community December 23 — 25, 2011/ issue 54

Malaysian lessons from Bolivia

occupying kuala lumpur

p 14 p 12 & 13

council legalises sidewalk dining

p 6

High-tension cable project to go aheadBy Brenda ch’ng and gan pei ling

sHaH alam: The state is sticking to its decision to allow Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to resume its stalled high-tension cable project across Cheras via an alterna-tive route despite residents’ objections.

“It’s impossible to obtain 100% support,

all of the proposed routes will affect some residents. We’ve made the best decision possible,” said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim after opening the Aeon Rawang Shopping Centre yesterday.

He added that it was a “collective deci-sion” made by the Selangor Economic Ac-tion Council on Dec 9 after the state had

met TNB and residents’ groups several times.

Around 200 residents from 14 neigh-bourhoods, including Taman Cheras Har-tamas and Taman Bukit Segar Jaya, pro-tested in front of the state secretariat and TNB headquarters on Monday against the state-approved alternative route .

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim informing nursery operators and Yayasan Selangor officials that the state government will not hand out TOL for Green Lane.

Residents from 14 housing estate in Cheras demonstrating their concerns over Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) plans to proceed with the construction of electricity pylons along the Bukit Sungai Puteh Tambahan Hillslope at the company’s headquarters in

Bangsar on Monday. • Turn To page 2

According to the plan, the 275kV trans-mission lines, which were initially proposed to be constructed across residential areas, have been re-routed to cut across a forest reserve instead.

Now, the 42-metre-high pylons will be constructed along the hill slopes of Bukit Sungai Puteh Tambahan, around Taman Bukit Segar Jaya.

“That hillslope has been identified by the state as one of the 15 slopes in Selangor which were at risk of landslides in Decem-ber 2008,” said Residents Action Commit-tee chairperson Datuk Eadon Ching.

The threat of landslides during and after construction of the pylons on the hill is a major concern.

“They fear that they will be buried alive by landslides or get electrocuted by the 275kV power lines that will collapse into the mud and water,” said Ching.

Residents have proposed their own alter-native route between Taman Orkid and the Mahkota Cheras TNB substation.

They argue that the route, which is shorter by four kilometres, will help TNB cut cost, but the company has rejected the proposal because existing structures could hinder the construction of pylons. 

Residents had also suggested that the power lines be laid underground, but TNB said it was too costly

TNB claims that the Public Works Insti-tute of Malaysia's (Ikram) study showed that the Bukit Sungai Puteh Tambahan hillslope will be strengthened by the pylon construction.

TNB vice-president (transmission) Datuk

phone (603) 5510 4566fax (603) 5523 1188

email editor@selangortimes.com

EDITORIALCHIEF EDITOR KL Chan

COMMUNITY EDITOR Neville SpykermanWRITERS Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Gan Pei Ling,

Basil Foo, Alvin Yap, Gho Chee Yuan, Brenda Ch’ngCOPY EDITORS Nick Choo, James Ang

DESIGNERS Jimmy C. S. Lim, Chin Man YenADVERTISING Timothy Loh, Ivan Looi, Tony KeeADVISORS Faekah Husin, Arfa’eza Abdul Aziz

2 December 23 — 25, 2011

news

State instructs TNB to survey alternative route

Residents threaten 10,000-strong protest

Rozimi Remeli had told the press on Dec 16 that the RM91 million pro-ject was crucial to ensure stable elec-tricity supply for people residing in Cheras, Balakong and the proposed Langat 2 water treatment plant.

Rozimi said the project, which started in 2009 and stopped in Oct 2010, was 65% complete as of Dec 12.

• From page one

Morning

Friday Saturday Sunday

afternoon

night

Selangor WeaTHer

Source: Malaysian meteorological department

SHAH ALAM: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has been instructed by Selangor to work with Aecom New Zealand on the stalled high-tension cable project in Rawang.

The utility company will look into the feasibility of the alterna-tive route proposed by the inde-pendent consultant, after the state “put their foot down” during a heated meeting yesterday.

Kampung Sungai Terentang vil-lage chief Goh Ah Kow said TNB had appeared reluctant to accept Aecom’s findings and consistently seek to challenge the findings dur-ing the Selangor Economic Action Council (MTES) yesterday.

Consultant to the villagers

Tang Ah Chai said TNB’s refusal to accept the consultant’s findings and proactively explore alterna-tives drew the wrath of one of the state executive councillors during the meeting.

“One of them told off the TNB representatives, asking them to put the people’s interests first and stop challenging Aecom’s findings on the grounds of technicalities,” Tang said.

Aecom consultant Kevin Zhang was also taken aback by TNB’s “un-collaborative” attitude throughout the meeting.

“In Australia, the local commu-nity’s needs are usually considered the first priority. Land acquisition

is the last resort after taking into account the financial, environmen-tal and other costs [of all other possible alternatives],” Zhang told the press.

The consultant stood by his findings that the route they pro-posed is the most technically feasi-ble, with minimal impact on the community.

Hired by the state to conduct a feasibility study on alternative routes for TNB’s Central Area Re-inforcement (CAR) project, Ae-com had suggested aligning the power lines along the 40-metre-wide Rawang Highway using exist-ing road reserves, bypassing Kam-pung Sungai Terentang entirely.

Irate community takes matters into own handsAMPANG: Armed with chainsaws, six resi-dents here took it upon themselves to trim away the branches and roots of a raintree that had been clogging drains.

The group from Kampung Baru Ampang yes-terday took matters into their own hands to pre-vent floods that have been plaguing the neigh-bourhood.

“We’ve complained to MPAJ (Ampang Jaya Municipal Council) several times. The contractor they sent two months ago pruned the branches but not the roots, so we’re doing it ourselves,” said Teoh Eng Huat, 51.

He said when the residents requested the MPAJ contractor to cut away the tree roots that were threatening to clog the drain on Jalan 17, the

contractor declined to do so, citing lack of budget.A resident, who only wanted to be identified

as Tan, said they have been living with flash floods for decades.

“It was better after the drainage system was up-graded seven to eight years ago, but it’s been rain-ing a lot recently and the water level [has been] quite high. It’s better to clear the roots before it floods again,” said the 50-year-old.

Another villager, Helen Teoh, 57, also urged the authorities to trim the tree from time to time as its branches were getting entangled with the electrical transmission line.

“If it falls, people might get hurt,” she said.MPAJ transported the branches and roots away

after the residents completed their work.

“We hope to resume the project next month and expect to complete it in August. If the project is not completed in time, TNB will have to bear additional costs,” he said.

So far, TNB has successfully con-structed the pylons along the busy commercial street of Taman Con-naught, home to one of the longest night markets in the country.

The cables are part of a larger

project which runs from Taman Connaught to Kajang.

Nevertheless, residents want TNB, Ikram and state representa-tives to attend a briefing on Dec 26 (Monday) at 10am to address their concerns and worries.

The Residents Action Commit-tee has threatened to hold a 10,000-strong protest if TNB does not meet them.

This route is estimated to cost RM17.5 million, a million cheaper than the RM18.6 million for TNB’s original proposed route for the 59km CAR project to reinforce power supply to Kuala Lumpur.

A reluctant TNB finally agreed to conduct a joint survey as soon as possible on the alternative route with Aecom, the Public Works Department, Kampung Sungai Terentang villagers, and state rep-resentatives.

However, TNB representatives declined to comment on the issue after the meeting.

Executive councillor Elizabeth Wong said the detailed report from the joint survey is expected

a resident doing the work of the local council.

TnB senior manager nik azizol Hassan (second left) reciving a memorandum from eadon Ching (right) and other Cheras residents on monday.

to be presented on Jan 5, 2012.Villagers have protested vehe-

mently against the project as a pri-mary school, a maternity and child clinic, and a kindergarten expected to be completed next January are located only 20 to 25 metres from TNB’s proposed transmission line.

Pregnant women, infants and children are the groups most vul-nerable to magnetic fields from high voltage transmission lines, ac-cording to the International Health Research Association.

TNB’s original proposed route would also require at least 51 homes to be demolished. Villagers have been living in fear of being relocated since 2005.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ December 23 – 25, 2011 ⁄ 3

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4 DECEMbEr 23 — 25, 2011

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SHAH ALAM: The Auditor-General’s (AG) report, which cites the accountability and transparency of the Selangor administration, is a vindication of state policies, said Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim here on Monday

The Menteri Besar said the AG had conferred on the various state agencies the highest efficiency and management ratings in the country.

“The Rating Index on accountability shows that Selangor has one of the most efficient and transparent administrations in the country,” Khalid said at the State Secretariat after a monthly gathering of state departments here.

Earlier he handed out awards to the State Treasury, the Urban and Rural Planning Department, and the Ampang Jaya (MPAJ) and Selayang (MPS) Municipal Councils for exemplary management of their operating expenditure.

He also gave out awards to the local governments for their innovate ideas in collecting assessment arrears and other taxes.

The Ijok assemblyperson praised MPS and MPAJ for reducing their arrears by setting up mobile counters for ratepayers to settle outstanding fees.

He also gave awards to the Land Offices of Districts in Sepang, Klang, Gombak and Kuala Selangor for collecting 90% of the current land premium payable for 2010.

The award for highest premium collection went to the Sepang Land Office, which collected 98% of the land tax in the district.

Khalid also handed out certificates and prize money of RM10,000 in the form of a cheque to the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) for creating the EZ-Pay mobile counters for ratepayers to pay their bills.

MBPJ also won the second prize for its engineering department’s invention of the Mr PT, a rodent trap.

MPS won third prize for its Smart Clamping device to lock the wheels of errant motorists who park illegally in the local government’s jurisdiction.

AG’s report attests to state’s success

In October, Auditor-General Tan Sri Datuk Sri Ambrin Buang signed off on the report, which singled out the various departments for their efforts to rein in spending by scrutinising prices and quality of services and equipment from vendors.

The report also cited the local governments for increasing their tax revenue by using mobile vans to collect arrears from houses. It said the initiatives by the local governments contributed to the rise in revenue, as well as a drop in operating expenditure.

The report said Selangor’s consolidated revenue increased by RM266.91million, or 20.2%, in 2010, from RM1.319 billion in 2009 to RM1.586 billion in 2010.

In the meantime, the state reduced its operating expenditure from RM1.829 billion in 2009 to RM1.447 billion in 2010.

Earlier, Selangor State Secretary Datuk Khusrin Munawi said he would continue to monitor and build the state civil service to administer Selangor.

The head civil service officer pointed out that efficient and transparent management of the various state departments benefited the people.

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Khalid hands an award to a representative of the Kuala Langat Land Office, as Khusrin (left) and State

Treasurer Datuk Ariff Abdul Rahman look on.

Back To School 2012Rukun Tetangga Taman Desawan Klang will be organising a “Back To School 2012” event to provide poor and underprivileged children with school bags, attire, shoes and notebooks. The event will be held on Jan 26, and is targeted at children within the vicinity of Taman Desawan, Taman Klang Jaya and Taman Desa Utama. For more details contact Rukun Tetangga chairperson Puvananderan Ganasamoorthy at 012-2652751 or email gpuvan@rocketmail.com.

Musical dayAstro Vannavil will be organising a music day for the mind, spirit and self realisation on Jan 7 from 9am-12.30pm. The event will be held at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) library hall at Lot 389, Jalan Selangor, Section 3, Petaling Jaya. Admission is free. For more details call 012-2100481 (Ching Hooi).

Book charity driveTropicana City Mall Petaling Jaya together with Cambridge English for Life will be organising a Book Charity Drive on the ground level of the mall. All books donated by the public will be given to poor children here. They are looking for English-language books, storybooks (fiction or non-fiction for children aged four to 17), picture books and encyclopedias. All books can be donated at the book charity counter (next to the information counter on the ground floor). For more details call 03-78830912 / 77101818.

Journalism training in MexicoThe School of Authentic Journalism is calling all media makers, journalists, bloggers and activists who are interested in learning about the relationship between media and civil resistance movements in Mexico. Those who are interested in acquiring additional journalism skills are also invited. The session will be taking place in Mexico from March 21-31 2012. Those interested can apply by writing to 2012application@narconews.com. All applications must be submitted by Wednesday, Dec 28. For more information visit the school’s website at www.narconews.com/Issue67/article4534.html.

MPK’s New Year’s celebrationJoin the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) in ushering in the New Year on Dec 30-31 (Friday and Saturday) at Dataran Seni Klang. Among highlights will be colouring competitions, karaoke contest for children, fireworks, and street dance competitions. For more information, contact the coordinating officer Roshayati Abd Rahim at 03-33716044 ext. 1234/1015.

