MCA division sets up service team to help needy folk

COME tomorrow(28 August), the Bagan MCA division in Penang will launch the 1Bagan Community Service Team aimed at helping the people.

Bagan MCA division Youth chief David Chua said the team would be going around their divisions to register new voters and provide assistance to single mothers, the handicapped, poor and needy.

“Representatives from the Federal Government together with the state Welfare Department, state Health Department and Election Commission will be present at the launching.

“It will be held at the Tow Boo Kong Temple on Jalan Raja Uda from 8.30am,” he told a press conference at the Bagan MCA division headquarters on Jalan Kampung Benggali.

“Even though Barisan Nasional lost some of the seats in the last general election, we are still committed to helping the folk,” he said.

Also present were state MIC liaison committee chairman Datuk P.K. Subbaiyah, Bagan MCA Wanita chief Teh Lay Cheng and Bagan MCA division vice-chairman Sum Yoo Keong.

Chua, who is also the Barisan Nasional parliamentary co-ordinator, said the service team would go around the Bagan constituency looking for people to help.

Subbaiyah praised the people’s outreach programme to be carried out by the Bagan MCA.

■ Bagan BN 1Malaysia mobile service project committee members (seated from left) State MIC Chairman Datuk PK Subbaiyah, Bagan BN Parlimentary Co-ordinator David Chua, Bagan MCA Vice-chairman Sum Yoo Keong and Bagan Jermal Constituency Co-ordinator Teh Lay Cheng discussing during the meeting as other committee members looks on at Bagan MCA office in Butterworth yesterday.

Saturday August 28, 2010 . The Star

Butterworth : Aid for 23 needy people

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A TOTAL of 23 poor people in Butterworth, including the disabled, received RM300 aid each from the Federal Government through the Social Welfare Department.

They will receive the amount every month till January next year.

The money was presented to them by Bagan Barisan Nasional coordinator David Chua, Sungai Puyu Barisan coordinator Sum Yoo Keong and Bagan Jermal Barisan coordinator Maggie Teh Lay Cheng.

Sum said the Bagan MCA applied for the funds after it was approached by the poor people.

Help for the disabled: Sum (blue shirt) handing over a cheque to Chuah Seng Guan (third left) during a cheque presentation at the Bagan MCA service centre in Butterworth. With them are Chua (right) and Teh (left).

“We have so far managed to obtain cash aid for 271 people which include single mothers, senior citizens and also the disabled,” he said after the presentation ceremony at the Bagan MCA service centre in Butterworth recently.

He said the 271 people, including the 23 recipients, would receive a total of RM429,000 ranging from RM135 to RM450 per person depending on their financial background.

Chua said the aid given to the needy showed that the Federal Government was committed towards helping the poor irrespective of race or religion.

“Claims by the state government that they had eradicated hardcore poverty in Penang is not true because thousands of people are still receiving financial aid from the Federal Government,” he said.

Teh urged single mothers, who are going through hard times, to approach her for help.

A recipient, Tan Seng Hock, 62, said he was grateful to the MCA for its assistance in securing the cash aid for him.

from: The Star. Metro North 10.08.2010
By M. SIVANANTHA SHARMA

Yen Yen: Use enactment against illegal operators along Batu Ferringhi

THE Tourism Ministry has asked the Penang Government to use the Personal Watercraft (Penang) Enactment 1999 against unlicensed traders and beach activity operators.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen urged the state authority to use the enactment effectively by granting the permit for the use of personal watercraft only to those who were eligible.

“Come out with guidelines for these operators to comply with, for instance, a well-trained instructor and security measures, before granting them the permit.

“The state government also has the power to arrest, search and seize any illegal beach activity as it is an offence for those who contravene any provision of this enactment,” she told a press conference at the Penang International Airport yesterday.

■ Firm action: Dr Ng showing Penang hotel representatives the Personal Watercraft (Penang) Enactment 1999 yesterday.

Dr Ng said the issuance of water sport activity permit came under the purview of the state government as the Tourism Ministry was only responsible for issuing licences for tour operators, tourist guides and tour buses.

“Tourism is a very fragile industry so I am pleading to the state authority to take immediate action and place enforcement officers along the beach to monitor the situation,” she said.

She said the Penang police would hold a meeting with all agencies involved today to study a long term solution against beach touts.

Dr Ng was commenting on reports of unruly beach touts who allegedly endangered hotel guests’ safety and harassed them to take up the beach activities.

“We have a total of 5.4 million tourists visiting Penang in 2009 and of those, 1.2 million of them visited Batu Ferringhi.

“Among them, 600,000 tourists visited the Batu Ferringhi beach, so this is a very serious matter,” she said.

About 70 unlicensed operators offered beach-related activities — buggy rides, horse riding, para-sailing and water scootering — along the 3km-long stretch (behind Golden Sands Resort and Parkroyal Penang) to both local and foreign tourists.

Penang police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob, who was also present at the press conference, said police would be monitoring the area on a daily basis to make sure there were no unlicensed traders and beach activity operators along the beach.

When contacted, state Local Government and Traffic Manage-ment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) had to demarcate the zone first for beach operators to run their business before using the enactment.

“We don’t want to go after them because they are there to make a living. It was an attitude issue when they started harassing and intimidating the hotel guests,” said Chow.

A joint operation by state and federal agencies, codenamed Ops Sepadu, will be taking place today to put a stop to the illegal activities which have been marring the image of the famous stretch for decades.

