Lim Lip Eng |
| MP shows proof of minors at new palace building site Posted: 21 Jul 2010 10:39 PM PDT   Source: http://malaysiakini.com/news/138032 (Aidila Razak, 22/7/2010) Showing photos taken during his visit to the site on June 21 and 24 with journalists, Lim said he had seen two infants and a toddler aged around two years living there with their Indonesian parents who worked on site. "But the workers told us that there are about 10 more babies of a few months age living there too," he told a press conference at his service centre this morning. "Now that the matter is public, I hope Suhakam will contact me immediately to assist them in further investigations," Lim added. The new evidence refutes Suhakam's earlier claim that they found no children during their official on-site inspection on July 15. The inspection was held to investigate claims that workers at the new palace site were not being paid by the sub-contractors. Commissioner Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah, after conducting the inspection on Tuesday, had said the commission did not see any children on site. Security lapse Lim charged that the unreliable findings by the human rights watchdog only went to prove its 'redundancy'. "Their findings were delayed because they were barred, showing that they do not have much powers. "I suggest that the commissioners resign en bloc and Suhakam be closed down and their office be used to provide childcare facilities or housing for the workers," he said. Lim's assistant - Khairuddin Karim who accompanied him on the site visit said the children lived in cramped conditions with several adults sharing a container cabin measuring about 48 square feet. He said the cabins had no ventilation and were located close piling rubbish. "Children should not be allowed into construction sites, let alone live there," he said. Lim said that prior to media reports on the workers' plight, the back entrance to the site was completely unsecured while his 'entourage of a lorry and cars' passed through the front gate with just a cursory wave from the guards. This, he said, was reason enough for the government to stop the new palace project as security during construction was one of the main concerns so much so of the contract was awarded through direct negotiations. "The government has every right to terminate the contract as there has a been a breach of the fundamental clause," he said. Suhakam initially barred Security today, however, had been upped with the back entrance completely sealed and several visitors stopped. "I have tried to go back a few times but I have been stopped by police, guards and 'gangster- looking' people," Lim claimed The controversy over the workers came to light when English-language daily The Star reported on June 27 that about 1,000 Indonesian workers hired to build the RM800 million Istana Negara have yet to receive their wages from some sub-contractors. Main contractor Maya Maju Sdn Bhd had claimed earlier that it was the responsibility of the sub-contractors to pay their workers. Following a public outcry, Suhakam visited the site on July 5 to look into the workers' plight as well as claims that children were living there in cramped and dirty conditions, deprived of basic nutrition. They were, however, barred from entering and had to return on July 15 when they were allowed in. It was later reported that they found no evidence of abuse against the migrant workers. However, the commission did not discount the possibility that abuses could have occurred, as their inspection was not conducted immediately. "We went to investigate the report of non-payment of salary, but were unable to actually get reliable information because the inspection was so delayed. "We will write to the relevant agencies to facilitate such future inspections without delays," said commissioner Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah.  |
| PPR low-cost flats: No win-win situation in sight Posted: 21 Jul 2010 06:29 PM PDT Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro (22/7/2010) ONE would assume that the easiest way to resolve the ownership issue of the PPR low-cost flats is for the government to give away for free all the 44,146 units to the residents —provided that they are willing to bear the burden of maintaining the buildings. After all, it would only cost the government RM1.4bil while the government has to fork out a minimum of RM50mil a year to maintain the buildings. And if this doesn't work, what chances would other alternatives have? However, it is not as simple as that as shown by views expressed by the following personalities. Tan Jo Hann — Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (Permas) Giving away the units for free to residents is not a solution. It is not easy, and is a big problem to maintain the place. In the case of the hardcore poor, DBKL can come up with an installment plan to recover the rent owed. However, it must be strict in enforcement to recover rent. There must also be political will to see this through. The residents must be educated to respect public properties and education is the only way out. Iskandar Abdul Samad — Selangor state exco for Housing, Building and Squatters Giving away houses for free to the residents may work but there will be problems. If they are not able to pay rent, what makes you think they will pay the maintenance fee? It is way too big a responsibility to maintain the entire place. In Selangor, we are facing a similar situation and we are currently trying to recover RM5mil in rent owed. The problem is that there is too much political interference when we try to do so. We need to change the people's mindset and educate them to be responsible citizens. The government must do what is right and not what is popular. Lim Lip Eng — Segambut MP Giving away the PPR flats free to the poor families and letting the owners manage their own buildings in order to lessen the financial burden of City Hall will certainly aggravate the issue faced by both parties. Some, if not most, of the flat owners will eventually stop paying their monthly maintenance fee due to various reasons. City Hall will still be dragged into the picture when a sold PPR flat is in deplorable living conditions. I suggest we emulate the Singa-pore way. In  |
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