understand if you want
to get into Facebook, you’ll have to reset your
mindset to realise that everything you put
online is in public domain and can be seen
by all. The general rule of thumb, then, is that
you should never publish anything on your
Facebook wall that you wouldn’t want to
read on the front page of a newspaper.
Because of the openness and highly col-
laborative nature of Facebook, privacy set-
tings on the site are limited and require in-
tervention from its users to lock down de-
fault settings.
So what are some of these best practices?
Begin by telling yourself to never post sensi-
tive information such as your address, phone
number, birth date or other information that
could be used for identity theft.
Common-sense practices include never
post that you’ll be on vacation or away from
home for an extended period of time; never
add friends that you don’t know; always
choose a difficult password, one that mixes
and matches letters and numerals; and don’t
be afraid to deny people access if you’re not
sure who they are.
Never assume that if other friends are
pictures can be tagged (labelled) by your
friends, and although they may not have your
explicit permission to be tagged, they end up
on your friends’ sites, which may be unse-
cured.
While you may be able to remove some
pictures on Facebook, you can’t control what
gets posted in third-party websites, and
consequently, you can’t delete them from
those websites.
Taking care of your settings
The privacy settings on Facebook are also
quite a handful to go through. But generally
speaking, click on “Only Friends” under the
sharing preferences screen. “Only Friends” is
the setting that is recommended for sharing
any information on Facebook.
At the very bottom of every page on Fa-
cebook, there’s a link that reads “Privacy.”
The linked page is “A guide to privacy on
Facebook”, which contains the latest privacy
functions and policies.
It’s a good idea to go through these pages
with a fine-tooth comb so that you’re aware
of what’s going on with Facebook’s latest
policy. Always check this page to ensure that
you know what you’re getting yourself into.
As tedious as this may sound, it’s important
to go through these terms of service carefully.
One of the most powerful things you
could do on Facebook is to add applications
for you to do various things on it. The trou- a link sent to your e-mail, asking you to out things about you, including future em-
ble with this is that you tend to install from enter your username and password, when in ployers, and even prospective dates.
third-party application providers, which may fact, you’re surrendering your details to cy- Because there is a tendency for some in-
just turn out to be applications created by bercriminals. Be aware of this and never dividuals to lose their objectivity, it’s impor-
cybercriminals. So never install any applica- follow that link that may lead you to mali- tant that you be alert, and take the necessary
tion from an untrusted source. cious websites. actions to have good online presence. Avoid
One way to check to see what people say negative posts about people or organisations
Common techniques about you on the Internet is to do a Google/ and be careful of what you say.
One technique that’s often used by cyber- Yahoo/Bing search of yourself to see what Also ensure that your PC and/or laptop is
criminals is called “phishing,” in which an returns. By doing so, you can further en- protected with a good antivirus program and
e-mail is sent to you purportedly from Face- hance your security and improve your pri- make sure you update it as often as you can.
book scaring you into action by selling you vacy settings. Lastly, be aware lest you get too addicted
a story about your account being compro- Conversely, this means that other people to Facebook and allow yourself to be dis-
mised. can check up on you, and because everyone’s tracted from work, which can ruin your repu-
You would then be duped into following connected with each other, people can find tation with your employers and loved ones.
may 13
recoll:
reconc ection
s& TI-M
p 12 & iliation 13 disputhe ad
es
Christia Wesak
n a time Day:
state cl giving for
aim
p 4 p 15

Where to get your

commun
ity

May 20
— 22, 2011
/ issue
25

By Will
iam Tan
Petal
ed low- ing Jaya:
cost Dilapida
angor may flats through t-
a pilot progget a new lease out Sel-
such hom ramme to rehaof life if
es
The amb is successfu bilitate
kind proj itious and l.
first

Sentul – Port Klang

the Peta ect is being carr -of-its-

LRT Stations (Distribution by hand) – Bandar Tasik Selatan Giant (Puchong,

(MBPJ) ling Jaya ied out by Keeping
tas Design in collaboraCity Council safe: Faizabandoned
tion with demons ah Mohd Tahi babies
pan y, and Group, a priv Veri- trating
commun Rum ah Air ate com- baby hatc the use r (left)
ity-b Datin Sofi h as local of the

Salak Selatan Port Klang

Pan as,
The sing ased charity.