Book warehouse saleThere will be a book sale from Dec 23 to Jan 1 from 10am-9pm at the Petaling Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) multipurpose hall on Jalan BU 3/1 Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, with discounts of up to 80% from Crescent’s books. For more details, contact 03-61842448 or email crescent@tm.net.my.

EvEnts

Lawmakers see red over news articlesSUBANG JAYA: Teresa Kok and Gobind Singh Deo are mulling legal action against four tabloids for maligning them with unsubstantiated news reports. 

“We’re ready to accept criticism from the media about our shortcomings, but do not write fake news reports about us,” said Gobind at his Puchong service centre on Tuesday.

The Puchong MP was referring to articles on  one S Valamathi, who had reportedly approached both lawmakers to get her husband released from police detention.

The articles, published on Dec 18 in one English-, one Tamil-, and two Malay-language newpapers, claimed that both had offered to cover Valamathi’s outstanding house loan repayments amounting to RM14,000.

The mother of five said both lawmakers reneged on their

promises of financial assistance.However, Gobind and Kok, who is the Kinrara state

lawmaker, deny ever meeting Valamathi or promising her financial assistance.

“We didn’t promise her any aid as we didn’t even meet her,” said Kok, who is also Selangor executive councillor for investment, industry and trade.

Both have sought retractions from the newspapers, but to no avail. Journalists from the news organisations also did not attend Tuesday’s press conference by the duo.

“When they wrote the reports, none of the reporters called for our side of the story. Now, we’ve invited them, but they didn’t turn up,” said Gobind, who described the reports as defamatory.

5december 23 — 25, 2011

news

By Gan Pei Ling

SUBANG JAYA: A move to legalise and regulate outdoor dinning at eateries in the municipality is win-ning is being applauded by restaurant owners.

Subang Jaya Coffeeshop, Bar and Restaurant Asso-ciation committee member Danny Lim welcomed the decision by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ).

“This will benefit around 6,000 to 8,000 eateries in the municipality,” said Lim.

Under the new policy, owners can legally apply to MPSJ to place tables and chairs on five-foot ways out-side their restaurants during their operating hours.

Despite being unlawful, dinning along sidewalks is a common practice not only in Subang Jaya but through-out the country.   

“Now we can apply for the permit instead of paying summonses every month,” said Lim.

He added that it would also help to reduce corrup-tion, as some restaurant operators would rather bribe enforcement officers than pay the summons that could accumulate to thousands of ringgits a year.

MPSJ councillor Pooi Weng Keong and Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh announced the new policy at a press conference last Friday.

“Previously, the operators were only allowed to place tables and chairs on five-foot ways from 6pm to mid-night. They have to remove them after midnight and during daytimes.

“But after a dialogue with the operators in February

2011, taking into account their feedback, MPSJ de-cided it is more appropriate to base the permit on their respective operating hours,” said Pooi.

However, he noted that food outlets cannot take up all the space on five-foot ways, and must still leave a walkway for pedestrians. Otherwise, their permit could be revoked.

The new policy will affect eateries in Subang Jaya, Bandar Sunway, Puchong, Seri Serdang and Seri Kem-bangan.

Pooi said restaurant operators, including those that open round-the-clock, can start applying for the new permit with immediate effect.

“The fee is RM30 per table per month,” said Pooi, adding that operators must secure the new permit by March 2012.

MPSJ legalises sidewalk dining BANTING : Solid waste man-

agement in Kuala Langat has been consolidated to ensure a smooth transition following the district council’s takeover of services from Alam Flora Sdn Bhd.

“The Urban Environmental Services under the district council is  increasing its capabilities to ensure that ratepayers’ gar-bage collection and disposal is not interrupted,” said  Abdul  Razak Jaafar in a statement released on Monday.

The Kuala Langat District Council (MDKL) president said the council is now fully in charge of garbage-collection contractors since taking over from the conces-sionaire on Oct 16.

The  contractors will service six areas under the Kuala Langat district until Dec 31, before new rounds of tenders are opened. 

MDKL also assigned six offic-ers to monitor contractors’ perfor-mance on the ground, while an-other 12 officers will audit opera-tions across the board.

“This is to ensure that garbage collection is carried out accord-ing to specifications,” Abdul Razak said.

He pointed out that MDLK will hold weekly meetings with

contractors to ensure that solid-waste removal is carried out with-out any interruptions.

The district council is also re-structuring the areas of garbage collection according to number of households, to  ensure that ser-vices are carried out efficiently.

MDKL to date has not faced any problems in  garbage collec-tion and disposal.

It has nevertheless urged the public  to dispose  of their trash responsibly instead of using illegal dumps.

The eradication of illegal dumpsites is under the jurisdic-tion of  the Village Security and Safety committee ( JKKK), which coordinates its efforts with MDKL.

To lodge complaints on gar-bage collection and disposal, ratepayers can send SMSes by typing MDKL  ADUAN <buti-ran aduan> and sending to 15888.

To check the status of their c o m p l a i n t s , s e n d M D K L SEMAK<nombor rujukan adu-an> to the same number.

Alternatively, they can call  03-31872825 / 2732 extension 138 (Complaints Department) to talk to a customer service repre-sentative.

MDKL moves to streamline services

6 December 23 — 25, 2011

NEWS

Lee remembered as grassroots leader, activistPETALING JAYA: Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Edward Lee, who died of cancer-related complications at University Malaya Medical Centre on Tuesday at the age of 64, will always be remembered as a tireless community organiser.

Lee continued to serve his constituency in the city even as he was battling colon cancer.

Tributes poured in this week from colleagues and residents who lauded his work, first as a community activist and then as a first-time state assemblyperson.

“YB’s (Yang Berhormat’s) return to the Lord is not only a great loss to family and friends, but also to the community he had served long before he was elected to office,” said Avindran Puvanandran, the president of the Community Development Association of Bukit Gasing, a local community organisation.

He said Lee put the needs of others before his own, and reached out to ratepayers to make the Bukit Gasing constitu-ency a better place to live and work in.

Lee, a first-time assemblyperson, started off as a commu-nity activist and gained fame for his 1999 Save Bukit Gasing campaign to protect the green lung from development and successfully getting the hill gazetted.

Described as a grassroots leader, Lee was also founding member of the All Petaling Jaya Residents’ Association Coali-tion.

The group successfully united Petaling Jaya ratepayers to pressure the state government into allowing condominium units to have individual water meters.

Contesting under a DAP ticket, he received 15,735 votes in the 2008 general election to defeat Gerakan’s Datuk Dr Lim Thuang Seng with a 8,812 majority.

Lee was part of a group of 12 people who filed for a judicial review to get water producer Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) to reveal its concession agreement with the state government.

He also served as assistant to state executive councillor for tourism, consumer affairs and environment committee chair-person Elizabeth Wong, apart from being a member of the Selangor government’s Special Select Committee on Compe-tency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat).

Among the many who paid tribute to the much-loved lawmaker was Section 17 ratepayer Ramlah Bador, who said Lee had helped arrange for her medical checkups and other referrals.

Lee, who succumbed to colon cancer, was described as a leader who was close to the people.

Residents should play a part in evaluating councillorsI READ with interest the article ti-tled MPs and Councillors in the centrespread of Selangor Times (issue 48). It was indeed a relevant article published at the time of year when most councillors are due for reap-pointment. 

As a long-time resident of Petaling Jaya, I have been familiar with coun-cillors in my area since 2008. I seek their help to get things done to my area with the safety of the people in mind, especially the young and old. Of course, there are still many more requests yet to be fulfilled.

In the  article, some council-lors were reported to have expressed dissatisfaction over their monthly RM750 allowance. I understand that most of the councillors have perma-nent jobs, and being a councillor is a part-time job for them.

It  is also the general perception that councillors are appointed, based on their own desire to serve the people in the city and municipal/town council areas. Therefore, an increase in allowance is justified for

only full-time councillors who set up their service centres to sincerely serve the people. 

At the same time, councillors should be required to submit at least quarterly accounts of their activities. This information (services provided or complaints attended to by coun-cillors) should be circulated to households of their respective areas.  

In short, residents should have a say in determining or endorsing the services provided by the respective councillors. This is to ensure that no councillor occupies the post without doing anything significant for his or her area.

S Ragunathan Section SS3, Petaling Jaya

THE passing of Bukit Gasing as-semblyperson is a great loss to the state and its residents, said the Menteri Besar on Wednesday.

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said Lee’s dedication to the state and its people would always be remembered.

“His passing away is a great loss … especially to the residents in Bukit Gasing due to his commit-ment, dedication and hard work for the people,” said the Menteri Besar in a press statement.

The first-time assemblyperson had been battling colon cancer since it was diagnosed two years ago, but succumbed to the disease

at the University Malaya Medical Centre on Tuesday morning.

Khalid expressed his condo-lences to Lee’s family and paid tribute to his dedicated service.

He said Lee, in his four years as Bukit Gasing assemblyperson, had worked hard to address issues in the city related to safety, housing, cleanliness and traffic congestion.

“He was close to the people, and he was a grassroots leader,” he added.

Khalid also paid his respects in person to Lee’s wife and three sons during the wake at their Petaling Jaya home on Tuesday.

MB pays respects

A son’s tributeTO those closest to him, Edward Lee is remembered as a man who had the community’s interest at heart.

His son, Simon, 31, said Lee put his energy into serving the people’s needs and solving development-related issues in Section 5 and 10.

“He gave everything – 110%,” said Simon, who was special assistant to his lawmaker father.

Simon said Lee did not seek recognition for his work, but out of a desire to serve the people even as he was battling cancer.

The community activist-turned politician was tireless in his commitment as he saw the potential of the country.

Simon said his father continued with grassroots work even though he was at times disappointed with the people around him.

Originally from Kampung Baru, Lee moved to Section 5 here in 1969 and stayed there till his death.

“Our father moved from Kuala Lumpur to Petal-ing Jaya a week before May 1969,” Simon said.

Another Section 17 resident, Richard Rajoo, described Lee as a tireless worker who did his best to make the city a better community to live and work in.

Lee is survived by his wife, Christina Lee, and three sons.Members of the public can pay their last respects to Lee

today (Friday) at 10am at Dewan Bible College of Malaysia

at Glad Tidings at 99A, Jalan Gasing. The cortege will leave for the Meru Christian Cemetery in Klang.

The Bukit Gasing seat will remain vacant until the next general election as the Selangor legislative assembly has completed more than two-thirds of its term.

The seat will be filled in the next polls.

Khalid, family friend Chia Kwai Loi, second son Simon, daughter-in-law Charlotte Kor, special officer S Nadarajan, and third son James at the wake in the family home on Tuesday.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ december 23 – 25, 2011 ⁄ 7

Season’sGreetings

with Best Compliments From

YAB TAN SRI DATO’ SERI ABDUL KHALID IBRAHIMDato’ Menteri Besar Selangor

and Selangor State Government

Season’sGreetings

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Selamat Menyambut Tahun Baru

with Best Compliments From

YAB TAN SRI DATO’ SERI ABDUL KHALID IBRAHIMDato’ Menteri Besar Selangor

and Selangor State Government

8 december 23 — 25, 2011

news

By Basil Foo

KUALA LUMPUR: About 200 local leaders, foreign dignitaries, and members of the public attended the Debunk-ing ETP: Widening Income Gap dinner on Dec 15.

The talk featured Selangor economic adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whose keynote address was on the federal government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

“The most important facet of the ETP is the 131 Entry Point Projects (EPPs), which include the estimated RM55 billion MRT project,” he said.

He asserted that a high proportion of the EPPs are merely large-scale infrastructure projects that pose a financial risk to the public coffers.

The risk is that diversion of public funds into the EPPs may reduce the nation’s capacity to tackle its mounting deficit.

“Manageable deficit is not a problem. But we have been in a deficit for 13 years – it will turn into a [more serious] problem if not tackled,” he said.

Anwar, who is also the fed-eral opposition leader, spoke on the struggles of a new underpaid

working class that is growing in number.He said the aim to move our economy from low-cost

manufacturing-based activities to knowledge-based sectors would be crippled by an insufficiently skilled workforce.

Alarm bells were raised over a recent World Bank report which revealed glaring lapses in fundamental skills for employ-ment.

“71% of employers … singled out poor English proficiency as the main reason for graduates’ failure to obtain jobs; fol-lowed by a lack of IT skills (70%),” he announced.