The operation will be led by the police and targeted to clear the stretch of DVD and counterfeit goods stalls, unlicensed entertainment and eatery joints as well as unauthorised water sport activities.

Among the agencies involved in the operation are MPPP, Customs Department, Immigration Depart-ment, Anti Drug Agency and Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry.

MCA: Resolve ‘Allah’ issue fast

PETALING JAYA: Christian groups want the issue over the use of the word Allah in Christian publications to be resolved as soon as possible, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

“The MCA presidential council held a dialogue with the Christian Federation of Malaysia last week and the non-governmental organisation felt there was a need for the issue to be resolved as soon as possible,” said Dr Chua in a press statement.

He clarified that the MCA did not share the same stand with the DAP on the call to lift the ban on the use of “Allah” by non-Muslims.

Dr Chua explained that the MCA was only voicing out the wish of the NGO because the issue had not been resolved since it was brought up last year.

“We are not making the same stand as DAP. We only want the Barisan Nasional government to resolve the issue as soon as possible so that it will not be exploited further by the Opposition,” said Dr Chua.

The MCA president was responding to a statement yesterday by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who said he did not understand why the MCA, as a component party of the Barisan, had joined the stand taken by DAP in calling for the ban on the use of the word Allah to be lifted.

“The (Barisan) component parties agreed it (the issue over the use of the word Allah) should not be debated any more, as it will heat up matters that have since cooled down.

“It is best not to start the issue again. Consider the interest of the public and not the interest of any specific group, be it a political or administrative group,” the Deputy Prime Minister told a press conference after chairing the Cabinet Committee on Youth Development meeting here yesterday.

He was commenting on calls by several parties that Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein lift the ban on the use of the word Allah in Christian publications.

Muhyiddin said it was best that all parties leave it to the courts to decide.

The Star - Wednesday August 4, 2010

Work more talk less, members told

WORK more and talk less — this was the message delivered by Penang MCA deputy chairman Datuk Dr Loh Hock Hun to members during his winding-up speech at the party’s state convention 2010 yesterday.

“All of you must work every single minute, as the more you talk the more mistakes are made.

“Therefore, work hard and gain back the confidence of the people. All this must be done in solidarity,” he said.

Earlier Penang MCA Youth head Eng Hiap Boon in his speech questioned if the Federal Government or the state government was ignorant when it came to the issue of illegal water sport operators.

All ears: About 600 MCA delegates attended the annual state MCA convention at Vistana Hotel in Penang yesterday.

“Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen had already told the state government to look into the issue during her visit to Penang Hill in March this year.”

He was commenting on Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s statement that the state government would enforce the Personal Watercraft (Penang) Enactment 1999 against illegal water sport operators only as a last resort, despite Dr Ng making an appeal to the state to adopt the enactment.

Penang Wanita chief Tan Cheng Liang, also in her winding-up speech, said divisional Wanita leaders were placing strong emphasis on nurturing Wanita members aged below 35.

She said it was vital to provide training to these group members earmarked as leaders of the next generation.

“With proper training, especially on eloquence, these members can effectively assist party candidates to face the opposition in the next general election.

“They can then bring into play in whatever they have learnt from such training,” she said, adding that only 3,600 of the 20,000 Penang Wanita members are aged below 35.

Tan also said each division must set up their own social networking sites such as Facebook or blogs.

“Worse come to worse, each member must at least have an e-mail account to enable easy communication among members,” she said, revealing that 60% of the state Wanita Committee members have e-mail accounts.

Meanwhile, state MCA Education bureau chief Goh Poh Chuan said UPSR must be retained, adding it was relevant to gauge the pupils after six years in school.

The move will also ensure that students are always on their toes and will not be slack in their studies.

The Star - Monday August 2, 2010

Expose DAP-led govt’s flaws, state MCA urged

PENANG MCA must expose the flaws in the DAP-led state government so the public will be aware of them.

This is the role of an effective Opposition who must constantly remind the Government of its need to fulfil its duties, state MCA liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said.

“As of now, there are several issues such as the illegal water sport activities in Batu Ferringhi and the hawkers’ issue in Bukit Mertajam which I heard people claim that when ‘DAP mari(comes), hawkers mati(die)’.

“I have pointed out to the state government that it should implement the Personal Watercraft (Penang) Enactment 1999 (when addressing water sports activities) but instead it passed the ball to me,” Dr Ng, who is also Tourism Minister, said.

She lashed out at the DAP-led government for only knowing how to be the Opposition.

“We need to remind it of its duty (as a Government),” she said.

She added that party members must have a “direct touch” with the people.

“If there are any issues where the Federal Ministers can help, we will do our best to get them.

“Eventually, the people will know the difference between who talks a lot but does not work and who talks a lot and works a lot,” she said.

Dr Ng said this after launching the Barisan Nasional Bayan Baru parliamentary service centre, which commences operations today as part of the coalition’s effort to serve constituents better.

Located near a Sungai Tiram coffee shop beside a Shell petrol station, the centre opens every Monday from 8pm until 10pm.

Bayan Baru MCA division chief Tan Lai Theng said the political scenario in the state had changed with the existence of a two-party (political) system and this had prompted all parties to work harder for the people.

“Barisan needs to change outdated policies in order to serve the people better.

“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia concept is receiving good response from the people here,” he said.

He also appealed to the other Barisan components in the area to work hand in hand to win back the constituency in the next General Election.

“I believe good service coupled with good leadership can lead to success,” he stressed.

The Star - Monday August 2, 2010