Morning Kajang, Bandar

a a celebrity
Maju Jaya le block at • STory Jane looks on.
the  on pag
houses 59 apartments here Taman e 10
to und ergofamilies, will , which
be
which inclu the tran sfor the first

Ampang – Sentul Timur Bukit Badak

furb ishm des renovatio mation,

Kinrara, Klang, physical ents whi le keep ns and re-

aspe ing the
"All wor cts intact.
sions mad ks are based on
social active by the resid the deci-

Shopping Malls Shah Alam

ents," said

Ampang Pandamaran,
ist Won
Wong, g Hay
pointed who mooted Cheong.
dents were out that the idea
many of ,

Facelift
flats whe forced to mov the resi-
demolishn squatter settlemee into the

Cahaya (From Saturday noon) Bandar Selayang, Kota Damansara, Subang Jaya
facilities ed, but the buil nts were
were hard dings and

for old
“The ly adeq
Gro up, entr y of Veritasuate.
RM100 whi ch has con Design
,000 and trib

flats
uted

1 UTAMA Jalan Templer

architect the skill

Cempaka Taman Setiawangsa, Putra Heights,

change,” s], means that s [of their ryinWong said the
said is going priv
As man Wong. to Cor g out the proj ate firm is car-
relocate y as 50,000 fam porate ect as part Their
Social of its
d (CS
2000 and to low-cost flats ilies were last R) programme, Resp onsibilit technolo architects, usin
gies g the
teri Besa 2008 under formbetween for two years layin having spent they rem ode l the and techniqu latest arch

Pandan Indah Tropicana Mall Taman Connaught, Kelana Jaya, Bukit Petaling
g the grou es, itect Iska
Squatter r Dr Khi r Toy er Men- the proj
ndwork budget, whic buil ding on a will Iskandar ndar Razak.
icised for poli cy6391_
LB_24 whic o's Zer o The comect. than RM h is estimated tight  added that
creating h has
Sun_m been crit- with the fampany has been 500
“It is very ,000.
to be less difficult to obta
from vario obta in comit was very busi in what they
14.ai
high-rise ilies regu liais
ghettos.5/12/feed larly to ing ever ything challeng ing;
1
11 back
9:56 on
them deci PM their get wirin the proj us parties at mitments ness cont need from
need needs to alm “Despite acts.   their

Sunway Pyramid
s and be redone. ost ous issueect, with fund the start of

Antarabangsa, Subang Jaya, Bukit

de on prac

Pandan Jaya
g
tical solu help and theis horrible, the roof The . ing still a port it all,
seri- that ant project forthis is a very im-
tions. septic tank emit is leak The
stench,” ing, spon success of a city shou us as
said Ver the
itas Des s an awful nent sorships for the project rests on by the wea ld not be we believe
ign Gro s,
up part such as the various strata of lthy only, but inhabited
supp compo- juvenati society.
In a way, by ever y

Rawang – Seremban
s, and the

The Curve
compan ly of metal

Sentul Timur Tinggi, Setia Alam, Kota Kemuning)

ng the city,” we are re-
y hopes If the pilo said
to t is successfu Iskandar.
• Turn l, the com
To pag -
e2

Sentul IOI Mall Kuala Kubu Baru

Plaza Damas Sungai Buloh
Kelana Jaya – Terminal Putra Ikano Power Centre Kepong Sentral
Kelana Jaya Empire Subang Carrefour (Bukit Rimau, Subang Jaya, Kepong
Taman Bahagia MetroPoint Wangsa Maju, Sri Petaling, Kepong, Pasar
Taman Paramount Centro Mall, Klang Puchong, Ampang, Jalan Peel, Jalan Morning Wet Markets Seri Setia
Asia Jaya Bangsar Shopping Complex Kapar, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, S23 (Saturday morning) SS9A/1
Taman Jaya Shah Alam) Jalan SS2/62 Pasar Kg Chempaka
Universiti Hypermarkets Taman Medan Taman Tun Dr Ismail
Sri Rampai (From Saturday noon) Jusco Jalan 17/27
Wangsa Maju (Bukit Tinggi, SS15 Subang Jaya Hospital
Taman Melati Tmn Maluri, Taman Kuchai Lama Forrest Medical Centre
Wangsa Maju, Bandar Baru Klang, Taman OUG
Sri Petaling – Sentul Timur Tesco (Puchong, Kajang, Mutiara Mahkota Cheras) Pasar Taman Megah Colleges
Taman Melati Damansara, Rawang, Bukit Tinggi, Pasar Jalan Othman Help Institute
Sri Petaling Setia Alam, Ampang, Extra Shah Alam, Commuter Stations Pasar Jalan 17/2 College Bandar Utama (KBU)
Bukit Jalil Kepong) (Distribution by hand) – Morning Pasar Sek 14 Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia
 food 19
May 27 — 29, 2011