Anwar added that without committed government inter-vention to improve wages, workers cannot collectively bargain with employers for higher wages.

He added that this inability to bargain for higher wages is a frustration expressed by workers around the world via the Occupy movements.

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What’s Your Property Worth Today?

ETP and the widening income gap

By Brenda Ch’ng

SERI KEMBANGAN: Low-cost flat owners have been told to get their act together if they wanted to get their buildings repainted under the state scheme.

The Taman Muhibbah flats have been selected for the facelift by the state, which will bear 80% of the cost pro-vided the Joint Management Body(JMB) pays the balance.

Most  residents who attended a meeting on Tuesday night did not even know they had a JMB, while others were caught by surprise to learn that they were office bearers.

“I was shocked when my name was called out as the JMB chairperson. I didn’t even knew we had a JMB,” said resident Lee Kong Yang.

Yee, who lives in Block C, was one of three residents of the two-decade-old flats who only just learnt about their appointments.

“I don’t know how I became the chair[person] as there weren’t any meetings held to form one. There hasn’t been a JMB here ever since I moved in 20 years ago,” said Lee.

He believed that someone from the management body must have randomly chosen his name and made him chairperson for Block C.

Taman Muhibbah has four blocks with 100 units each, and a  JMB was formed mysteriously for each block.

Seri Kembangan assemblyoerson Ean Yong Hian Wah, who briefed residents about the Ceria scheme, said the confusion over the JMB needed to sorted out.

The scheme is targeted at improving living conditions at low-cost flats. This includes repainting, repairing rain gutters or installing new lifts.

To solve their predicament, Ean Yong proposed that

the office bearers of the four JMBs resign and a meeting be called to elect a new one.

“It’s actually not a big deal as they can re-elect people into the JMB. The existing ones can resign and just inform MPSJ (Subang Jaya Municipal Council) about it,” he said.

However, he proposed that the new election be held next year so existing office bearers could collect an initial 5% if they wanted their flats repainted in 2012.

“The dateline for payment is end of the year and I hope residents will only re-elect members after payment is made,” he said.

Repainting the flats will cost RM289,150, and resi-dents have to pay a total of RM57,830 to the Selangor Housing and Real Estate Board.

Joining him at the dialogue was MPSJ councillor Ng Sze Han, who urged existing JMB chairpersons to collect RM36 from each unit by next week.

“We can assist them in getting their JMB properly formed next year, but for now, I hope they will just stick with it for one more week,” Ng said.

Flat dwellers told to get management in order

By Alvin Yap

SHAH ALAM: PKNS FC, which has qualified for next year’s Super League for the first time, aims to finish among the top six in the nation’s first division football championship.

“It’s realistic to say we can finish among top six even though it’s our first outing in the Super League,” said PKNS president Noor Hisham Mohd Ghouth at a press conference on Wednesday.

The Selangor State Development Corporation football club qualified for the top tier league when it won the 2011 Malaysian Premier League, a second division championship, in May.

He is under no illusions about the task, saying the club would have to work hard if they want to do well against the top teams.

“We will be meeting Kelantan, the 2011 champions, among other teams,” said Noor Hisham, who is also corporate manager of parent company PKNS.

He said the line-up would be a mixture of veterans and young players.

PKNS has retained 12 of its players from previous seasons while recruiting another 13 new players from Pahang and KL FA.

They have also strengthened the squad by signing contracts with French midfielders Nicoise Mickael Joseph and Helmi Lous-saief at their corporate headquarters on Wednesday.

The 25-year-olds are experienced players, having played in the tough French League.

PKNS general manager Othman Omar said they had approved a RM7 million budget for the Super League campaign.

PKNS is arguably the nation’s most famous club, having pro-duced legends like Mokhtar Dahari and Santokh Singh in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The club recently returned from Vietnam where it played two friendly matches against Cyclone FC.

PKNS will kick off its Super League campaign with a match against Johore FC at home on Jan 10.

(From left) Othman, Loussaief, Joseph, team captain Mohd Fadhil Hashim, Noor Hisham and PKNS FC vice-president Azmi Adnan displaying their club jerseys.

PKNS eyes top six finish in Super League

Residents from Taman Muhibbah flats listening to the repainting project brief by Ean Yong.

Anwar

9december 23 — 25, 2011

news

From The Staff and Management of

PETALING JAYA: The Philharmonic Society of Selangor’s Christmas charity concert in aid of the Boys’ Brigade of Sel-angor here sang to a sold-out crowd last week.

Known as “The Phil”, the community choral group’s Christ-mas in Song Charity Concert 2011 was attended by a 1,400-strong audience over the weekend at Luther Centre on Jalan Utara here.

“The turnout was good. The ticket sales will help fund the organisation’s programmes in Selangor for 2012,” said Boys’ Brigade state commissioner Richard Lee, who is also a Phil-harmonic Society of Selangor member.

Lee, who sang in the concert, said the proceeds from the sale will fund welfare programmes for Boys’ Brigade members from needy families, as well as for the purchase of new equip-ment like musical instruments.

The Boys’ Brigade, also known as BB, is a youth uniformed organisation like the Scouts Association of Malaysia and the Malaysian Red Crescent.

Lee pointed out that there are 14 Boys’ Brigade groups in Selangor with almost 1,000 active members.

He paid tribute to the Phil and his fellow singers for per-forming in the charity concert, adding that all the members support the work the Boys’ Brigade is carrying with the youth.

The event started with the 90-strong choir singing a medley of Australian songs to commemorate its inaugural overseas performance in Perth, Western Australia in August.

Under the direction of choir conductor Cheryl Teh, the Phil sang a hauntingly poignant rendition of the late P Ram-lee’s Getaran Jiwa.

The group then sang a series of Beatles songs before an in-terval. This was followed by the highlight performance, where the choir sung a series of Christmas carols in Kristang, an endangered language spoken by the Portuguese-Eurasian com-munity in Malacca.

Teh later said the choir decided to sing the carols in Kristang to honour the 500th anniversary of the Portuguese landing in Malacca.

She also dedicated the performance to Petaling Jaya City

Councillor Richard Yeoh’s wife, Jennifer Young, who died last month in a car accident in Manila.

She was also a singer in the Philharmonic Society along with Yeoh.

The musically trained Teh said the choir was excited to perform again for the benefit of the Boys’ Brigade, adding that it gave the musical group a chance to display their repertoire and singing skills.

“The BB is a great at organising events such as this, and all we have to do is to sing our hearts out,” she said.

That is what 27-year-old Wong Hui Lee did when she took

to the stage and sang a solo performance of My Christmas Tree to the crowd here on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Wong sang an almost perfect cover of the song, and held the crowd in their seats in the acoustic hall of Luther Centre.

Among the audience, Lawrence Johnson and his family praised the choir performance.

The 55-year-old accountant said he was surprised that the Philharmonic Society of Selangor is a community choir.

“We enjoyed the concert. I think Selangor, especially Petal-ing Jaya, is lucky to have a community choir like the Philhar-monic Society,” he added.

The Phil performs to full house

Teh conducting The Phil as they sing the Beatles medley.

10 December 23 — 25, 2011

NEWS

By Gan Pei Ling

KLANG: Only a dozen residents, mostly senior citizens, of Taman Gembira turned up for a clean-up organised by the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) here on Dec 10.

MPK councillor Robert Choo said they had sent out 100 flyers and put up banners around the residential area to in-form the residents.

Taman Gembira Rukun Tetangga chairperson Toni Ahmad Azani attributed the low turnout to the school holidays, as many residents could be away.

“There are also residents who think that it’s up to the local council to take care of the neighbourhood’s cleanliness since they’ve paid assessment taxes, so they’re not willing to join the gotong-royong,” he told Selangor Times.

Nevertheless, the residents who showed up worked with MPK personnel to clear a drain on Jalan Hilir 2 that had been overgrown with weeds and clogged with trash.

Located in front of SK Taman Gembira and its teachers’ quarters, Toni said residents have reported sightings of snakes from the overgrown bushes and complained of mos-quitoes breeding in the stagnant drain.

“One of my neighbours saw a snake, around eight to nine feet long, crossing the road when he was driving home re-cently,” said resident Prem Kumar, 56, who has been staying there for three decades.

The gotong-royong is part of a mammoth clean-up cam-paign launched by MPK two weeks ago.

MPK acting president Ikhsan Mukri had appealed to the

Inadequate funding hampering flood efforts

By Basil Foo

PUCHONG: Flood mitigation efforts at several villages here are being hampered by inadequate fed-eral funding.

“Allocations for flood mitigation should have been included in the budget as this directly affects the people’s lives,” Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said.

Gobind, who met the affected residents recently, said he had brought this issue up in a question to the minister of natural resources and environment during the recent parliamentary sessions.

He had received a reply stating that the ministry was aware of flood-ing problems, especially in Sri Ser-dang, Kg Sri Aman, Puchong Indah, Puchong Perdana, and Kg Bunga Melor, but that the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia did not have allocations under the 10th Malaysia Plan.

Villagers here have been living in fear every time it rains as the deluge could cause their homes to be sub-merged by flash floods.

They have called for a solution to their plight to prevent further in-convenience, damage to property, and even loss of life.

Only a dozen residents turned up for Saturday’s gotong royong at Taman Gembira. Middle in white checkered shirt is Klang MP Santiago; behind him in dark green t-shirt is Toni, while councillor Choo is in light green t-shirt.

“Flash floods hit homes in Kg Kuala Sungai Baru on Dec 4. The water took two days to drain,” said Kg Batu 13 village head Ruslan Mat, speaking to reporters during a press conference with Gobind.

He added that another village in the area, Kg Tengah A, was also hit by recent floods, with rainwater taking five hours to subside.

“This is an inconvenience to our daily lives. We are prevented from going out of our homes. The water will still be a foot high hours after the rain has stopped,” he said.

The village chief also blamed nearby developments for the wors-ening floods, saying industrial lots in nearby USJ 20 are on higher ground, which causes rainwater to flow and accumulate in the lower-lying village areas.

“We met the district officer two

days after the floods and told him this issue should be solved without delay to bring the people out of their misery,” Ruslan said.

Kg Batu 13 village development and safety committee ( JKKK) member Ramli Dahlan said drains built around the villages were not effective in tackling the flood.

The Kampung Kenangan resi-dent said there is no flow of water out of the village, and the floodwa-ters dissipate at the same rate as the water levels in the drains.

“The average time it takes for the waters to diminish is about two hours,” he said.

Gobind added that he will be writing to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for their next course of ac-tion.

Ruslan holding a picture of floods at Kg Kuala Sungai Baru while Gobind looks on.

Lukewarm response to gotong-royong

public to work hand-in-hand with the local council to take care of their community’s cleanliness.

Klang Member of Parliament Charles Santiago, who was present at the Taman Gembira gotong-royong last Saturday, said the local council and resi-dents have a common responsibility in the matter.

“Residents cannot always expect to rely on MPK only,” said Santiago, adding that it is also in the public interest to ensure that their area’s drains are always clear and the streets are clean.

“We should learn from the lesson of the Kajang floods, which were partially caused by clogged drains,” said Santiago.

The clogged drain in front of SK Taman Gembira and its teachers’ quarters.

Paintball championship for youths’ benefit

KUALA LUMPUR: A paintball championship geared to allow youths to vent their energies rather than being a menace to society was held at Taman Melawati on Sunday (Dec 18)

“Sports like this encourage team spirit, discipline, and safety among youth, rather than being influenced by the Mat Rempit or lepak culture,” said Azmin Ali. The Bukit Antarabangsa state lawmaker organised and launched the competition at the Kombat Zone Paintball field in the Taman Melawati city centre.

The competition saw 16 teams take part after paying a registration fee of RM150 per team of six members.

“As the land here belongs to the state, rather than leave it unused, we allowed an operator to conduct paintball activities for the benefit of youth in the area,” Azmin said.

The competition began at about 10.30am with a round-robin format allowing teams to play at least three games each, before ending with knockout rounds. To win a round, participants were to touch an op-ponent’s base for points while eliminating enemy players.

The winner was team Kucing Miang, with runner-ups Bon Bon and Tembak Tembak Tak Kena, who each won a hamper and RM600, RM400 and RM300 respectively.

Azmin added that more sports facilities were being built, including a futsal court at Taman Melawati.

This is in addition to an existing futsal court in Kampung Kemen-sah, behind Zoo Negara, which has been upgraded with better lighting and facilities.

Azmin added that if youth were expected to play a bigger role in the nation’s development, they would need more facilities like these for their growth.

