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For prosperity: Sazally (fifth from left) tossing yee sang with the senior citizens fromRumah Charis.

RM312mii tOJupgradeLDP in stagesEnhancement programme to end in 2012By LlM CHIA YINGchiaying@thestar.com.myPhoto by P. NATHAN

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IGHWAY concessionaire Lingkaran~o,. . '. Trans KotaSdn Bhd(litrak) is carrying"' . out a three-year upgrading wortk on

the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LOP).litrak chief executive officer Sazally Saidi

said the programme, which started in 2009and costs RM312mil, would consist of fourmain packages.

He said Package A involved the widening oflanes at the Puchong Perdana section headingsouth towards putrajaya where 70% of thework had been completed.

"Package B involves upgrading fromPersiaran Surian near Kota Damansara all theway to the Penchala toll plaza, costing aboiJtRM100mil," Sazally told reporters at the LitrakChinese New Year charity programme withthe old folk of Rumah (haris Home for TheAged in Jalan Puchong, Kuala Lumpur.

Package C is pending approval from theMalaysian Highway Authority and SazaHy saidit would focus on the Puchong Jaya area, fromthe Sunway toll plaza.

He acknowledged that the traffic volume inthe Puchong Jaya area was heavy with about400,000 vehicles using the route daily.

"We have 10 lanes now but there are still

other issues to be considered for the conges-tion.

"This is why we will be further enhancingthe interchange under this package. It is likelythat the current contra-flow system will bemade permanent by then," he said.

As for Package D, Sazally said the initial planwas to upgrade the toll plazas while addingadditional lanes but litrak had to take intoconsideration the government's planned pro-gramme for free flow multi lanes.

Earlier, Sazally gave away goodie bags andang pow to 19 senior citizens.

"Reaching out to the people is part of ourcommunity service. We hope we brought

I »Package B involves Iupgrading from I

I Persiaran Surian II near KotaDamansara I1all the way to the

I!Penchala toll plaza,I costing about I

~ RMIOOmil« ISAZALLYSAlOl

~-some festive cheer to these old folk today; hesaid.

Rumah Charis founder and executive direc-tor Rev Teo How Ken said he started the firsthome for men in 1988.

This was followed by the women's home in1990 and in 1995, Teo started a children'shome upon seeing the need of so many orphansand children from broken families.

He said Rumah Charis was a non-profitChristian organisation that was dependent onpublic donation.

'We do not charge any fees for the seniorcitizens. These are homeless old people rec-ommended to us by the public and socialworkers.

"But there are certain criteria we look intobefore accepting them. They must be 60 andabove, have no dependents and are healthyand able to walk." said Teo.

Rumah Charis Home for The Aged is locatedat No 77m Lucky Garden, 6th Mile, JalanPuchong, Kuala Lumpur.

For details, call 03-7781 5977/7784 4645.

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PUCHONG - Seorang kata, ketilsa~ kejadian dia tan;' katanya ketika me-.penjual baIJll1ganterpakai tiada..di 1JUJl~1hdaIl11:;t"'l1~rima kunjupgan Bekashilang piihca' pehdapatan nyC\ dimakluml<aI1' Jile- Al1li Parijmen Puchong'sekelip mata :;tpabilake- laltiipanggilantelefon oleh yang juga Pembantu Khasdaiyang dil,lSah:;tkan'di isterinya. kepada Menteri DalamlKampungTengahB di sini, "Ketika itu saya me- Negeri, Datuk Loo yeng.sejak tiga tahun lalu.mus- IlyUruhanal<menghubungi Peng. Inah dalam satu kebakaran Jabatan Bomba dan: Hadir sarna,Seti$lusaha\lewatmalamAhadlalu. Penyelamatyangk.emudian ~enyelarasUMNODewan,.~

Difahamkan, ketika tibabeberapaminitselepas UndanganNegeri (DUN)IIkejadian, tujuh anal< dan itu,"katanya Kinrara,ArmanAhmad...isterinya yaI1g masih ,da- ~atanya,dalamkeadaan Arnran ketika ditemui

