Rajiv for Malaysia

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.

For the coming Infrastructure Meeting, I will be raising the following items...

Walk-in: Aras 1, Kaunter bersepadu, MPSJ. Please insist on a complaint reference number once you have made your complaint.

Hotline: 03-80247700. 24 hours. Please insist on a complaint reference number once you have made your complaint.

MPSJ Online Public Complaints System: known as  iResponz

Website: http://www.mpsj.gov.my
The best / most recommended way to lodge a complaint

E-mail: mpsj@mpsj.gov.my If you don't receive a reply within 2 working days, please re-send the email or use the website. Insist on a reference number

Mailing address:
Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya
Persiaran Perpaduan, USJ 5
47610 Subang Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Note: this method is discouraged as it takes a longer response time. However, it is still an available option

General Response time: 14 working days.
For urgent matters please call the hotline & also contact me (call/sms)

Recently I received the statistics of complaints made by residents of Zone 3 (USJ2 - USJ15) for the month of Sept 2009.

The "champion' for the month is USJ 2, with the most complaints (37), and the other "champion", lowest is USJ3D with just 1 complaint.

The item which appears quite often is tree trimming, indiscrimate dumping of rubbish (noticed the furniture, mattress at street corners), performance of Alam Flora contractors. There has been some other complaints, such as poor road conditions, illegal hawkers, stray dogs, but these other complaints are 1 or 2, here and there.

Do help MPSJ improve by lodging complaints whenever you see a fault. Its easy, just takes a few minutes only...

http://www.rajiv4malaysia.com/2009/11/how-to-lodge-complaint-with-mpsj.html

A good article by YB Lau Weng San...
http://wengsan.blogspot.com/2009/11/tugas-berat-2-ahli-dewan-negara.html

I personally feel that the majority of seats should be state representatives, and the balance minority be reserved for minority groups such as Orang Asli, etc.

We already have Dewan Rakyat which is chosen directly by the people to vet thru decisions by the cabinet and to make laws. It'll be good if the Dewan Negara is chosen by another method, i.e. appointment by respective state governments,

This doesn't dilute the power of the people, but gives for proper check and balance, where the 2 Dewans while working for the people at large come from 2 different sources, both of which are just as important.

We have seen state rights being eroded over the last 50 years, such is necessary for state governments to have a say in federal decisions.

One of the things discovered in local governments in Selangor is that all telco operators (Maxis, Celcom, P1, etc) have to go thru Kumpulan Jaringan Selangor (KJS) to apply to set up telecommunication structures. KJS would then be the sole body permitted to apply to local councils (such as MPSJ) for the permit to put such towers/structures.

This has been another way the previous administration has used as a "rent seeking" measure, to milk money from these telcos for their personal pocket. It is unknown who is truly behind KJS.

This matter has been highlighted to the State Govt, and hopefully this monopoly would come to an end.

Since the telcos have been complying the last few years with KJS rates, I also propose that local council charges the same rates KJS has been charging the telcos, to increase the council's revenue. This additional revenue can be channel towards public benefits - such as increasing park lighting, resurfacing roads, etc.

The Star, 22th Oct 2009
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/10/22/central/4494125&sec=central

Banking on experience
MY COUNCILLOR
By JADE CHAN

IT WAS only a matter of progression for Rajiv Rishyakaran, who went from volunteering with Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh during the March 2008 election campaign to becoming one of her special assistants.

“We got to know each other years ago through Grace Church Shah Alam. I offered to help her during the campaign, and continued to help after she won.

“My duties have since evolved from following Hannah to events and activities, to dealing with the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) on complaints and organising events for Hannah,” he said.

Having acquired a decent understanding of, and knowing the workings and people at the MPSJ before becoming a councillor, Rajiv said his duties would remain almost the same, with the addition of a policy-making role.

He feels his experience will be useful in the committees he will be sitting on: Finance, Health, Licensing, and IT.

“I learnt all the aspects of a construction firm during my stint there, including finance, administration, standard operating procedures and technical workings, to dealing with people ranging from construction workers to government officers, and how contractors can cheat.

“There are a lot of things I want to get done, but I’ll have to consider what the other councillors want to do in terms of changing policies,” said Rajiv.

On Licensing, he hopes to step up the MPSJ’s enforcement, such as getting all shops to pay for their signboard licences.

On Health, Rajiv would like to see an improvement in the hygiene aspect at eating outlets by getting all to install grease traps and ridding unhygienic practices that attract rats, cockroaches and stray animals.

In terms of Finance, he said: “The people must have access to the yearly budget and year-end accounts, because it is their right to know.

“There should also be transparency in tenders, whereby the tender evaluation process is made known to the public. I also hope that the Official Secrets Act for all documents will be abolished, although these are big steps in terms of making change.”

As for the IT element, he would like to make the MPSJ’s online complaints system more user-friendly, with the option of having the complainant’s identity hidden where necessary, especially when it comes to enforcement.

“The IT system within the MPSJ must be improved to enhance its productivity,” Rajiv said.

“The council could also look into a fault reporting system whereby contractors who do maintenance work can report to the MPSJ about broken playground facilities or potholes when they go about their duties, instead of having the residents or MPSJ officers do it.”

He added that the MPSJ was working on a couple of proposals to address the parking issues in commercial areas like USJ Taipan and SS15, as well as to better empower the residents.

On the latter proposal, Rajiv explained: “We want to teach residents to take a more proactive approach in their community and know what to do, even to the stage of going to court, say, for a rubbish dumping issue.”

Full name: Rajiv Rishyakaran

Age: 28

Marital status: Single

Education: Degree in Electronic Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn, Johor

Career: 3.5 years in a construction firm. Currently owns an online computer retail business

Councillor of: Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) Zone responsibility: Zone 3 (USJ 2 - USJ 15)

Contact: 012-311 1585/ rajiv@dapsj.com

A good article...

For 2009, the following roads have been resurfaced within MPSJ Zone 3 (USJ2-15). Note that some of these roads are not resurfaced totally.