Azmin (right) handing participation certificates to a member of winning team Kucing Miang.

11december 23 — 25, 2011

views

Floods – of tears and rainwater

Looking at the images and videos of N o r t h K o r e a n s s o b b i n g uncontrollably and emotionally

banging the floor in disbelief at the death of Kim Jong Il, I can’t help but wonder how they can be so sad that such a bizarre and evil man died. Can you explain this? Voice of Reason, via email

North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il was widely made fun of by most people outside North Korea during his lifetime, and his death triggered a wave of further mockery, with internet memes, Tumblr blogs, and many ar-ticles written about his supposed oddities. His Supreme Eminenceness never met Kim Jong Il – he never turned up for the intergalactic karaoke meet-ups – so there’s no way of sepa-rating the factual from the fictional when it comes to the Dear Leader.

According to some sources, when the Dear Leader was born, a double-rainbow formed in the sky, and winter turned to summer in-stantly. He also had total control over the weather, and never had to defecate (though that sounds more like a painful illness than a gift).

Other sources claim that his apparent lack of height is due to the refraction of light caused by a protective sphere that follows him wherever he goes (hence he appears short to

people looking at him). He was also appar-ently an incredible athlete, smacking in 11 holes-in-one in his first round of golf, bowling a perfect game in his first visit to a bowling alley – all these feats had at least 10 eyewit-nesses, of course.

He was also apparently extremely good-looking, but intentionally contorted his facial muscles to look like a pudgy unsmiling leader so that his adoring public did not feel too bad about their deficient looks.

If you’re reading the above and chuckling, well, it depends whose version of history and facts you believe. Lord Bobo would ask those who are making fun of the North Koreans – how sure are you that what you believe are “facts” are indeed true? If, since birth, you’ve been exposed to a certain set of facts and his-tory, wouldn’t that be your “truth”? You should go and watch The Truman Show, star-ring Jim Carrey (who learned his acting skills from Lord Bobo many years ago), and sit

down and have a think about whether those North Koreans are that silly after all.

A final thought – Kim Jong Il may have had a wonky moral compass and dubious ethics, but he surely had a major personal impact on the lives of North Koreans. It’s therefore not that unusual for them to be in very honest, and very heartfelt, mourning over his death. After all, weren’t many Malaysians so overcome with grief when personalities like Michael Jackson and Princess Diana died?

That flood on Jalan Tun Razak was kinda scary. Is KL going to face a Bangkok-type mega-flood soon, oh

Lord Bobo? Scuba Mah, via email

Malaysia is no stranger to floods. There have been several major floods in Malaysia, and even in Kuala Lumpur. The recent flood on Jalan Tun Razak was the talk of the town, though Lord Bobo suspects this was more

because of the traffic jam it caused than the fact that a major road in the city became a storm drain for a couple of hours.

The problem with KL has always been in-frastructure. His Supreme Eminenceness does not mean that we need to build more drains or more stormwater tunnels (how proud Malaysians were when the SMART tunnel was featured on the Discovery Channel!).

Lord Bobo means that the present infra-structure needs to be properly maintained. If it is not, and a mega-storm comes our way, then yes, no drainage system will work prop-erly if it is clogged with rubbish, and KL-ites will be up to our necks in hundreds of poly-styrene nasi-campur packets, plastic mee-goreng containers, discarded cigarette cartons, and teh-tarik plastic bags.

THE lowest- paid workers in Selangor’s state agencies stand to gain from a wage boost next year. The state government’s re-cently announced RM1,500 minimum wage moves us in a fair and progressive direction.

This measure not only acknowledges that wages at the bottom end are too low to sustain a basic livelihood. Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s administration follows up by allocating funds to bolster the earnings of employees effectively under its trusteeship.

How RM1,500 was determined ought to be explained in greater detail. The quantum corresponds with the Malaysian Trades Union Congress’ (MTUC) national minimum wage baseline, calculated from an appraisal of basic needs. Undoubt-edly, the cost of living in Selangor exceeds the national average, and RM1,500 will exceed any prospective federal minimum-wage levels that will be enforced in the not-too-distant future.

Still, it will be helpful to know how we settled on this level.Selangor has also budgeted for training along with minimum

wage, and has indicated that workers must acquire new skills to qualify for the wage bump. This is a reasonable condition, and the government again substantiates its decision by committing funds to training programmes.

But it is somewhat misleading to link skills and produc-tivity to the wage floor. Minimum wage must be grounded in an estimation of basic needs. The lowest wage level is primarily a function of the low bargaining power of workers and the labour market’s proclivity to pay as low as possible, regardless of workers’ living conditions. In countries like Malaysia, repression of labour organisation and weak labour regulations compound workers’ incapacity to press for de-cent wages.

Still, Selangor’s wage intervention gives us much to ap-plaud, particularly when we take note of two things: it plants a seed that can grow, and it brings us closer to a “living wage”.

The policy will take effect only in state GLCs, not across the board – not even in the civil service in Selangor. The programme will register a relatively small number of ben-eficiaries. This fact does not tarnish the initiative; we just need to adjust our expectations. Over time, the coverage of this policy should be broadened, potentially to contractors and licensees of the state government. However, we have to be mindful that federal government and laws exert much greater influence over labour markets.

Of course, raising wages impacts on employers, but the outcome here is considerably manageable. This wage policy operates internally and through specific agencies, not as a mandate on employers at large. We will know over time how well Selangor’s subsidiaries cope, but the information and opportunity are available to compute the costs and prepare accordingly.

In terms of the bigger picture, we should take note that we are in good company. Consciously or not, Selangor significantly emulates living wage movements in advanced

economies and democracies.The living wage agenda grew out of a discontent toward the

relatively passive notion of minimum wage, and the reality that minimum wage levels are simply inadequate for a family’s basic needs.

In the US, municipalities and cities took the lead, princi-pally through requiring public contractors to pay their workers at least a locally determined living wage. For example, In June 2004, Santa Fe introduced a living wage of $8.50 an hour, exceed-ing the federal minimum wage of $5.15.

The movement ran campaigns and conducted local surveys to evaluate household needs as well as costs to employers. A Measure of Fairness: The Economics of Livings Wages and Minimum Wages in the United States, written by a group of scholars at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, recounts how Santa Fe and about 140 municipalities across the US insti-tuted living-wage ordinances.

There is evidence that the wage intervention has pulled

families out of poverty, while higher wage earners have benefit-ed through “ripple effects”, as the living-wage level becomes a general benchmark. Businesses have experienced modest in-creases in cost and have generally adjusted well.

Selangor’s initiative affirms the case for different states to have different legislated wage floors. But it is also going beyond the notion of minimum wage, albeit without adopting the language of living wage as applied in American cities and in various places around the world.

Selangor’s minimum wage clearly conforms to a higher conception of basic needs. This sets a decent precedent for state governments to follow, and takes a first step that can be built upon, especially in expanding from employment within GLCs to contracting and licensing as policy levers.

The new rule should be: you want to do business with the government, you pay workers better, forego some profit if nec-essary.

Let’s not settle for a minimum, let’s go for a living wage.

Why settle for minimum wage?wit pleasureLee Hwok Aun

Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by Lo-yarBurok (www.loyarburok.com) where all your profound, abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite, sagacious, and other thaesau-

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12 December 23 — 25, 2011InsIght

Occupy movements around the world have seen tens of thousands of par-ticipants who join to speak out against social and economic inequality, among other concerns.

Among the rallying cries the move-ment has adopted, which can be seen on placards and heard shouted during assemblies, is “We are the 99 percent”.

This call denotes that the bulk of Oc-cupy protestors feel they belong to the 99% in a society where 1% of the popu-lation controls a majority of the wealth.

The New york Times has reported assemblies in chicago which began in September, and Sydney, Hong Kong, Toronto, Tokyo, and Los Angeles, which began in October.

protests in these cities have been met with support mostly from members of the working-class incensed at the decrease

in value of their income.Students have also joined the pro-

tests in countries where student loans and cost of higher education have become an increasingly unbearable burden.

probably the most televised and media-focused Occupy movement, Oc-cupy Wall Street, is still ongoing since its inception in mid-September.

The protest began in Zuccotti park, located in New york city’s Wall Street financial district.

The park was chosen as it was private property, and police could not legally force protesters out unless the owner requested it.

However, the campers were evicted after efforts were made to clean the park on Nov 15. They soon returned after the completion of cleaning activities.

Origins for the global Occupy move-ments can be traced to the Spanish protests in May and the Arab Spring uprising last December.

About 10,000 protesters camped in a makeshift tent city in Madrid’s central puerta del Sol square in anger against government heavy-handedness and 21% unemployment.

The Arab Spring began with violent protests against corruption and poor living conditions, with Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ousted in January.

It continued with the protest of tens of thousands in Egypt, which saw the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak in February.

The protests carried over to Syria, yemen, and Libya, which saw angry Libyans take military action against longstanding ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

The worldwide movement

By Basil Foo

A group of Malaysians have raised the ire of the authorities by gathering in the heart of down-town Kuala Lumpur every week. Gathering

in numbers of about 30 to 40 each time, they began meeting up at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday nights, but soon had to relocate.

Since then, the Occupy Dataran assembly has kept its original name, but has been moving from location to location around KL to conduct their “people’s assembly”.

“We were denied using Dataran six to seven weeks ago. Kuala Lumpur City Hall chased us off and said we did not have a permit from the mayor,” said Fahmi Reza.

The Occupy Dataran founding member spoke to Selangor Times during an assembly at the footsteps of the Kuala Lumpur Information Centre on Dec 17.

He said members of the police would sometimes be on hand to close Dataran Merdeka and bar anyone without a police permit from entering its premises.

What is it that could be inspiring this group of individuals to come out and have their Saturdays occupied since Aug 13?

Protesters in New York City.

Occupying Kuala LumpurHow a ‘people’s assembly’ hasadopted a system of direct democracy

“We want to adopt a system of direct democracy. To empower people at the bottom to make deci-sions,” said Azali, a 30-year-old IT freelancer.

He explained that Occupy Data-ran is adopting an experimental democratic system, where attend-ees of the assemblies may vote on proposals raised by their fellow participants.

The proposals, which differ every week, range from improving human rights in Malaysia to increasing stu-dent freedom.

Azali, a longtime assembly at-tendee, stressed that the minority voices in the assembly were given equal opportunity to be heard.

“The minority may object to cer-tain proposals raised. They are given time to justify their dissatisfaction,” he said.

Jenny Chai, who has attended Occupy Dataran since its inception, said it was hard to predict what issues would be discussed as the as-sembly would only decide each time they met.

The 22-year-old research assistant said the proposals raised and the ensuing debates have encouraged participants to think critically and out of the box.

“A lot of personal ideas get pro-posed as Occupy is an alternative platform to share ideas. It’s cool – that’s why I come,” she said.

Sharing ideas seems to be the

topmost priority in the minds of the attendees, as Nur Mohd Iqzuan concurred that spaces to discuss ideas freely were limited.

He said it was hard to find a place to speak freely in Malaysia, even in universities, which are sup-posed to be beacons of knowledge in society.

“As we receive less freedom of speech elsewhere, we use this platform,” said the 21-year-old university student.

Iqzuan was also at the assembly last Saturday, and engaged in de-bates on whether the government

should provide free education and how to unite student movements.

The Universiti Malaysia Tereng-ganu (UMT) undergraduate, who came with two other friends, said they might take the concept of Oc-cupy to the east coast.

However, starting such a gather-ing would be difficult as the atmos-phere there is different.

“Over there, it is not easy to criticise people’s ideas. Members of opposite genders also cannot mix after dark,” he explained.

Fellow UMT student Syahmi Hazam said while Malaysia is touted as a democratic country, he has found that freedom is actually re-strained in certain areas of our lives.

He said Occupy is a way of educating attendees on the problems afflicting the nation, and to share knowledge with one another on ways to fix the situation.

“Maybe for those who don’t like to read about the issues, if they prefer to talk, listen, and meet new people, this is the place for them,”

Iqzuan (left) and Syahmi.

Fahmi

Lee

Azali

Chai

Origins for the global Occupy move-ments can be traced to the Spanish protests in May and the Arab Spring uprising last December.

About 10,000 protesters camped in a makeshift tent city in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square in anger against government heavy-handedness and 21% unemployment.

The Arab Spring began with violent protests against corruption and poor living conditions, with Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ousted in January.

It continued with the protest of tens of thousands in Egypt, which saw the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak in February.