Ilam pantangberada di fil- ffit~ya yang masm ber- berkata,beliau sudah me-m~ tetletak kur~g 10 PaI1tang,dia da,nanak-anak'manjangkan perkara itu I

meter dari kedai terbakar tidakdapat membantu me- kepada Jabatan Kebajikan I

berkenaan. madamkan kebakaranJ;n~- Ma.syarakat (TKM) untukTlada kemalangaI}.jiwa nyebabkan hampir 50' pee. tihdakansusulan. 'I

dilaporkanberl~amun ratus bahagian dalaIIi'kedai' ,,"Saya sudah ke JKMIsemua,

, ~~ah jualan sudahterbakarketikabom..;bertemu pegawaibertuga~Iber~1.fampir RM70,00Q ba sarnpaL dan memaklumkan ke-t!ermas~ peralatan elcl<- t~pi maral< dan me- adaan mangsa kebakaranltrik, perabot dan pakaian rebak hampit ke seluruh itu. PegawaiJKM mem-:yang belum dijualgagal di.. !<edaiketanadimaklum-" beritahu untuk kategori.selamatkan. ' kanbekalanairtidak'cukup bencana, banman maksi-

Mangsa, Mohd Hairi dan terp~ mengguna- mum boleh diberikan se-Mohd RahIm, 42, ber- kan air' sungai berdeka~ banyakRM5,OOO.

SINAR IIARIA1f

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Upah .~w'kaki'intippenguatkuasaMPS

GOMBAK:Pihakyang membuang

sampahseearaharamdlKampung SungalKertasdipertayalmengupah 'kakl' untukmenglntlp pergerakanpenguat kuasaMajlisPerbandaranSela~ang(MPS)yangmenjagakawasanberkenaanbagimemudahkanmerekamenjalankanaktivltlmembuang sampah.

Pendudukseklta,kal)1pungdantamanperumahanDesa Indahmendakwasetiap kailtiada kelibat angg06MPSyang menjagajalan utama ke pusatpembuangan sampahberkenaan,lo,i yangmembawaslsabuanganakan menjalankanaktlvitl merekasepertlbiasaterutafj1apadasebelahmalam.

Sentra/yang menda-pat maklumat mengenalkehadirankenderaanMPS sekitar jam J2:aOtengah harl bergegaske kawasanberkenaanMapl mendapati tlada.seorangpun anggotapenguatkuasa rpenjagajalan masuk d.1.sltusebalktlba jam lpetang.

Bagaimanapun,selangSatujamke1))udlanh~nyasebuahk~nQ~raan

dengandu~Pe~~:«al..I?engu.t.ky.?;berjag~flUalan m.sukkearahpusat pembuangansampahberkenaan.

Suasanadl pusatpembuangan sampahharam itujuga sUnylwalaupun maslhada beberapawargaasing dlsltu.

Pendudukyanghanyamahu dikenail sebagalAzii,2S,berkata sejakpenguat kuasaMpsmenjagaialan masukqisitu, kawasan.berkenaantenang daripadabunyi hlngar lorl yangkeluar masukuntukmembuang sampah.

"Merekainl sepertlada'spy'yang menglntippergerakanpenguatkuasaMPS.Contohnyabila tlada penguat kuasa,eepat saja.k>,imembawasampahdatang mem-buat sal1)pah.Sebalknyatempat Inidljaga seearabergiHr-gili,dieh MPSkeranaplhakyangmembuang,sampahakan ambll kesempatanblla penguat ku.saberehatmakantengahharl atau sebelahmalam,"katanya.

BERITA ij'ARIAN. ~ P 1:>0\1Tarikh..................-..--

By EDWARD R. HENRYedward@thestar.com.my

PErALING Jaya city councillor

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s

are making a second attemptin asking for an increase in

fixed allowance from RM7S0 toRM3.000.

The councillors will be submittinga working paper to increase the fixedallowance to the Sela.ngorGovernment's State EconomicPlanning Unit (MfES).

In June 2009, the councillors haddemanded for the same amountwith an increase in sub-committee

meeting allowances but the workingpaper was rejected.

A councillor is paid RM1S0 foreach meeting he attends and on anaverage six are held in a month.

If the increase in allowance isapproved, MfjPJ councillors will beamong the best paid in the state.