Chilli Jack Dog.

By Basil Foo

A
coffee shop on Tropicana City
Mall’s ground floor is sure to evoke
a chuckle out of passers-by with its
donkey mascot and garish neon sign
proudly displaying the words “Bad Ass
Coffee”.
Visitors to the outlet will be greeted by
Hawaiian paraphernalia decorating the in-
terior, with surfboards, palm trees, and post-
ers of native girls to set the mood.
The coffee shop’s origins and tongue-in-
cheek name come from the time when
donkeys were used to haul bags of harvested
coffee beans down the hills of Kona, located Visitors are welcomed by donkeys.

Coffee and
on the southwest side of the Hawai-
ian island.
The Kona community is located
on the slopes of Mouna Loa Mount
Hualaiai, where coffee is grown in

donkeys
the rich volcanic soil.
Bad Ass staff were helpful in
pointing out crowd favourites from
the extensive drink menu, which
had standard Kona coffee and those
with mixers.
Hesitant to try out the 100%
Kona coffee after hearing friends’ late and raspberry mix, and Snick- Dog (RM9.90) and minestrone
tales of how their earlier sampling erlicious (RM13.90), a mix of dark soup (RM9.90).
of the beverage resulted in sleepless chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut. The pizza came as a thin-crust
nights, we settled on the 10% in- The powerful aroma of the Kona and thick-cheese concoction with
stead. beans permeated the mixed drinks, lots of veggies, on top of the usual
The 12-ounce Frosted Kona which left us barely tasting anything meat chunks and pineapple slices, (Clockwise from left) Chocolate Donut, Snickerlicious, Haoles
(RM8.60), made up of a 10% Kona other than coffee and chocolate in and was a simple tasty dish. Menehune, Frosted Kona, Tiramisu Cup.
brew mixed with white chocolate, the Snickerlicious. The Jack Dog was a foot-long
had the heady taste of freshly ground Deciding to add the optional sausage smothered in what appeared tomato soup, meat, pasta, and mixed Cup (RM9.50), which did not have
coffee with a slight sweetness about whipped cream on the Haoles gave to be ground meat in spicy spa- vegetables with a side of garlic bread. any pastry or cake in it but was filled
it. The hot brew would be the perfect the drink a heavier texture, while the ghetti sauce, with a side of fries. This Warm and fulfilling , the soup to the brim with a form of custard,
answer to a rainy night when there’s sweet raspberry was a nice exotic dish would not be recommended for could have used more water as it some crunchy coffee beans, and
nothing interesting on TV, and you touch, fitting the outlet’s theme. those who cannot take spicy food dried out quickly when left un- topped with tiramisu powder.
have 300 pages of your favourite Apart from coffee, Bad Ass offers – even we could not finish the serv- touched for too long. The bill, which included govern-
author’s latest work in your lap. a variety of typical Western café ing due to its spiciness. For dessert, we ordered a choco- ment tax, was mostly padded by the
We also ordered the Haoles Me- food, with 10-inch chicken Hawai- The dish that stood out was the late donut (RM5), which was obvi- drinks. Some food dishes were rea-
nehune (RM13.90), a white choco- ian pizza (RM15.90), Chilli Jack soup, which was a thick mixture of ously intended for more than one sonable, while others were not
person because it was as large as worth the price.
three regular-sized donuts. They Good for a quick coffee run or a
heated the pastry before serving, lazy gathering among friends, Bad
letting the chocolate melt a little for Ass serves up a solid variety of food
a more satisfying bite. and beverage in cozy surroundings
Lastly, we ordered a Tiramisu and lilting island music.