The protests carried over to Syria, Yemen, and Libya, which saw angry Libyans take military action against longstanding ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

The worldwide movement

Occupying Kuala Lumpur

said the 18-year-old.Occupy participant Temme Lee

said those planning on attending can expect to learn how to listen to differentiating points of view and debate critically.

“This unique version of explora-tory democracy is different from how it currently is in Malaysia – we explore, evaluate, and decide on solutions together,” said the 25-year-old.

Ground rulesNot unlike previous assemblies in

the city where there is a cacophony of voices trying to be heard, there are certain ground rules laid out to make discussions more efficient.

Each Occupy Dataran session has one person as moderator, time-keeper, and an agenda that is to be voted on by the people.

“The format is similar to Parlia-ment. The moderator is the speaker who starts with the agenda, which has been decided on by those pre-sent,” said Fahmi.

He said attendees have only 20 minutes to furnish their points, but are allowed an additional five to 10 minutes depending on whether the assembly agrees on the extension.

If the end of the allocated time is reached but the issue has not been solved, it will be brought forward to the following week’s assembly.

The assembly also employs the use of hand signals like waving both

Bersih 3, but that is someone else determining the solution; you just participate. Occupy starts with people identifying the problem first,” he said.

Fahmi lamented the culture of participation, which he said is miss-ing among Malaysians, and is taken advantage of by those in power.

The lecturer and filmmaker pointed the finger at our nation’s leaders for not starting with the people when faced with a particular

problem.“Our leaders just present their

brand of solution. They may try to consult the people, but with a solu-tion in hand already,” he accused.

One idea was to decentralise power to grant villages autonomy to discuss and come up with their own laws, education policies and budgets.

Fahmi revealed that of those who have participated in Occupy Data-ran for the past four months since

its inception, many have brought the ideas back to their respective hometowns.

“There are Occupies in Johor Baru, Shah Alam, Dungun, and Pen-ang. In Kuantan and Batu Pahat, they use mahjong paper to write down proposals during meets,” he said.

He added that people should take their own initiatives to start Occupies within their own hous-ing areas – a practice that has been emulated throughout the world.

Zuccotti Park after being cleaned on Nov 15. (Pics by David Shankbone / Wiki commons)

How a ‘people’s assembly’ hasadopted a system of direct democracy

hands in the air to signify agreement and crossing arms to signify strong disagreement.

He added that the “chup” sign, formed with fingers on one hand pursed together at the tips, is used to signify mild disagreement.

Other signs include a rolling motion with the forearms to tell speakers to “get to the point”, and drawing a hand across the neck to signify “time’s up”.

“These hand signs are for people to express their reactions to what-ever is being said instantly. They are also a quieter to alternative to clapping or shouting, which may distract the speaker,” said Fahmi.

If, from the issues discussed, a task is to be carried out, the assem-bly will create a working committee open for all to join.

He gave examples of how a work-ing group helped organise a turnout of about 200 people at Occupy Dataran during a global human rights day of action on Oct 15.

Other initiatives carried out by the working groups included Occupy Parliament, which was organised to oppose the Peaceful Assembly Bill in November.

“This is a new way of building movements. The old way was prod-uct-driven, where the solution was predetermined,” Fahmi declared.

He explained that many have the mindset of spectators and participa-tors who, upon receiving a solution to a problem, merely hop upon the bandwagon.

He gave an example of the Bersih 2.0 rally, where the eight points on electoral reforms were already agreed upon and presented for people to accept.

“Now everyone is waiting for

Participants in the Occupy Dataran assembly on Dec 17 showing their objection to a proposal by crossing their arms.

14 december 23 — 25, 2011

views

At the Centre for Independent Journalism’s Human Rights in Outer Space series of events last week, I was asked to speak on a panel analysing the Our Brand is

Crisis documentary and draw comparisons between issues arising within it and the Malaysian context.

My fellow panelists were Hishamuddin Rais (also known as Tukartiub) and Ray Lagenbach, both esteemed in their own right. What little I had to contribute came in the form of ex-perience working within a state government, and my observa-tions of the Malaysian political and electoral system.

The documentary, in short, shows the intimate behind-the-scenes action of the Bolivian presidential election campaign, specifically that of Goni’s (Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, presidential candidate) team. An American political consult-ant, Greenberg Carville Shrum, was hired to conduct a series of focus-group discussions to ascertain the needs and wants of the local Bolivians.

Following this, the Goni team had to craft political campaign messages that reflected what the people most wanted to hear.

The role of consultantsThere were four themes

that I highlighted during my presentation. First, the role of consultants. In the documen-tary, consultants were pre-sented as Western, young and English-speaking, juxtaposed visually against the Bolivian team, who were depicted as relatively older and Spanish-speaking.

The latter group was placed in an awkward position of hav-ing to begrudgingly follow whatever instructions were given to them by this foreign consultant, presumably placed upon them by Goni himself.

The moral question that emerged was whether it was pos-sible to export an American-style politics into a country like Bolivia, and whether the consultants were able to provide relevant and suitable advice given the varied political condi-tions. For example, at the end, when Goni admits that his campaign did not go as successfully as he expected, he says: “Only in the US can you believe that you can change people with information.”

In the Malaysian context, we have had our fair share of foreign consultants. One need not be reminded of the criti-cisms befalling the federal government upon the exposure of its utilising Apco as a public relations consultant, and its al-leged Jewish connections. Secondly, the Pemandu outfit under the Prime Minister’s Department has freely employed the services of consultants under its ETP and GTP programmes, oftentimes paying a significant amount to conduct workshops. Whether or not this is justified is left for another debate.

Marketing and brandingThe second theme was on the world of marketing and

branding, and how it has been absorbed into that of politics, as the theme of the documentary suggests. The consultants immediately launch into how to position the economic crisis; in their own words, they say “we must own crisis” and therefore, “we must brand crisis” to their electoral advantage, as spin doctors.

Capitalism, in its purest form, is based on the belief that human beings are perfectly capable of forming their own deci-sions based on a set of incentives, usually economic. But the fact is, material and non-material consumerism is now a lot less dependent upon the content’s value as it is on the market-ing and branding associated with the content.

This notion has spilled over into the spheres of politics, where it is now the flashiest of campaigns, the most beguiling of politicians, the most emotional of messages that hits home

in the supermarket culture of capitalistic politics. Hence, similar to the commercial world, the tools and

methodologies used have also been absorbed and adopted into the political world. Focus-group discussions and opinion polls are often used within the market-research industry to test all sorts of things, including advertisements, packaging, pricing, products, and so on.

These days, companies are also observing acutely any move-ments and trends emerging from social media and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and any online chatter.

Let’s face it. Market research does work, simply because when brands find out how their consumers tick, it makes it all that much simpler to craft messages along those lines. In fact, there are numerous examples in which companies did not conduct research and then failed miserably when their new products were launched.

In this case, the product in question is a candidate. And without a doubt, politicians would want to have their ears to the ground, detecting any likes or dislikes of their image. This is only natural, and the political polling and research industry is ever growing, including within Malaysia, where political stakes are high.

One of the unfortunate elements about this, however, is that it is easiest to appeal to one’s emotions. In Malaysia, we are not alien to the game of emotional politics, and indeed, parties have played into the sentiments of fear and insecurity, very often irrational in nature. Umno within Barisan Na-sional knows perfectly how to tug at the heartstrings of the Malay Muslim, for example. But in order to move towards a more inclusive society, surely all parties have it in their interest to have a different sort of branding exercise altogether. Popular vs effective leadership

There is a disparity between doing what is popular, and what is actually effective for the country. For example, the people in the documentary stated upfront within the focus groups that they did not want drastic measures that would affect their income. They also said they did not want their country to sell gas (especially through Chile, for historical reasons), but Goni, upon becoming president, immediately instituted these two measures. When asked, he replied by saying: “I don’t have time to meet the people; I don’t want to be popular, I want to be a good president.”

So there you had a president who was willing to push through policies that the majority of the people did not sup-port – in our analysis, perhaps one who is either stubbornly foolish, or confident, or both – resulting in his eventual fall.

The trick is balancing between popularity and doing some-thing unpopular but necessary for the country. In Goni’s case, he felt that selling gas was important to increase national revenue, although the people considered this to be selling away the country’s natural resources to the corporates. Note that Goni was already known for liberal economic policies, and had to defend himself for bringing in foreign companies at the expense of local jobs.

In Malaysia, the government has a tough position in remov-ing subsidies for oil and essential items, as well as the still-frozen Goods and Services Tax (GST), which it considers necessary to fill government coffers. These are undoubtedly unpopular measures, and the latter would be impossible to implement just before a general election.

Promise vs implementation There is a danger of overpromising at the campaign level,

which leads people to overwhelmingly reject the politician in question if no such change takes place within the first year of administration. Goni promised local jobs to a degree that was unrealistic. In Malaysia, we have seen the example of former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi promising to rid the country of corruption, but whose ratings fell all too quickly.

It is clear that in the lead-up to the next General Election, there will be much activity and hype, research, polling and focus groups similar to what was observed in the documen-tary. Malaysians will see the political battle played out in real life, and if there are lessons to be learnt from Our Brand is Crisis, it is that despite the wonderful advantages of branding, communication, and consultancy work, nothing can bear down the will of a people frustrated with their government.

Goni was forced to step down less than one and a half years into his presidency. We hope Malaysian leaders will learn to read the right signals and messages from the voters who are also increasingly frustrated with their government.

Malaysian lessons from Bolivia

Just selangorTricia Yeoh

Elderly Bolivian women.

A view of the city.

Goni

15december 23 — 25, 2011

news

By Alvin Yap

KLANG: Indiscriminate dumping of trash in drains is contributing to flash flooding in Taman Chi Liung, and residents are being urged to be more responsible.

“We found drains clogged with rubbish and water cannot flow to larger monsoon drains during flash floods,” said Charles Santiago.

The Klang MP has mobilised residents to form a committee to work with the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) to end the dec-ades-old problem.

On Saturday, Santiago, along with MPK councillors Ivan Ho, Yew Boon Lai and R Sivaraju, handed out 500 flyers with the working committee’s flood emergency con-tact details.

He said ratepayers can call the committee

members, who will go to the ground and extend their help with MPK during floods.

But Santigao reiterated that the commu-nity must change their habits and become the solution, rather than exacerbate the problem.

The flood mitigation committee, compris-ing Klang residents, includes six main mem-bers with backgrounds in engineering and flood mitigation, along with a number of volunteers.

Ho said MPK maintenance teams had even found discarded furniture in one of the drains in Jalan Bayu Tinggi here, an area that has seen the worst flooding this rainy season.

Some 30 staff from MPK’s Health and Sanitation and Environmental Cleanliness department also joined in the effort to hand out leaflets on Saturday.

Residents urged to do their part to reduce floods

Santiago handing out the leaflets and copies of Selangor Times to morning market traders at Taman Chi Liung.

By Basil Foo

SHAH ALAM: M Faizal Ammanullah Khan drove away in a new Proton Saga BLM 1.3 after he emerged as overall winner of the Selangor Fish-ing GP 2011.

He received the keys to his new car during the Selangor Fishing GP 2011 final round at the Shah Alam Lake Gardens on Dec 18.

The final-round winners were Mohammad Aiman Azmi, Mior Mohamad Shafie, and Sham-suddin Kasdi, who won RM40,000, RM15,000 and RM7,000 respectively.

They each caught patin fish weighing 6.925kg, 6.810kg, and 4.735kg respectively.

The final round was the 10th in series of com-petitions held at various lakes including  Kelana Jaya, Kota Kemuning, Tasik Cempaka Bangi, and Sg Lang beach in Sabak Bernam.

A colouring contest was also held, with the seven- to nine-year-old category won by Aishah Umar, and the 10- to 12-year old category by Amir Zharir Firdaus Rahman. They won a hamper each.

Cooking competition champion Roslan Abd

Rahman came away with RM2,000 and a hamper.The Selangor Fishing GP 2011 final round saw

a mammoth turnout of about 2,000 anglers with their families in tow.

Apart from Selangorians, the competition saw anglers from East Malaysia, Terengganu, Pahang, Indonesia, China, and Jordan taking part.

“Events like these will motivate us to keep the bodies of water in Selangor clean for others to use comfortably,” said Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

The Menteri Besar gave out the prizes in the Culture Gallery at 2pm after the final round of fishing.

He thanked participants for cleaning up after themselves, and said the people’s cooperation is vital in keeping these lakes attractive for tourists.

“Currently, Shah Alam draws about 50,000 tourists in a day during weekends – a sign that we are managing the tourist attractions well,” Khalid added.