Councillor Tony Cheong SiewThong said the basic RM7S0 paid tocouncillors was not enough bec;ausethe cost of living had gone up.

"Before I accepted the post injuly

last year, I thoughtRM7S0 warsufc.ficient as the work would require meto be at a place for one to two hours,B\lt now, I see a councillor'sjobisfull tim~, not just eight hO,ursbut Wehave to go out in the wee-hours, so,the remuneration needs to beincreased," he said.

Councillor Khairul Anuar AhmadZainudin said the allowance was notenough to manage for a monthbecause it could not cover the cost of

travelling when responding to resi-dents' complaints.

"Our responsibilities are greater asthe job requires us to be in variousplaces at odd times," he said.

Khairul added that most council-

lors were serving full time."Even if a councillor is given RMSO

an hour, and serves fo.ur hours a day,he needs to De paid RM200. So, in amonth it will work out to RM6,OOO,"he'said. '

Senator S. Ramakrishnan, who.had served as a councillor in MBPJ,said the allowance was increased

from RMSOOto RM7S0 in August2008, as the Pakatan governmentfound itto be a pittailce.

"I was one of the councillors who

had submitted a working paper toMTES for the allowance review.; Butthe proposal was rejected. Each newcouncillor appointed gets RMS,OOOto buy a camera and a laptop, givenan office space at Menara MBPJ andRMl,SOO is paid monthly to anassistant to helps the councillor inclerical work," he said. .

Ramakrishnan said a councillor

STARTarikh: :1.l.:..lf.QJ.L.-

STARMETRO, WEONESDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2011 NEWS"

Councillorsto seekraise in allowance againRM750 not enough as cost of living has gone ,up

Councillorremuneration"""""""""""'"''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''..

RM750

RM1,050

RM5,OOO

Source. MBP!!!!G'~HJC5~~'t

RN!100,OOO,where RM20.000 goesto organfsing festive events, whileRM80,OOOis used.to repair drains,replace streetlights and improveplaygrounds," he said.

All petalingJayaSelangor ResidentsAssociation Coalition (Apac) adviserMohamed Umar Peer Mohamed saidthe councillors must be prepared toallow the public a say before anyincrease was sought.

-...could take RMl,800 a month if heattended all meetings but admittedthat the job was not lucrative andmore of a social service.

Councillor Jeyaseelan T. Anthony,who took over from Ramakrishnan,said the increase was justified forthose who served full time to attendto public woes and pursue mattersuntil it was resolved.

"We do get an annual allocation of

"Apac and even the residents inthe city must be consulted in a townhall meeting. Whatever money thatgoes to the councillors cqmes fromthe people's assessment tax," hesaid.

Selangor MCA deputy chairmanDatuk Teh Kim Poo said the council-lors' job was carried out in a spirit ofvolunteerism qnd the basic allow-qnce of RM500 given during BarisanNasionar times was just 'I token sumto help in the clericql worK

"pet1ling Jaya residents and eventhe MBPJ staff would find the moveoutrageous because the employeeswho take home RM1,7S0 a month.have yet to receive their salaryincrease," he said.

Selangor MCA Public ComplajntsBureau deputy chairman KelvinChong Seng Foo said it would' beunacceptable for councillors to pro-pose an increase in allowance, espe-cially when times were bad.

"We find a number oE people

/Full council:Afile pictureof MBPJpresidentDatukMohamadRoslanSakiman(left) chairinga fullboardcouncilmeeting.

retrenched or taking a pay cut, so itwould be inappropriate for council-lors to begin filling their pocketswith even more ratepayers' money,"he said.

Chongsaid people did not neces-sarily mind reimbursing councillorsfor time spent representing the peo-ple but it was not the time todemandfor more money.

Rumbling on the grounds tliatthe qmount paid to councillorswere too little has reached stateexecutive councillor for local gov-ernment Ronnie Liu. .

Yesterday, Liu said the matteron councillors' allowance wasbeing studied.

Asked on 'I working pqper sentin June 2009, to the SelqngorGovernment's Stqte EconomicPlqnning Unit, where councillorshqd requested for' 'I bqsic qllow-ance of RM3,OOO,Liu sqid he WqSnot qWqre of such 'I workingpaper.