Among the palm trees and surfboards, the outlet has a line of Bad Ass donkey merchandise on sale. Minestrone soup.
20
FOOD
MAY 27 — 29, 2011

This lor mee is the real deal

The days of going all the way to Ulu Yam Lama for lor mee are over. LIN ZHENYUAN finds out that there
is a genuine Ulu Yam lor mee restaurant in Kepong

Ulu Yam Mee House in Kepong Baru.

even though could swear I heard time we emptied the claypot of lor mee, our
them speaking Hokkien at the next stomachs were complaining of congestion.
table. But their Hokkien did not The waitress took my suggestion of packing
sound anything like Penang Hok- the unfinished lobak and fish cake into a
kien. I surmised they could have styrofoam box. Both of us had big smiles on
come from Klang, where the resi- our faces when we left the restaurant.
The yummy Ulu Yam lor mee lives up its reputation. dents speak the “China”
version of Hokkien.

F
oodies say that distance is never a that proclaimed Ulu Yam Mee House. It made It was my good fortune that the
deterrent if a particular dish is worth
my heart miss two beats. The next day, which plate of fried cabbage was one of the
the effort. So for some time now, somewas Wednesday, I made a quick trip to that best I have ever tasted. It was spiked
friends have been travelling for the better part
restaurant. with tiny dried shrimp, one of my fa-
of an hour or so to Ulu Yam Lama. Much to my surprise, it was shut. I later vourite ingredients.
   Ulu Yam Lama, to the uninitiated, sounds
learnt that the restaurant closed on alternate The claypot lor mee soon arrived.
like a sad, forgotten town in the middle of Wednesdays. But that minor setback only I gingerly added two tea spoonfuls of
nowhere. That’s partly true, but lovers of lorstrengthened my resolve to revisit that place. vinegar, as was the requirement of all
mee will swear on their plate of “fat mee” that I made good on my promise to return, just lor mee consumption. I cautiously
this dish is what helped build the town. like General Douglas MacArthur’s pledge to took one mouthful and looked at my
Since then, the fame of Ulu Yam’s lor mee the people of Philippines during World War lunch partner. Was it the real Mc-
has spread beyond its own borders. There are II. When I finally paid a visit, Ulu Yam Mee Coy? Yes, it was indeed. I was men-
several outlets that lay claim to their authentic
House had only one table of customers at tally comparing it to the real lor mee
lor mee, and the flavour reaches all the way 3pm. Where was everybody? in Ulu Yam Lama where I have vis- Herbal drinks went down well with the dishes we
back to Ulu Yam. Even the waiters ignored me as I sat down. ited several times in the past. ordered.
Last week, I had the good luck to spy on aOnly when they realised that I was ready to The lor mee was par excellence. The
big sign outside a restaurant in Kepong Baru order after staring in confusion at the long list noodles inside the claypot was of such great The bill came to just RM34, inclusive of
of menu items on the wall did volume that it could easily feed four people. two big glasses of herbal tea, or pak chee choe,
one of them come over. Luckily, I had a tiffin carrier in the boot of my as the Cantonese call it. It was a real bargain.
The only thing on my mind car. Nothing must be wasted, as my moth- I pledged that on our second visit to Ulu
was lor mee, so it was all I er always said. I was just following her Yam Mee House, we should sample some of
could utter when the guy came orders. the other 25 items we had missed out on. It is
with his pen and pad to take I had the presence of mind to also order definitely a food trip worth making.
my order. I stretched my hands the fish cake and the house specialty, lobak. Ulu Yam Mee House is located at 38,
to make a visual impression of The lobak was better than what all the other Jalan Ampong 4, Kepong Baru. Contact
a bowl big enough for two. lobak stalls in Petaling Jaya and Kota Daman- numbers: 016-2720198 and 012-3197719.
Fortunately he understood my sara had to offer. It was that good. Operating hours are from 10am to 9pm. You
vague gestures. It didn’t take long for my companion and wouldn’t want to show up when their doors
I also said a plate of greens me to realise that we had over-ordered. By the are closed.
would be nice. The waiter rat-
tled off in rapid succession a
list of vegetables which I could
The plate of veggies springs a little surprise of its own. not make head or tail of. I only
heard “choy sum” and
agreed to it. When
the veggies came, it
turned out to be cab-
bage. My compre-
hension of Canton-
ese isn’t so good after
all.
The history of the
Kepong Baru Ulu
Yam Mee House goes
back to the early
1980s when its own-
er, Koh Pek Kong,
relocated his entire
family from Batang
Kali to Kepong. It
seems that the Koh
The lobak and fish cake make the meal complete. family are Hakka, Long list of menu items on the wall, all in Chinese characters.