Also present was state executive councillor Yaakob Sapari, who concurred and said hotels around lake here had all been fully booked the night before.

Fishing champs net Proton Saga, cash prizes

Khalid handing a RM40,000 cash prize to Mohammad Aiman Azmi. Looking on are Aiman’s father, Sapari (holding hamper), and Shah Alam mayor Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan.

By Brenda Ch’ng

SELAYANG: Helping flat dwellers to help themselves ensure non-disrup-tion of their water and electricity sup-ply is among the responsibilities taken on by Hasbullah Mohd Ridzwan.

The 36-year-old Selayang Munici-pal Council (MPS) councillor said much of his work is carried out at low-cost flats in Kampung Laksmana.

“I helped them form a JMB (joint management body) recently to oversee maintenance of the flat and funds so that they can pay their electricity and water bills on time,” said Hasbullah.

The flat, built in 2000, has accumu-lated a debt of over RM15,000 to Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

In 2009, their electricity and water were cut off due to failure to pay the bills.

“We got both companies together for a meeting with the residents to look for a solution,” said Hasbullah.

They are now allowed to pay via installments every month until their debt is cleared.

The three-term councillor checks up on them monthly to ensure that they pay their bills and manage funds wisely.

The village is also frequently flood-ed due to the inadequate infrastruc-ture of drains.

“This has been going on since the 90s, and the villagers have been suffer-ing because of poor drainage system, which prevents water from flowing into the outlet,” said Hasbullah.

He has been requesting for funds to repair the drains, and has finally re-ceived the green light from the council.

New drains are being built there now, and the project will be completed by year-end.

The biggest challenge he faces as a councillor is providing enough facili-ties for the residents in his area.

Apart from Kampung Laksmana, his area includes Taman Selayang, Kampung Makhoda and Sri Amaniah.

“There aren’t many major com-plaints or issues from the residents and villages. However, there is a shortage of sport facilities here,” he said.

For example, there is only one mul-tipurpose hall at Sri Siantan, which caters to all residents in his area.

The hall, which is fully booked for events every day, is old, small, and not fully facilitated to accommodate the residents there.

“I’m going to upgrade the hall next, and also push for another multipur-pose hall to be built in Taman Selay-ang,” he said.

With a new hall in Taman Selayang, it would be more convenient for resi-dents to travel there as the current one in Sri Siantan is too far for most resi-dents.

Also, Hasbullah is looking to build a new futsal court for both villages, and have more facilities at the playgrounds in Taman Amaniah.

He said the current facilities at playgrounds are broken and unsuitable for residents’ use.

Hasbullah will be engaging the land office and MPS to locate suitable land for the building of the new courts and hall.

Know Your Councillor: Hasbullah Mohd Ridzwan

16 december 23 — 25, 2011

technology

Lenovo (above) and Toshiba ultra-

books.

By Edwin Yapp

What will they think of next? I mean, first we had desktops. Then came laptops, notebooks and netbooks. Finally, ultrabooks.

Yes, the terms continue, but essentially, computer vendors are trying to introduce new products to keep consumers com-ing back for more. But to do that, they would have to find new unique selling points, and the latest trend to hit us consumers is the ultrabook.

Essentially a very lightweight laptop with enhanced battery life but not compromising on processing power as netbooks did, the ultrabook is designed with mobility and long-lasting battery life in mind – hence the term “ultra.”

Another distinguishing feature of ultrabooks is that they all have at least one model that uses solid-state drives, or SSDs for shot. SSDs are basically large flash drives, akin to your thumb drives, usually having at least 64GB, or 128GB of space.

Arguably the first ultrabook to hit the market was Apple’s MacBook Air, which arrived about two years ago. Since then, Windows-based machines have all come out with their variants and all the usual suspects are there – Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Asus, HP, Dell.

So last month, I got me an Acer Aspire S3 on loan for a test drive, and here’s what I think of it.

Good start for AcerOut of the box, the S3 felt solidly built and at

the same time quite light. Weighing about 1.4kg and only 13mm thick, the S3 was quite a joy to carry around.

The overall feel of the S3 was good, and I liked the feel of my fingers wrapping the brushed aluminium as I carried it around.

Y o u will find the S3 a very minimalist design, especially on the sides of the machine. On the left hand side is where you’ll find the headphone and mic jacks; on the right hand side, the SD Slot.

Most of the ports have been placed at the back, and that includes the CPU air vent, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI out, and the AC socket for charging. I was a tad disappointed that the S3 didn’t include the newer USB 3.0 standards that boast of higher transfer speeds, which its rivals like Toshiba and Lenovo have.

The unit I had was unfortunately not the model with the SSD but a hard-disk variant. Thus, booting up took a lot

longer than I would have expected on the model with an SSD, which would have typically taken 20-30 seconds. Nonetheless, it only took about one minute to boot up, and I was up and running immediately after.

Setting up the S3 was pretty straightforward, thanks to a much-improved Windows 7 operating system bundled with it. I was able to set up wireless network and connect to my home network in under five minutes. Once that was done, I could easily browse the internet while having access to my network files to watch videos.

Next up was to test the battery life. I took the S3 along with me and generally speaking was able to get up to four hours of battery life. I had expected better from an ultrabook as I wasn’t doing anything significantly taxing on the battery.

But I was told that the unit I had was not a fully optimised commercial unit, so that may have played a part in its perfor-mance.

One area I did feel a little disappointed in was the keyboard. While the layout was big enough to accommodate typing comfortably, I did find the tactile feel of the i n - dividual keys

somewhat tacky and unresponsive

at times. Com-pared with my

L o g ite ch Blue -tooth keyboard that

I use with my tablet, it fell short.

Other testsOther test I con-

ducted on the S3 were video and audio play-back, productivity stuff,

browsing, and a few games. All in all, the S3 performed

well on the usual activities. The S3 screen was pretty good

and it performed well generally under bright lights as well as dim situations. Equipped with

a standard 1366x768 resolution, the S3’s 13.3-inch display is quite standard for a screen this size, although the MacBook Air’s resolution is higher.

High-definition videos generally played well on the S3, even with different viewing angles. Sound on the S3 was also good, but curiously enough, the speakers were placed at the bottom of the device rather than on the sides or front, which I felt impaired the overall quality.

One of the better selling points of the S3 is that it claims to be able to “wake up” from sleep in two seconds, a technol-

ogy called “Acer Green Instant On.” Tests suggest that this was indeed achievable, provided the machine hasn’t slept for more than 30 minutes. This was a welcome change from older Windows-based laptops, which typically takes much longer to wake up from sleep state.

ConclusionAt the end of the day, I would say that this is a very decent

effort by Acer to get out its first ultrabook into the market. It has nice design curves, seems solidly built, and has some po-tential to be a good machine, especially at RM2,599 for the hard-disk model I tested.

But for me, the lack of tactile keyboard feel and battery life are something of a miss. Also, I believe it’s fair to note that rival brands will also be out in full force over the next few months with their ultrabook variants (such as Toshiba and Lenovo, both of which have since launched their products since this review).

Still, for those in the market for something light and fuss-free, the Acer Aspire S3 could still be your choice.

For more information, visit www.acer.com.my or call Acer Product Infoline at 1800-88-1288 (9am-6pm Mondays to Fridays).

Going ultra with Acer

community

May 20 — 22, 2011/ issue 25

TI-M head disputes Christian state claim

Wesak Day: a time for giving p 4 p 15

may 13: recollections & reconciliation p 12 & 13

• Turn To page 2

Facelift for old flats

By William Tan Petaling Jaya: Dilapidat-ed low-cost flats throughout Sel-angor may get a new lease of life if a pilot programme to rehabilitate such homes is successful.The ambitious and first-of-its-

kind project is being carried out by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) in collaboration with Veri-tas Design Group, a private com-pany, and Rumah Air Panas, a community-based charity.The single block at the  Taman

Maju Jaya apartments here, which houses 59 families, will be the first to undergo the transformation, which includes renovations and re-furbishments while keeping the physical aspects intact."All works are based on the deci-

sions made by the residents," said social activist Wong Hay Cheong.

Wong, who mooted the idea, pointed out that many of the resi-dents were forced to move into the flats when squatter settlements were demolished, but the buildings and facilities were hardly adequate.

“The entry of Veritas Design Group, which has contributed RM100,000 and the skills [of their architects], means that is going to change,” said Wong.As many as 50,000 families were

relocated to low-cost flats between 2000 and 2008 under former Men-teri Besar Dr Khir Toyo's Zero Squatter policy which has been crit-icised for creating high-rise ghettos.

Wong said the private firm is car-rying out the project as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, having spent the last two years laying the groundwork for the project.The company has been liaising

with the families regularly to get feedback on their needs and help them decide on practical solutions.

Their architects, using the latest technologies and techniques, will remodel the building on a tight budget, which is estimated to be less than RM500,000.“It is very challenging; almost

everything needs to be redone. The wiring is horrible, the roof is leaking, and the septic tank emits an awful stench,” said Veritas Design Group

architect Iskandar Razak.Iskandar added that it was very difficult to obtain commitments from various parties at the start of the project, with funding still a seri-ous issue.

The success of the project rests on sponsorships for the various compo-nents, such as the supply of metal parts, and the company hopes to

obtain what they need from  their business contacts.“Despite it all, this is a very im-

portant project for us as we believe that a city should not be inhabited by the wealthy only, but by every strata of society. In a way, we are re-juvenating the city,” said Iskandar.

If the pilot is successful, the com-

LB_246391_Sun_m14.ai 1 5/12/11 9:56 PM

Keeping abandoned babies safe: Faizah Mohd Tahir (left) demonstrating the use of the baby hatch as local celebrity Datin Sofia Jane looks on.

• STory on page 10

Where to get your Where to get your LRT Stations (Distribution by hand) – MorningAmpang – Sentul TimurAmpangCahayaCempaka Pandan IndahPandan JayaSentul TimurSentul

Kelana Jaya – Terminal PutraKelana JayaTaman BahagiaTaman ParamountAsia JayaTaman JayaUniversitiSri Rampai Wangsa MajuTaman Melati

Sri Petaling – Sentul TimurTaman MelatiSri Petaling Bukit Jalil

Bandar Tasik SelatanSalak Selatan

Shopping Malls (From Saturday noon)1 UTAMA Tropicana Mall Sunway Pyramid The CurveIOI MallPlaza Damas Ikano Power CentreEmpire Subang MetroPointCentro Mall, KlangBangsar Shopping Complex

Hypermarkets (From Saturday noon)

Tesco (Puchong, Kajang, Mutiara Damansara, Rawang, Bukit Tinggi, Setia Alam, Ampang, Extra Shah Alam, Kepong)

Giant (Puchong, Kajang, Bandar Kinrara, Klang, Pandamaran, Bandar Selayang, Kota Damansara, Taman Setiawangsa, Putra Heights, Taman Connaught, Kelana Jaya, Bukit Antarabangsa, Subang Jaya, Bukit Tinggi, Setia Alam, Kota Kemuning)

Carrefour (Bukit Rimau, Subang Jaya, Wangsa Maju, Sri Petaling, Kepong, Puchong, Ampang, Jalan Peel, Jalan Kapar, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, S23 Shah Alam)

Jusco (Bukit Tinggi, Tmn Maluri, Wangsa Maju, Bandar Baru Klang, Mahkota Cheras)

Commuter Stations (Distribution by hand) – Morning

Sentul – Port KlangPort Klang Bukit Badak Shah Alam Subang JayaJalan TemplerPetaling

Rawang – SerembanKuala Kubu BaruSungai BulohKepong Sentral Kepong

Morning Wet Markets (Saturday morning)Jalan SS2/62 Taman Medan Jalan 17/27SS15 Subang Jaya Taman Kuchai Lama Taman OUG Pasar Taman Megah Pasar Jalan OthmanPasar Jalan 17/2Pasar Sek 14

Pasar Seri Setia SS9A/1Pasar Kg ChempakaTaman Tun Dr Ismail

HospitalForrest Medical Centre

CollegesHelp InstituteCollege Bandar Utama (KBU)Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia

17December 23 — 25, 2011

Fiction/media

Fiction by Ang Lay Leng

He knew he should never have come here with her. He stared out of the slid-

ing doors that opened out to the swimming pool in the front yard. Behind him in the living room came low voices from his housekeeper on the phone.

He took a long drag on his Marlboro, threw it on the patio and walked towards the pool. He glanced down at the waters and looked away, not because of the sun’s glare. The image of the naked body floating face-down flashed before him.

