Rajiv for Malaysia

There has been a lot of news in the papers regarding billboards in MBPJ over the last one year. It is because they were the first to tackle this issue head on. Pretty soon we'll probably see MPSJ in the news, with the billboard operators mostly angry at MPSJ... But lets look at what has happened.

The history...

Pre 2009, there has been 3 categories of billboards in MPSJ areas.

1. Signage
- this is billboards under thier contract with MPSJ, special case. There have exclusivity in certain zones in exchange for constructing bus stops and pedestrian bridges throughout MPSJ.

2. Legal billboards
- This are other billboard operators who have constucted billboards legally. For a billboard to be legal, it needs
a) Planning Approval (Kebenaran Merancang) - given by MPSJ
b) Structural Permit - given by MPSJ
c) Visual License - given by MPSJ
d) If on govt land, need TOL (temporary occupancy license) - Land Office
Not many billboards comply with this, tho some actually have License without a) and b). Technically, MPSJ shouldn't have allowed for that, but somehow, pre-2008, all these were allowed.

3. Illegal billboards
- Some of these have no approval at all, and others just have visual license approved and paid.

This has not only caused a loss of income to MPSJ, but also a certain amount of chaos in moving forward.


The dilemma today...

For the purpose of this article, we will refer to the common billboard size, 10' x 40'. The normal rates (since MPSJ started in 1998 till now) is
a) Planning Approval (Kebenaran Merancang) - RM200
b) Structural Permit - RM250
c) Visual License - RM500/visual
d) Billboard license - RM5000
e) If on govt land, need TOL (temporary occupancy license) - previously RM2000, now RM3000
(there is also RM1000 deposit to MPSJ, RM5000 deposit on TOL)

Total due for 2009 is RM8950. However, which we might soon see in the papers, some of this billboard companies will be crying bloody murder, as they claim RM8950 is too expensive, killing their business. They will also claim that previously they only paid RM500 + RM1000 deposit for their billboards. They will claim that the sudden rates are an attempt to kill their rice bowl. They claim that the billboard occupancy rate is around 50% (really? I don't notice that many empty billboards around Subang Jaya, though I admit I've not gone around calculating), and per billboard they only earn an average of RM18k/yr.

Today we had a dialogue with such companies. We want to be fair, we gave them a chance to hear them out. It got pretty ugly at some points.


The future...

From 2010 onwards, based on the state guidelines, all billboards will pay 25% of their revenue to MPSJ under a profit sharing basis, instead of the respective fees.


The decision..
Considering that some billboard companies have been paying the full/proper rates before this, and are willing to do so for 2009, do we stick to this? Are we business un-friendly to do so? We don't want to destroy industries, really, that would also cost job losses and also less revenue to the goverment.

Today I have submitted a formal request to TNB to add more street lights in the areas of USJ3/3 and USJ12/1. This 2 areas are among those which has very little street lights. A lot of roads in these areas have only 2 street lights, one at each end of the road.

A number of residents have raised the issue of dog poop, and why doesn't MPSJ force owners of dogs to scoop after their pets when they do their "business" in public areas.

1. I'm all for increasing enforcement - traffic, gambling, littering, dirty restaurants, etc. I've been very consistent on this in council meetings whenever enforcement is discussed

2. This increase can be done either by
a) increasing our staff
b) outsourcing

3. Increasing govt staff is not easy. We need approval from state govt and JPA. While most of us (me included) always feel that enforcement staff will automatically earn their keep by the amount of summons they issue, this is not really the case. Most summons go unpaid, as people don't fear it. MPSJ is dragging people to court, but as you can imagine, there's only a limited amount of people that we can prosecute per month, and somehow, despite doing this, it has not struck fear.

4. Since implementing the yellow tag for parking offences in Taipan, the payment rate for summons has gone up - 64% the last i heard. This is positive in helping the case of increasing enforcement.

5. As for outsourcing enforcement, a council meeting has recently directed the legal dept to study and present a paper on this matter by February.

6. Why can't we just go ahead? Well, because we are not sure what legal implications there might be, and instead of rushing into things, which may land us in court, cost us lots of legal fees and embarrassment, and may nullify all those summons issued. So, please give it some time.

7. Not all councillors are for increasing enforcement. In fact some are against it. Some prefer "education" (please lah, i think everyone knows they are committing wrong, and are just not afraid of getting caught). Others fear political backlash from strict enforcement.

So, this is not an easy battle. I am however determined to see it through.

Its a shame that in this rather educated neighborhood of USJ, there are still resident who resort to this... If you have any information of the culprits, MPSJ would be happy to take action. Else, to clean up, a simple complaint to MPSJ will get a response..

DAPSY Selangor is organising a networking dinner to celebrate the Christmas season in 2009 as part of our efforts to engage the youth and be seen with the people, as well as attract the interest of the younger generation who at large still tend to shun politicians.

The details of the event are as follows:
Venue: Restaurant Chef & Brew @ Plaza Damansara, Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur
Date: 19 December 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 7.00pm onwards till late.
Dress code: Smart casual
Menu: Ala carte
Cuisine: Western, Fusion, Chinese, limited Japanese dishes
Price: RM35/++ per person (approximation for 3 course meal, excluding drinks)
Reservation : 40 pax maximum

The restaurant is chosen because of its cosy ambience and ample parking space. It is located near Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s former residence.

The map to the place can be located at the following link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=3.149600,101.653000&z=16&om=1


Driving directions to Chef & Brew:

If driving from PJ Hilton area:

1.Head northeast toward Persiaran Barat21 m
2.Turn left at Persiaran Barat0.9 km
3.Turn left to merge onto Jalan Timur0.4 km
4.Turn right at Exit Jalan Timur14 m
5.Take the ramp onto Lebuhraya Persekutuan1.5 km
6.Take the ramp onto Lebuhraya Sprint1.9 km
7.Slight left to stay on Lebuhraya Sprint3.2 km
8.Take the exit toward Persiaran Bukit Kiara0.2 km
9.Turn right at Persiaran Bukit Kiara0.8 km
10.Continue onto Jalan Setia Murni0.4 km
11.Turn right toward Jalan Medan Setia 117 m
12.Turn right at Jalan Medan Setia 10.1 km
13.Continue onto Jalan Medan Setia 2
Destination will be on the left79 m



The guests of honour are:
1. YB Jenice Lee
2. YB Anthony Loke

The theme for the evening: Spirit of Giving (Giving your lives for a better Malaysia)

Agenda:
7.00 pm - Arrival of Guests (Registration)
7.30 pm - Dinner
8.30 pm - Getting to know each other
9.00 pm - Welcome speech by YB Jenice Lee
9.10 pm - Dialogue with your elected reps
10.00 pm - Closing Speech by YB Anthony Loke
10.30 pm - Good Night and Merry Christmas!


It's open to all professionals especially to the younger generation below the age of 40.

Please inform Ashvin at 019-316 7027 of your attendance and the number of guests attending via sms or email radiantash@yahoo.com by 17 Dec 2009 (deadline).

We have reserved seats for only 40 persons (First come, first served basis). We will officially come up with a full list of names confirmed attending.