Roasters Run raises
RM65k for charity
Men’s division posing with (from left) Chua Hong Wee, NKF chief executive officer; Kenny Rogers
Roasters mascot; Datuk Francis Lee; and Lee Siew Weng, Kenny Rogers Roasters senior general
manager.
SHAH ALAM: It was a quirky
balancing act for a good cause at the
seventh annual Roasters Chicken
Run at Sunway Lagoon on May 22
More than 3,000 runners gath-
ered at Sunway Lagoon for the
unique charity run organised by
Kenny Rogers Roasters, which
helped raise RM65,000 for the
National Kidney Foundation of
Malaysia (NKF).
People of all ages took on the
designated route in the surrounding
area of Bandar Sunway while balanc-
ing an egg on a cone. Runners had
to ensure that the egg remained in-
tact when they completed the des-
ignated route of 4.8km (Adult &
Junior Categories) or 2.8km route
(Kids Category).
Berjaya Roasters (M) Sdn Bhd
executive director Datuk Francis
Lee flagged off the run.
“While I am proud that the
Roasters Chicken Run has been a
success, I am also humbled by the
generosity and kindness of Malay-
sians when it comes to lending a
helping hand to those in need,”
said Lee.
The funds raised from this char-
ity run will help the NKF to fund
the operational costs and treatments
for the needy patients.
“NKF is grateful to Kenny Rog-
ers Roasters and their supporters for
their contributions. The proceeds
raised will help more than 1,300
NKF patients as we continue to
subsidise their dialysis treatments
and medication,” said NKF director
Dr Lee Wan Tin.
This year’s run was co spon-
sored by co-organiser Sunway
Lagoon, and supporting partners
Berjaya Air, Berjaya Hotels &
Resorts, Sunway Pyramid, Celeb-
rity Fitness, Fudgeez, Isotonic
H-Two-O, Milo, Unilever Food
Solutions and Yeo’s.
In previous years, the run had
successfully raised more than
RM300,000 for a variety of chari-
table organisations and homes such
as Tabung Kebajikan Pesakit
HUKM; Pediatric Unit HUKM
(Oncology); Unit Tutur – Aural
Rehabilitation Centre for Hearing
Impaired Children together with
Sexual violence has
reached epidemic levels
All Women’s Action Society
(Awam) notes with concern The
Malay Mail’s front-page story on
May 19 on the alarming rate of
sex crimes.  highest in the world for reported
According to the report, 10
women become victims of rape
every day, and that on average, ev-
ery two and a half hours one wom-
an gets raped, according to latest
statistics released by Bukit Aman.
While these statistics are alarm-
ing, they don’t convey the true
scale of the crime. Applying the
general rule of thumb that only one
in 10 cases of rape is reported, the
more accurate picture is approxi-
mately one rape happens every 15
minutes in the country.
This means that each year in
Malaysia, the number of victims is
enough to fill Bukit Jalil stadium
to capacity. If we include other
sexual crimes such as incest and
harassment, experienced not just
by women alone but also the trans-
gendered and people of all ages, the
Yayasan Budi Peyayang Malaysia
and House of Joy and Faith; Yayasan
Sunbeams Home; Rumah Juara;
Rumah Kanak-kanak Tengku Bud-
riah; Rumah Sayangan; Malaysian
National Kidney Foundation – Di-
alysis Treatment for the Young ;
Rumah Hope; Rumah Kebajikan
Anbu Illam; Rumah Charis Ti-
Ratana Welfare Society; and Tabung
Kebajikan Pesakit PPUKM – Young
Diabetic Patients.
numbers would easily double.
According to the 2010 Malaysia
Millennium Development Goals
report, Malaysia ranks among the