Never had such a crowd de-scended on the house as it had with the hurly-burly of activity a while ago. Roused by a chilling cry early morning, he had found his house-keeper at the poolside in shock and retching. When he saw her grisly discovery, he had recoiled. They had come to fish the body out; he retreated indoors, turning around only when the medics had pushed the stretcher into the ambulance. 

Enchanted Xmas at The Curve

intuition had worked for him.  In the light, her black sequined

tank top glinted as she moved, and it made him dizzy. 

“But you can’t swim,” he’d teased. “But since you insist.” And he stood up, took her hand, and they left.  

Getting out of bed, she had mumbled about the need for fresh air. He heard her padded down the stairs. He sat up, strolled over to the window. She had tread bare-foot around the edge of the pool. Silhouetted against the pale light, he saw she had not bothered with clothes. She was a little unsteady on her feet. Or had he imagined it? Free-spirited China woman, he’d mused as he stretched out on the bedsheets and slept.   

A few icy drops of water fell on his arm and broke his reverie. A light rain had started. There would be an inquest. The police. The media. He hoped it would all end quickly. The house, along with memories of her, would have to go. Of that, he was certain.

RestlessHe stood in the garden, pensive.

Fanned by a breeze that carried a whiff of frangipani blooms, nothing moved save for two sparrows that pecked at the grass near him. He liked the bungalow for its remote-ness; it faced a lagoon surrounded by artificial islands, and his neigh-bours were absentee owners.

Now, the veneer of serenity masked an uneasy calm. 

“Why not your place? Come on.” Her voice rang in his ears, surreal, as if she were still present. She had pressed close to him and then run her hand over his thigh. “What’s it called…? Ah, Sentosa Cove.”  

He had picked up his drink, swirled its contents, and brought the glass to his lips. A couple before him moved languorously on the dance floor, their bodies merged as one. He was undecided, filled with a sudden sense of foreboding. But he had had girls stay over before. Why the misgiving now? He had good instincts, he knew that: in his dealings in the property market, his

SHAH ALAM: Tis the season to be jolly, and The Curve, Malaysia’s first pedestrianised lifestyle shop-ping centre, spreads the joy and goodwill by celebrating with a group of underprivileged children from Precious Children Home.

Upon arrival, the children were welcomed by Santa Claus as well as The Curve’s management and staff.

They were ushered to the En-chanted Christmas Kingdom at the Centre Court, where they were captivated by the magnificent castle and fairy-tale themed Christmas decorations.

The fun kicked off with a handi-craft workshop, where the kids were taught to make special “Christmas angels” using socks, followed by a round of exciting games and quizzes.

The children were put in a fes-tive mood as DeeGee Kenny Lite & Easy performed a medley of Christmas songs.

Then came the highlight of the day: a performance of A Celebration of Joy: A Christmas Dance Produc-tion, The Curve’s first major Christ-mas dance show.

The children were enchanted by the story that truly captured the spirit of Christmas, the stunning dance choreography and the spec-tacular cast of characters, adorned in intricate costumes exclusively designed for the production.

As an added Christmas surprise, centre manager Adele D Flores an-nounced The Cur ve’s Charity Drive to raise funds for Precious Children Home.

In the spirit of giving, The Curve

has also produced exclusive Christ-mas wrapping paper and greeting cards. Shoppers who make a mini-mum donation of RM2 will get these two items for free. All funds collected from this donation drive will be channelled to Precious Chil-dren’s Home.

“We are truly pleased to be able to give back to the children of Pre-cious Children Home this Christ-mas,” D Flores said.

“It was wonderful to see the children enjoying themselves on this special day and celebrate the joy of Christmas with them.

“This is part of our corporate social responsibility efforts and we are glad to share the festive spirit with those in need.

“Knowing that we have made the slightest difference in the lives of these children will make this Christ-mas season all the more memorable and meaningful.”

The day did not end there, as the children were also treated to Christ-mas carolling by the musical group Dithyrambic Singers, after which they had the chance to perform their own carols on stage, singing their own rendition of Christmas songs.

This was followed by a short walk over to the Piazza, where they en-joyed the stunning 30-foot-tall Christmas tree, and took pictures in the garden decorated with golden arches around the water feature.

Enjoy the Christmas celebrations at The Curve until Jan 1, 2012. For more information, contact The Curve’s Customer Care officers at 03- 77106868.

The children posing with Santa Claus.

Colourful costumes on display.

Property protection with Arc @ Cyberjaya

SubAng jAyA: A guaranteed rental return (GRR) scheme is being offered to buyers of service apartments at Arc @ Cyberjaya to ease concerns of any slowdown.

Developer Andaman Property Management Sdn Bhd (APM) is offering the scheme to buyers to allay fears they may have of finding tenants or collecting rental payments.

“At the point of purchase, when signing the sale and purchase agreement, we will lease back the property from you,” said APM head of sales and marketing Datuk Vincent Tiew.

With the GRR scheme in place, the company will legally undertake to pay rental to buyers.

The GRR scheme, with an annual return rate of 8%, is offered in packages lasting six, 10, or 25 years.

He added that through the scheme, purchasers of the Arc service apartments will enjoy return rates that outstrip those offered by fixed deposits or bank interests.

Buyers should not be unduly concerned about prop-erty gluts next year because the company builds to meet market demands, he said.

Tiew pointed out that Arc@Cyberjaya is located next to the Multimedia University (MMU) and the Selangor Science Park 1.

“Even if there is a property bubble or the market is turbulent, whatever happens to the economy, people still need to invest,” he said.

This is why the company is offering the GRR scheme, and is also selling the Arc apartment units at lower than market prices.

The 1,000 service apartment units in four blocks at the Arc have enjoyed a take-up rate of 95% since its launch, with about 50 units remaining.

There are also four office towers within the 5.89-hect-are freehold development, which Tiew said could be used as a university campus in the future.

Units at the Arc come fully furnished and are sur-rounded by a landscaped garden and sports centre with 15 badminton courts.

APM sales offices can be found on Jalan USJ Sentral 3 in Subang Jaya and within Cova Square in Kota Damansara.

Tiew (right) speaking to buyers at the Andaman sales office in Subang Jaya.

18 December 23 — 25, 2011

Media

Metrojaya celebrates season of giving

By Basil Foo

KUALA LUMPUR: In the spirit of giving , Metrojaya gave back to the community by donat-ing RM30,000 to five charities on Dec 15.

“We are extending a reciprocal gesture of giving back to the com-munity which we have depended on and served,” said Metrojaya Group of Companies executive director Pel Loh.

She gave out cheques to repre-sentatives of the charities at Corus Hotel here.

The charities were Cheras Rain-bow Home, Selangor Orphans Education Foundation, Ampang Old Folks Home, Klang Senior Citizens Home, and Selangor Cheshire Home.

Loh also thanked Metrojaya’s customers, business partners, sup-pliers, and staff for making the contribution possible.

Receiving the aid on behalf of Rainbow Home was director and founder Sheila Sheng, who said the funds would be used for buying necessities for the home’s 25 chil-dren.

(From left) Voon, Reza, AJ, JD, Mizz Nina, Joe, and Mystical Eve project liaison Serene Yeoh.

Herbalife brings better nutrition to children’s home

KLANG: The Herbalife Family Foundation (HFF), a non-profit organisation that helps bring good nutrition to children at risk, pro-vided a grant to the Good Samaritan Home (GSH) in Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan on Dec 15.

The grant will establish a Casa Herbalife programme, through which GSH will be able to construct a new kitchen and dining room facil-ity and improve the quality of daily meals for the children, providing them with nutrition that ensures proper mental and physical devel-opment.

Founded in 1999 by Pastor Albert Ong and his wife, GSH is currently home to 36 aban-doned and orphaned children who receive food, shelter, clothing, medical care, early childhood development, physical therapy, speech therapy, psychological services and counselling.

The cooperation with GSH marks the start of the second Casa Herbalife programme in Malaysia after Rumah Bakti Hulu Kelang,

making it the 71st Casa Herb-alife programme worldwide and the 15th in the Asia Pacific region.

After the initial grant, Herb-alife independent distributors in Malaysia will continue to sup p o r t th e p ro g r a mm e through volunteerism and fun-draising.

Herbalife senior-vice presi-dent and managing director (Asia Pacific) William M Rahn

said: “As a global nutrition com-pany, Herbalife is committed to

improving people’s lives with better nutrition. “While bringing healthy and active living

to people, we are also cognisant of our corpo-rate social responsibility, and in this instance, playing our part in bringing good nutrition to the less fortunate youngsters in the commu-nity.

“The work carried out at the Good Sa-maritan Home is impressive, and we look forward to a long and enduring relationship with them and the children under their care.”

The children of Good Samaritan Home entertaining guests with an energetic performance.

Star-studded New Year’s Eve SHAH ALAM: Star-studded entertainment and mystical performances will be the high-light of the New Year countdown at Encorp Strand in Kota Damansara this Dec 31.

Dubbed Mystical Eve, the night’s count-down party will feature an exciting line-up of performers including Mizz Nina, Joe Flizzow, Pop Shuvit and Reza Salleh.

“Also in the line-up is violinist Dennis Lau, beatboxer Shawn Lee, a seven-minute laser performance, and aerialist and acrobat per-formances,” said Mystical Eve project director Jason Voon.

He spoke during a press conference on Dec 15 on the upcoming New Year’s Eve party at Encorp Strand.

Hosted by TV personalities Julie Woon and Megan Tan, the buildup to the last sec-onds of 2011 will be made more exciting with

a 3D projection show.“Partygoers will also enjoy special dis-

counts at food and beverage outlets only for the night itself,” he added.

Also at the press conference were the show’s entertainers, who encouraged their fans to come out in force and anticipate a wild night.

Guitarist JD of rock and hip-hop outfit Pop Shuvit said they will be playing some newer songs off their recent album, plus old favourites guaranteed to rouse the crowd.

“Our fans can expect tunes like Old Skool Rocka and Marabahaya,” said bassist AJ.

The public is urged to make their bookings at the various outlets in Encorp Strand early to avoid the year-end rush.

The party will start at 6pm and is expected to end at 2am the next day.

Selangor Cheshire Home presi-dent Datin Paduka Khatijah Su-lieman said the funds were a bless-ing as the home for disabled per-sons had a high operating cost.

Among the programmes they

carry out are hospitality training courses to help disabled youths find work in hotels and supermarkets.

“The funds will also be used for residential care and to look after inmates who are terminally ill,”

she added.Also present at the presentation

were Selangor Orphans Education Foundation caretaker Khairulasma Mohd Mokhtar, Ampang Old Folks Home representative Yow

Lan Chong, Klang Senior Citizens Home caretaker Kavitha Nanthan, and Social Welfare Department director of community develop-ment Wan Noraidah Wan Mohd Zain.

William Rahn

Orphans from Rainbow Home performing Christmas carols. (From left) Khatijah, Kavitha, Yow, Wan Noraidah, Loh, Khairulasma, and Sheng.

19december 23 — 25, 2011

foodBy Brenda Ch’ng

Roaming the streets for some good Chinese food one night, we stumbled upon a solitary building that sits on a land that was previously

home to the Klang Kindergarten on Jalan Meru.Located on the ninth floor of this commercial

block, the Grand Imperial Restaurant promises pa-trons a first-class dining experience with speedy service, paired with a distinctive menu range.

One look at the menu and we knew that we had made the right choice, thanks to the descriptions of their uniquely designed dishes.

Not before long, our orders were in and there we sat, waiting with growling stomachs for the bestsell-ers, restaurant recommendations and chef specials.

First out of the kitchen was the smoked duck with jasmine tea leaf, which was served with slices of chunky meat with its skin perfectly glazed with what tasted like honey.

A bite into the tender meat flooded us with an array of flavours, from the sweet glaze to the smoky, salty meat and the aromatic fragrance from the jas-mine tea leaf marinade. 

The dish should be eaten with the sweet sauce provided on the side for an added kick. It definitely left us wanting more.

Next up was the king prawns served in two varie-ties, resembling a fusion mix of Chinese and Japanese cui-sine.

The presentation of the dish was a work of art, like one you would expect on television shows such as Iron Chef.

On that single rectangular plate, the chef had creatively separated the prawn head and its body and placed the head upright on one side of the dish, and the body, dipped in t h i c k w a s a b i cream sauce, in a small bowl on the other end.

If you’re won d ering how to eat it, g o f o r t h e p r awn m e a t first – the por-tion dippe d in wasabi , i .e . spic y Japanese horseradish.

