On 30-11-2012 the newly appointed Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur, Yg Bhg Datuk Ahmad Phesal bin Talib met the MPs of Wilayah Persekutuan. Yours truly has brought up the following issues:
- Pasar Larut Uptown in Danau Kota which operates from 10 pm to 4 am from Wednesday to Sunday weekly. The residents around the area and other areas in Wangsa Maju strongly objected to the said night market which has caused many social problems like crime, traffic congestions, noise pollution and others. This matter has been for a long time. Datuk Bandar’s reply: He noted the objections by the residents. DBKL has already identified a location measuring 4 acres. The Pasar Larut will be moved very soon.
- The failed Integrated Transport Information System Project (ITIS) has cost the Federal Government and DBKL RM365.74. ITIS was awarded to three companies namely, Ellelink Sdn Bhd, Anekasaga Resources Sdn Bhd and Sinar Dian Sdn Bhd. Elelink Sdn Bhd and Anekasaga Resources Sdn Bhd are owned by the family of Abdullah Bukhari bin Mustapha from Pasir Mas. Kelantan. The Auditor General Report states that 50% of the CCTV installed were not in operation, 8 out of the 16 Visual Message System (VMS) were not in operation. The 8 VMS that are in operation only provide messages like “Selamat hair Raya”, “Kong Hee Fatt Choy” and “Happy Deepavali” but not information relating to traffic conditions in KL. Datuk Bandar’s reply: DBKL will be calling for an open tender to appoint new operator to for the ITIS Project and that the three companies are not eligible as they have failed to carry out their responsibilities.
- Of late many DBKL officers have been sent overseas to attend conferences or working visits. Recently 6 officers were sent to Melbourne and Brisbane. There were all traveling on Business Class. We are not sure whether they have been sent to play golf or football. Datuk Bandar’s reply: The 6 officers were sent to Melbourne and Brisbane to study the system of speedy approval of Building Plans/Development Orders in these two cities.
- Jabatan Perumahan have issued many letters of offer for council houses/PPR but many successful applicants were not given keys. The computerized system using points to determine the eligibility of applicants has been abandoned. No committee has been set up to determine the eligibility of applicant. It was left to the Pengarah to make the decision. This was an unhealthy situation.There were many complaints of corrupt practices. Datuk Bandar’s reply: He noted the points raised and that a new Pengarah by the name of En Wan Ghazali, who was from Jabatan Penjaja, has been appointed recently to replace En Sukiman. En Wan Ghazali will resume office on 3-12-2012.
- DBKL sponsored KL Football Association with RM1 million as reported in the newspapers. Datuk Bandar’s reply: The press report on this was incorrect as DBKL has never agreed to pay sponsorship money of RM1 million to KL Football Association. He was misquoted by the press.
- Public complaints with regards to contractors/housing developers working through the night and outside the construction sites were very dirty. Datuk Bandar admitted that DBKL is facing enforcement problems with regards to the complaints. He is taking actions to improve it.
- No open tender was called for the renting of public address (pa) system for big functions like “Merdeka Day”, “Wilayah Day” and others and that certain contractor was appointed at the last minute and the cost were very high. Datuk Bandar’s reply: He was unaware of this but promised to look into the matter.