cases of rape.
Sexual violence has reached epi-
demic levels in the country. It is a
widespread social, development and
public health issue that needs to be
radically addressed and dealt with.
Prior to this report, these statis-
tics were classified as “sulit” and
withheld by police, suggesting a
sweep-under-the carpet mentality
which betrays a resistance to tackle
this issue openly.
Similarly, our government’s
ambitious Government Transfor-
mation Programme and National
Key Result Area to reduce crime
make no mention of reducing
sexual crimes, betraying perhaps a
disconnect with the reality that
sexual violence is on the rise.
The pitifully low rate of prose-
cution of 162 rapes in 2009 also
Introducing Fujifilm’s
thinnest compact
SHAH ALAM: Looking for an
easy-to-use, high quality compact
digital camera that is to carry
along, wherever you go? Fujifilm’s
new FinePix T300, with its 10x
zoom compact, is the thinnest
model to capture those important
moments.
W i th a re s o l uti o n o f 1 4
megapixels, the new FinePix T300
delivers photos that can be printed
out at A3 size without the need for
any software resizing. Its 10x zoom
suggests that our court system is
also failing. Meanwhile, the Wom-
en’s Ministry is virtually silent on
tackling sexual violence.
Rape is a crime that is seem-
ingly committed with impunity,
where many perpetrators escape
the law and get off scot-free.
We need a national strategy to
deal with sexual crimes, which in-
cludes the involvement of all agen-
cies such as service providers, judi-
ciary, police, and medical staff.
Prevention strategies which
promote education, awareness of
gender equality and securing wom-
en’s rights are a long-term strategy
to reduce this scourge. We need to
approach this epidemic with the
will and the resources to eradicate
sexual crimes.
Ho Yock Lin
Acting President
All Women’s Action Society
Media 21
May 27 — 29, 2011
range, which stretches from 28-
280mm (35mm equivalent) also lets
you shoot images – from wide-
angled landscapes, cityscapes and
large group photos to closely
cropped portraits and close-up,
detailed photos.
And to avoid blurry images, the
T300 has incorporated a powerful
CCD shift Image Stabilisation
(CIS) system that helps eliminate
camera shake and deliver sharp
images in a wide variety of lighting
conditions, including low-light
and at night.
According to Fujifilm, the T300
is so stable, it can even be used
without a tripod or other support in
a wide range of shooting situations.
Another useful feature the T300
has is the Motion Panorama Mode,
which allows you to stitch three
photos together to create a single
panoramic image – perfect for wide
landscapes, tall buildings or large
groups of people.
It also features Face Recognition
– a very useful feature if you shoot
a lot of portraits, as you’ll quickly be
able to find all the shots of a specific
individual. When a shot is taken,
you can store the name of the
person/people in the image. The
T300 will automatically find other
imag es on the memor y card
featuring the same person.
The T300 also features a three-
inch LCD screen where images
and menus are d isplaye d in
230,000 pixels.
Other features offered by the
T300 include image search and
HD video (720p HD video at 30
frames per second).
The recommended retail price for
the new Fujifilm FinePix T300 is
RM748 and comes with a free 8GB
SD memory card and soft case.
22
Gallery
MAY 27 — 29, 2011