One fearful bite into the prawn-covered wasabi left us with a huge sigh of relief as it was neither too piquant nor pungent. The horseradish is mixed with other spices and whipped up into a thick, creamy dip to cover the sharp taste of the wasabi.

For those repelled by the thought of eating the green hot mustard, close your eyes, take a bite into it, and brace yourselves for second help-ings. Once done with one half of the prawn, move on to the next half and bite into the crispy head, which is filled with soft fish paste.

If you can’t get enough of the appetising wasabi sauce, scrape up every last bit of it with the head and enjoy the extra taste it gives.

Third up was another Japanese-infused Western dish, the panfried lamb cutlet served in barbeque and teriyaki sauce.

One bite into the tender juicy meat left us savouring the barbeque sauce, which had a sweet aftertaste.

There isn’t mint sauce on the side as you might expect with a lamb dish, but the lip-smacking sauce is enough to reduce the smell of the lamb, which is a turn-off for some people. The dish is a definite must-try.

Finally, dessert – which we always have room in our tum-mies for, no matter how full we are – was served: a bowl of refreshing chilled lemongrass jelly with longan, and a bowl of Japanese green soybean with sago.

Lemongrass, usually associated with herbal drinks or teas, is known to reduce sugar level in diabetic patients. Here at the restaurant, the lemongrass dessert was definitely refresh-ing, with the stems cut and boiled to bring out the fragrant juice of the plant and chilled to serve. 

It was served with tiny pieces of strawberries and longan, which added to it a sweet-and-sourness.

Meanwhile, the green soybean dessert is another unique

A grand feast at the

Imperial

Assorted all-day Dim Sum.

The interior of the restaurant, with a wine cellar on the right.

Smoked duck with jasmine tea leaf.• TURN TO PAGE 20

20 december 23 — 25, 2011

food

dish made from the Japanese pea, also known as Edamame, and topped with tad-pole-egg jelly.

The peas in the Edamame pods are boiled in salt and blended to resemble a creamy texture, like a thick soup. The dish will do nicely for those who are fussy about their desserts being too sweet.

The restaurant also has specially designed set lunches and dinner menus to satisfy all customers. They also do all-day Dim Sum

every day including on weekends, for those wanting to satisfy their cravings for delicious steamed dumplings.

Opening hours are from 11.30am-3pm, 6pm-10.30pm Mondays through Saturdays, and 10am-3pm, 6pm-10.30pm on Sundays and public holidays.

Grand Imperial Restaurant is located at Casa Klang Level 9, No 39-A Block A / KU 01, Jalan Meru, 41050 Klang, Selangor; tel: 03-33452118.

Good food tends to gravitate towards foodies, or those who aspire to be connoisseurs of culinary delights. This happened a couple of weeks before this coming Christmas, when a relative was invited to

a vegetarian restaurant tucked away in a neighbourhood near BU11 in Bandar Utama.

The relative returned to regale me with a tale of gastronomical propor-tions that tickled my fancy. Since the place wasn’t that far away and a fair distance from the busy main roads, it was almost an irresistible temptation.

But finding the place was something akin to a treasure hunt. The road leading to the Organic Recipe Restaurant begins from Centrepoint in Bandar Utama and crosses over to the other side near the Damansara toll plaza.

Immediately after the two sets of traffic lights, we found ourselves mak-ing an immediate sharp left turn and entered Casa Utama. I didn’t expect to find myself walking towards the Boulevard Residence Damansara condos.

My “tracker” told me it was the right place. We were looking slightly lost on the mezzanine floor when I received verbal assurance that we were in the right place.

A quick hop into the elevator took us down three levels to B3, and we were walking in a lonely corridor when we suddenly heard voices. There it was – Organic Recipe Restaurant.

At 7pm, the place was almost three-quarters full. It seemed I was an unregistered member of the Ignoramus Club groping in the dark, when others had already their fill of the sumptuous dishes at this full-fledged

The green connectionSometimes it is necessary to steer away from the high-protein diet and veer towards Mother Nature’s little garden. LIN ZHENYUAN strolls down the greens path and recalls some memorable moments

Japanese-infused Western dish, the panfried lamb cutlet.

Prawn-covered wasabi.

Dining area of the restaurant.

Assortment of desserts.

• FROM PAGE 19

All the vegetarian products you need or know about are sold at Organic Recipe Restaurant.

21december 23 — 25, 2011

food

vegetarian restaurant.Who would believe that lodged in the heart

of this slightly exclusive condominium was a restaurant that caters to the whims and fancies of vegans, vegetarians and the occasional greens lover. ( Just for your ears only, each condo unit here is priced at RM400,000 and above. That’s not exactly peanuts to most of us.)

The first impression of Organic Recipe was excellent. It has glass panels for walls, and plants were aplenty out-side the establishment. The extensive greenery gave the place a superb ambience befitting its status as a restaurant that strives to-wards “good food and good health”.

Inside, a section of the restaurant sells organic products. Lest anyone is misinformed or misled, organic food means edibles that are not subjected to synthetic pesticides or artificial fertilisers, and do not contain genetically modified organisms.

Almost eight out of 10 people these days are in-clined towards “healthy food”, whether or not they really are have to be verified by official sources. The diners at Organic Recipe seemed happy enough when we got there.

Our orders for the evening consisted of assam curry “fish” with petai, a plate of vegetables with dried “shrimp”, bittergourd with black bean paste, “shark’s fin” soup, and the house’s signature tofu in thick gravy.

For good measure, we also ordered a big jug of mixed fruit juice and two bowls of soy milk pudding.

On the whole, the dishes were above average, and my family and I were suitably impressed by the offerings at Or-ganic Recipe. The curry vegetarian fish received only passing marks from a member of our group because she commented that the actual ingredients – i.e. fish – were (obviously) miss-ing from such a dish. Since she is a true-blue nyonya, we de-clined to argue with her.

I liked the shark‘s fin soup. It was an excellent imitation of the actual dish that is currently suffering from incessant pro-tests by protectors of sharks and other endangered sea crea-tures. Luckily we were eating at a restaurant where every item on its menu is “above board” and beyond reproach.

The service was smooth and efficient. The Myanmar waiters have done their country proud with their diligence and excel-lent service.

The restaurant is air-conditioned, but there is an exterior section, presumably for those who may want to resort to a puff or two after a meal.

A count revealed that there were about 40 tables, inside and outside the restaurant. Obviously, the restaurant has been enjoying good business in the few short years since it opened.

I suspect not many people in Petaling Jaya or even Bandar Utama know about this place. Those who do know it are likely to be regular customers.

The main reason why customers do not want to happily

promote this place is because it is frustrating to find yourself without a seat if an establish-ment becomes too popular. Some times, even the quality of food may be affected due to overwork and overcrowding.

But I am glad to have had the pleasure of dining at Organic Recipe. It is situated amid serene surroundings with a residential flavour that makes it stand head and shoulders above many such eateries. It is a particularly good place for family dinners, and there is ample parking space beneath the condo block.

There are apparently two other Organic Recipe outlets besides this one at Boulevard Residence Damansara. The other two are in Subang Jaya and in SS2 PJ.

Organic Recipe is open from Monday to Sunday from 10am to 9pm. It caters to groups and children’s parties, takes reservations, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The address of its Damansara outlet is B3-09-11, Casa Utama, Lorong Lebuh Bandar Utama, PJU6A, PJ. Tel: 03-77290236.

Soya pudding with bits of pineapple is an excellent dessert.

Those who want a breath of fresh air can sit outside the restaurant.

Tofu with thick gravy complements the other dishes.

Bittergourd for those who like the taste.

A plate of greens fried with small dried “shrimp.”

The assam curry “fish” with petai.

22 December 23 — 25, 2011

Gallery

Cellists accompanying the Philharmonic Society of Selangor, frequently known as ‘The Phil’, during their Christmas charity concert in aid of the Boys’ Brigade of Selangor last week at Luther Centre on Jalan Utara, Petaling Jaya. The event was attended by some 1,400 people.

Owners and their pets pose with Santa Claus during the Santa Paws Christmas event on Dec 11 at Jaya One. The event, which was organised by SPCA Selangor and Jaya One to help SPCA raise funds, saw the turnout of 120 dogs and raised RM2,000. Jaya One will be holding the ‘Lovers & Leashes’ pet event on Valentine’s Day in February 2012, which will feature a doggy disco for pets and their owners to hang out at.

M Faizal Ammanullah Khan in his new Proton Saga BLM 1.3 after he emerged as the overall winner of the Selangor Fishing GP 2011. Looking on are Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Shah Alam mayor Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan.

Residents clearing weeds during a clean-up organised at Taman Gembira in Klang last Saturday. Only about a dozen residents showed up to take part in the gotong-royong alongside staff from the Klang Municipal Council.

Bukit Antarabangsa state assemblyperson Azmin Ali firing a paintball marker to launch the Bukit Antarabangsa Youth Paintball Championship at Taman Melawati on Dec 18.

Hulu Kelang assemblyperson Saari Sungib (green shirt) visiting patients and staff of the Free Clinic Service jointly organised with the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia and Surau Al-Mustaqim at AU5C, Taman Lembah Keramat recently.

23December 23 — 25, 2011

Culture

Architecture Without Paper

Exhibition; until 2 Jan; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; www.klpac.org, 03-40479000

A selection, in audiovisual format, from Spanish architectural projects presented at the Venice International Architecture Exhibitions, curated by the architects Soledad del Pino and Angel Fernandez Alba. This exhibition aims to show the innovation and quality of the work being carried out on the Spanish scene today, represented by 15 young architecture studios that typify a fully consolidated, global “virtual architectural reality”. Their projects put the spotlight on a fresh, avant-garde architecture, one that serves the sensibilities and needs of society. Presented by the Embassy of Spain. Beta 2011

Dance; 23 & 25 Dec; Annexe Gallery @ Central Market Kuala Lumpur; 03-33247568; RM30/RM24

Showcase choreographed by Kyson Teo from Malaysia and i-Hsiang Wang from Taiwan, featuring dancers from the Batu Dance Theatre. KLPac String Ensemble Christmas Concert

Music; 22, 23 & 25 Dec; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; www.klpac.org, 03-40479000; RM23/RM18

cALeNDAr

Our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences

to the family of

Edward Lee Poh LinMember of Selangor State Assembly

for Bukit Gasingwho passed away on 20 December 2011

From

State commissioner and all its membersPAS Selangor

Our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences

to the family of

Edward Lee Poh LinMember of Selangor State Assembly

for Bukit Gasingwho passed away on 20 December 2011

From

Members of Parliament and Assemblypersons Democratic Action Party

Selangor

The KLPac String Ensemble will perform classics such as Eine Kleine

Nacht Musik, 1st Movement by Mozart and Fugue in G Minor by Bach, as well as Christmas favourites such as Silent Night, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and White Christmas.

Si Putih and the 7 Makciks

Theatre; until 23 Dec; The Actors Studio @ Lot 10 Kuala Lumpur; www.theactorsstudio.com.my, 03-21422009; RM30 / RM50 / RM120 (family)

An adaptation of Snow White and the 7 Dwarves, set in two kampung kingdoms where an envious Queen plans to kill her beautiful and fair stepdaughter, Si Putih. Does Sergeant

Sutera, the queen’s henchmen kill Si Putih, or is she saved by the seven Makciks, keepers of secrets from another kampung? Only time will tell. A funny original adaptation of the all-time-favourite classic with singing and dancing, and an all-male cast with a twist at the end, as all fairy tales have. Malaysian Girls

Theatre/Musical; until 30 Dec; Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; www.klpac.org, 03-40479000; RM38-RM100

A musical about the beautiful world we live in; about the friendship between Malaysian girls, and how this fragile friendship can be more beautiful than the crown one aspires to wear. “Put on your tiaras, pucker up that smile, and brace yourself, for really, with 14 beautiful girls on

a glitzy stage, how ugly can it get?” With original songs by Ariff Akhir, Ian Chow, Min’z, Khairil M Bahar and Wani Ardy; directed by Joe Hasham.

Aladdin: The Musical

Musical; until 2 Jan 2012; Sunway Lagoon; 03-87754666 (AirAsia RedTix), 03-56390000 (Sunway Lagoon ticketing); www.airasiaredtix.com/Events/Aladdin; RM50-RM300

Get whisked to a land far, far away, filled with adventure, magic, and excitement in this production from the West End. Set against the mystical kingdom of Askabar; go on a musical journey spectacular!

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.

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