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16/06/2002
- If there is anything unique about the agenda
of this dialogue, it has to do with the refreshment being served before
the dialogue got started. This was good as it got the speakers to get to
know the residents and vice versa. The dialogue got started with Datuk N.
Subramaniam, the President of the USJ Residents Association, thanking
those who came, for sacrificing their lazy Sunday afternoon and not
forgetting the World Cup match between Sweden and Senegal. Surprisingly,
in our midst were a couple of children who I believe were present to
continue the “fight” should the issue remain unresolved!!
Dato Lee Hwa Beng, the ADUN for Subang Jaya,
took the opportunity to explain to the residents the various community
groups USJ is so famous for, namely, the NWs, JKPs, RTs and USJRA. The NW
or better known as Neighbourhood Watch is a bottom up community group
initiated by the residents themselves to network people residing in the
same precinct to get to know and care for each other. Incidentally, Mr.
Raymond Tan or better known as The Penghulu was among the 40 odd people
who were present at this dialogue. The JKP or Jawatan Kuasa Penduduk
which totaled 7 in the administrative district of MPSJ comprised of active
community leaders who were appointed by MPSJ together with the ADUN of
Subang Jaya to act as a bridge for MPSJ to reach out to the people. The
group, as I was made to understand, is set up to organise sports and games
that will bring the community together. JKP Zon 2 and 3 represents the
whole of USJ. On the other hand, the USJRA being a resident association
will focus on events of community interest such as this one.
The next speaker looked like one of those
officers from the NYPD. DSP Selvakumar, head of CID, Shah Alam Balai
Polis couldn’t have come at a better time when many residents had learnt
earlier how a USJarian vigilante knocked the daylights out of two snatch
thieves. According to this senior police officer, property crime such
as car theft and house break in and serious crimes such as robbery, rape
and murder in USJ constituted 33% of all the crime reported in the Shah
Alam police district. And here comes the USJ boleh spirit - we are the
No. 1 problematic crime area in the Shah Alam police district. Shah Alam
is ranked No 6 in Klang Valley. He however said that USJ is more than
safe compared to other areas in the Klang Valley which he did not name.
As a proof, he stated that people still went for their teh tarik session
even after midnight. Or else, how can Canai & Such, Tanjung and Ali
Berkat Berjaya have such a thriving business till the wee hours. During
the first 5 months this year, there were 96 cases of property crimes and
83 cases of serious crime. Nevertheless, according to DSP Selvakumar,
overall, the trend of these criminal activities is showing a decline
compared to the previous year. In jest, he commented that after what The
Vigilante did to the two snatch thieves, he expected snatch theft to
decline drastically. He confessed that his division faced a serious
problem of having limited resources. Those attending were surprised that
there are only two patrol cars covering Shah Alam and USJ. He is very
thankful that the residents are very cooperative when it comes to crime
prevention. In fact, he attributed the decline in crime more due to the
increase in the NW activities rather than the efficiency of the police
force. He also admitted that there are some black sheep in the police
force that gave the force a bad image. At the end of his delivery, he
noted down two requests made by the residents. The residents want the
police to intensify their patrolling and to upgrade the USJ Pondok Polis
to a full Balai Polis to be more effective in crime prevention.
Next on the agenda was unscheduled. En. Mohd Jusuh, President of the Selangor and Federal Territory Consumer
Association and also the Treasurer General of FOMCA shared with us the
rights of the consumer to clean and reliable water supply. What he had to
say actually reinforced what IWK was trying to convey to the people at
large. He acknowledged that IWK services are required for healthy living
and lamented over the absence of a proper service contract signed between
IWK and the people. He also hoped that the government will waive all
charges until a formal contract is being formulated.
En. Amin Lin bin Abdullah, the Assistant
General Manager, Communication Department, IWK next wasted no time when
he pointed out that the 4 sewage oxidation plants at USJ 12, 14, 19 and
22 which were built and operated by the SIME UEP Development Sdn Bhd are
the only plants in the country that were not handed over to the local
government. That explained why there was no corresponding reduction in
our assessment bill when we were slapped with IWK billing in 2000. We were
not charged at all by MPSJ! But many found it hard to believe. IWK was
directed by the government to take over the management of these 4 plants
as they were failing due to the poor maintenance by the developer. IWK
continued to provide the sewage service under the Sewage and Services Act
1993. When asked why IWK despite the absence of a service contract could
go ahead to bill the residents, En. Amin replied that unlike other
utilities services, this one is covered by the federal law. The Federal
Government has acted on behalf of the residents and entered into a master
contract with IWK thus making individual contract irrelevant. To another
question, the tariff which was approved by the government is based on
services rendered and not dependent on the volume of water consumed,
number of residents living in the house or the type of house. En. Amin
however admitted that it looked rather unfair that a posh bungalow is
charged RM 8 the same as a dilapidated squatter house or a house with 72
tenants also pays the same as the house with a bachelor boy. He
believed that this tariff is the only formula that is workable. He
also reiterated that the pink “love” letters sent to those who are in
arrears are meant to be a reminder rather than the “see you in court”
type. When cornered with the famous question “to pay or not to pay”
where everyone present was seeking for an answer, he just smiled. All this
while I could read his thoughts but when it came to that smile on his
face, I was at lost. The
dialogue ended peacefully with another round of makan and after that
everybody was rushing home for the Germany vs Ireland match.
Report by PC Yeoh |
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