Single mothers and their children

received free groceries and
schoolbags in conjunction
with Mother’s Day. The event
was organised by Bukit
Gasing Leadership Services
and the office of Bukit Gasing
assemblyperson Edward Lee.

Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) Revenue Management Department manager

Khairul Nizam Zainal Abidin notifying a shopkeeper that the council will soon be
seizing property belonging to business owners with assessment tax arrears.

Executive committee member and Seputeh Member of Parliament Teresa Kok during a visit to
the Madrasah Al-Taqwa orphanage in Hulu Langat, which was hit by a landslide last Saturday,
claiming 16 lives. On her left (in sunglasses) is Kajang Municipal Councillor Steven Chan.

Factory workers standing up for their right to minimum wage and

singing along to the labour union song at an event held at the
Selangor Youth and Cultural Complex in Shah Alam.

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim with the family member of a landslide victim at the Ampang Children lighting candles on Wesak Day on May 17 at the Subang
Hospital on Monday evening. Looking on (right) is Dr Xavier Jayakumar. Jaya Wihara Buddhist temple.

(From left) Jordan MacVay,
two fans, Shanthini
Venugopal, Sharon Bakar,
Uthaya Sankar SB and Brian
Gomez.
By Terence Toh
A
man adrift at sea comes
across six naked maidens
trapped on a floating tree
trunk. A woman discovers a
unexpected carton of eggs on
her doorstep, which her friends
suspect were placed with sinister
intentions. A cat applies to
become a government official.
No, these are not the
synopses of the latest Haruki
Murakami novel or David Lynch
film, although they very well
could be. These are the plots of
some of the stellar short stories
in Readings from Readings, a
compilation of Malaysian poetry,
fiction and non-fiction submitted
and read by local writers at
Readings, Kuala Lumpur’s
longest-running live literature
event.
Edited by Bernice Chauly and
Sharon Bakar, Readings from
Readings is an inspired showcase
of the best of Malay­sian literary
talent, a delicious rojak platter
of stories profound, rib-tickling
and thought-provoking. Editor
Bakar describes it as a “dip-
into collection”: whenever and
wherever you dip into it, you will
always find something good to
read.
In conjunction with the
book’s recent publication, MPH
Bookstores recently organised a
reading of the book on May 15
at its 1-Utama outlet. Featuring
several of the authors in the
anthology, the event was a
delight, attracting a small crowd
eager to hear stories being read.
Opening the event was
editor and emcee Sharon Bakar,
who welcomed the crowd and
introduced the first reader,
Shanthini Venugopal, who
read an excerpt from her piece
Chicken or the Egg?. Based on
a true experience, Venugopal’s
tale of the sudden appearance
of a carton of eggs combined
mystery and humor, and
effectively charmed the listening
audience. “To this day, I still have
no idea how the eggs got there,”
Venugopal said with a smile.
“My friends think it was part of
a jampi, but who would want to
jampi me? I’m broke!”
Venugopal was followed by
writer Alina Rastam, who read
two of her poems, Pantun and
In My Lover’s Hands. Simple yet
Readings from
Readings from
Readings
powerfully written, Rastam’s free
verse was stirring and evocative,
an effective expression of the
innate beauty found in simple
things, whether it be the tranquility
of a beach at night, or the touch
of someone close to you.
Brian Gomez, author of novel
Devil’s Place, then read from his
story a/p, a moving account of
childhood innocence affected by
religious and racial strife. Gomez
proved an engaging reader,
bantering with the audience
before he read: “I use profanity in
everything I write. I think it’s a fair
reflection of Malaysians. We can
swear in four languages. And so
can Singaporeans, but what have
they got to swear about?”
Following Gomez was Jordan
MacVay reading The Six Maidens,
about an Indonesian man lost at
sea, and the peculiar company
he meets. In a true testament
to truth being stranger than
fiction, MacVay shared how many
thought the events in his story
were fictional, when amazingly, all
of it really happened, as related to
him by one of his students, Rizal
Sahputra, who was swept out to
sea by the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami and actually experienced
the events of the story.
Culture 23 May 27 — 29, 2011
Compiled by Nick Choo – nick@selangortimes.com
CALENDAR
Live @ The Actors Studio:
Singer-Songwriters
Music; May 27 & 28; The Actors Studio @ Lot
10; 03-21442009, www.theactorsstudio.com.
my
Original compositions written by Malaysia’s
own independent singer-songwriters.
Featuring Ida Lisa, Nightlights, Rashdan
Harith, Priscilla Xavier, Joshua Foong and Ariff
Akhir on Friday (May 27); Ian Chow, Wani Ardy,
Tony Leo, Markiza and Peter Hassan, Khairil M
Bahar and Devon Chew on Saturday. Free admission.
Projek Disko Baldi
Comedy; May 28 & 29; PJ Live
Arts @ Jaya One; RM10 (for
preview on May 28) / RM35; 03-
79600439, email: boxoffice@pjla.
com.my; www.pjla.com.my
Photos by Uthaya Sankar SB
“A journey of random, ‘what the
what?’, ‘gila dowh’ sketches” (sic).
“Parodies, satires, original songs
and 100% zaniness — you’ll
never know what hit you.” Projek Disko Baldi is a comedy ensemble under
Playground Productions, comprising Megat Sharizal, Redza Minhat, Farah
Rani, Iedil Putra Alaudin, Ashraf Zain, Shamaine Othman and Tuan Faisal.
Part of PJ Laugh Fest 2011.
Actorlympics!
Comedy; May 31-June 2; PJ Liva Arts @ Jaya One; 03-79600439, RM30/
RM60; email: boxoffice@pjla.com.my; www.pjla.com.my
“1. A competitive activity or sport in which theatrical players contend with
each other according to a set of rules; 2. A theatrical, improvisational,
comical activity providing entertainment or amusement; 3. An evening of
entertainment provided by a collection of Malaysia’s best comedy improv
actors; 4. The best night of laughs you have had in a long time with the
most amount of actors onstage at one time.” Featuring Adlin Shauki,
Harith Iskander, Nell Ng, Rashid Salleh, Ida Nerina, Patrick Teoh, Kuah
Jenhan, Douglas Lim and Reza Zainal Abidin. Part of PJ Laugh Fest 2011.
Jordan MacVay
reading his story The Moon Speaks For My Heart:
The Six Maidens. Teresa Teng, Her Life, Her Songs
Musical; May 19-29; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; RM60-RM255;
03-62019107/62019108, email: dama@damaorchestra.com; www.
damaorchestra.com
Dama Orchestra’s latest concert is a tribute to the legendary Teresa Teng.
Savour the sweet melodious music and songs that made Teng a truly
international icon. Featuring Tan Soo Suan, Evelyn Toh, and Chang Fang
Chyi, with narration in English by Sam Tseu.
White Crane Silat & Dance
Dance; May 30; The Actors Studio @ Lot 10; RM10; 010-3061100 /
0126560812; email: jess_procast@yahoo.com.my
Performance and demonstration by Jane Chen from Indonesia. Born
Uthaya Sankar SB then read in Jakarta and moved to Bali after she graduated from the Art College,
Cat (previously published in she has been practicing “white crane” silat, an Indonesian martial art
Selangor Times) with the first that promotes a sound mind and fit body, for the past 22 years. The
part of his story read in English, craft evolved from the ancient Southern China Shaolin and Bodhidarma.
and the second in Bahasa Limited seats available.
Malaysia. A rib-tickling, surreal
piece about a cat applying for a
government post, Sankar’s piece
The Fulfillment of Solitude
was well-received by readers,
who Sankar successfully cajoled Exhibition; May 10-31; EQ Fine Arts; 03-62010985/019-2809985, email:
into miaowing along with him at rajaihsan@gmail.com; free admission
certain parts of the story.
Bakar closed the event with A selection of photographs by HRH Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah (1907-
a reading of Homunculus, an 1979). “The 25 photographs carefully chosen for this exhibition are some
experimental three-sentence story of his most celebrated, and also several that were never before printed.
she was inspired to write after These are pictures that reveal the true character of the photographer, who
participating in a writing activity also happened to be a Malay Sultan. They also reveal his relationship with
from an online writing course. The the human element of his subjects, as well as the countryside that he
story drew upon the medieval belonged to.” Viewing by appointment only.
legend of an artificial human as
a metaphor for the effects of a Land of Gods & Shadows
debilitating disease, and was
moving in its poignancy. Exhibition; May 9-29; Pentas 2 Foyer, KLPac; 03-7958 2175, email: stag@
All in all, the session of tm.net.my; www.shaliniganendra.com
Readings from Readings proved
to be a delightful experience, a Pictures by photojournalist Rahman Roslan, taken during frequent visits
lovely opportunity for Malaysian to Bali in 2010. “As a frequent stranger to this land, Bali offers many
book fans and writers to get surprises. On my second visit, I was able, due to familiarity, to capture
acquainted with each other. images, people met, and landscapes touched, and the feeling of the
Storytelling, after all, should be breeze. What I see has more meaning now and grows from the image,
a two-way experience, with both because from the visual I explore the multiple layers beneath. Sometimes
the reader and the writer playing a beautiful marriage occurs between the ancient and contemporary, or
vital roles, and this engaging the obvious and the subtle. These relationships, shadows, and realisation
live reading proved to be a fine brought the mesmerising energy for this series.” Presented by Shalini
testament of this. Ganendra’s Fine Art.
Published by Selangor State Government and printed by Dasar Cetak (M) Sdn Bhd No. 7, Persiaran Selangor, Seksyen 15, 40000, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.