Thesun 2009-05-04 Page06 Selangor Braces For Hazy Conditions

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theSun

| MONDAY MAY 4 2009

news without borders

Selangor braces for hazy conditions by Maria J. Dass [email protected]

The Bukit Jambul Country Club which has been in operation for more than 20 years.

BJCC to be on par with world standards by Opalyn Mok

Outsourcing the operations and management of the club may position Penang as a golfing destination to attract tourists and improve the business management of the club in line with the state’s vision of adopting an international approach.” – Lim Guan Eng

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GEORGE TOWN: The management and operations of the 25year-old Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) has been opened for international tender in a state initiative to give the golf course an international image. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, in announcing this at a press conference at the club yesterday, said a consultant appointed to study ways to improve the golf course had recommended that the operations and management of the club be outsourced to improve its image and financial performance. “We are asking all interested parties, including international golf management companies, to submit proposals,” he said. “We want to see how much they can invest in this when they submit their tenders.” Lim said golf tourism had great business potential and should be tapped for revenue. Outsourcing would thus improve the club’s existing facilities, he said. “We are tight for funds, that’s why we are creating a publicprivate partnership for this by opening an international tender for any company, inside or outside of Malaysia, to submit its proposal.” The club has been in operation for more than two decades and

many of its facilities have not been upgraded to international golf course standard. Last year, Island Golf Properties Bhd (IGP), which manages and operates the BJCC, appointed a consultant to study ways to improve the club and its golf course. “Outsourcing the operations and management of the club may position Penang as a golfing destination to attract tourists and improve the business management of the club in line with the state’s vision of adopting an international approach,” Lim said. BJCC is a proprietary club owned by IGP, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Penang Development Corporation. The tender period for submission of proposal expires on Aug 1.

PETALING JAYA: Selangor has started monitoring open burning in the state in anticipation of a dry spell expected to continue until September. Last week, the Meteorological Department issued a warning of dry weather from June to September. There are concerns over a return of hazy conditions due to open burning and forest fires as a result of the dry spell. “A few hotspots were detected in Klang three weeks ago,” Selangor state executive councillor for environment, tourism and consumer affairs Elizabeth Wong said. “The cause of the fires was a mix of natural causes due to the dry weather and open burning in Johan Setia,” she said, adding that efforts to put the fires out had been ongoing for a week. “We are working doubly hard to monitor the areas that are prone to forest fires and open burning.

“In areas like Sepang, which is a hotspot zone, there is a lot private property and it is difficult to send people into these properties to monitor open burning, but we have issued a warning to owners to take care of their lots.” Wong said these fires were mostly started by squatters on the land. “We are also bracing for the trans-boundary haze from Indonesia as a result of dry weather in the region but there is very little we can do about this,” she said. On Wednesday, the environment ministers of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand met in Bandar Seri Begawan to discuss measures to manage the expected transboundary haze. An increase in the number of hotspots is anticipated and vigilance is therefore crucial, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Unggah. He said information on detected hotspots will be shared among the countries.

Union wants rep for Klang port authority PETALING JAYA: The Union of Employees of Port Ancillary Services Suppliers (Unepass) wants the transport minister to appoint a representative for the 20,000 employees of the Klang Port Authority Board (KPA). A. Balasubramaniam, who is Unepass secretary and vicepresident of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress, said in a statement yesterday it is disappointing that the minister had failed to appoint a representative. He said Unepass had written to the minister two weeks ago to ask why the position had been left vacant since June last year, when the previous representative’s term

had not been extended. “There are representatives from the government, employers and political parties. Why is there no one who can speak on behalf of the 20,000 workers?” he asked. “We urge the minister to appoint a workers’ representative to the board so that everyone involved in the port’s operations has a voice and we can all work in a truly tripartite way.” Balasubramaniam said the voice of the worker is important to safeguard the interests and welfare of the employee. MCA’s Datuk Lee Hwa Beng is current chairman of the KPA.

Selangor Sultan stable after heart surgery PETALING JAYA: The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, is in stable condition after open heart surgery at the Stanford University Medical Centre in Palo Alto, California. In a statement, the sultan’s private aide, Kelvin Ong, said the 10-hour operation involved the repair and not replacement of a leaking valve for mitral regurgitation, which was decided by surgeons during the procedure. The surgical team was led by the

centre’s Prof Dr Craig Miller and Prof Dr Alan Yeung. Ong said the Sultan, 63, was recovering at the centre’s intensive care unit and doctors had advised a strict “no-visitors” policy. Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya specialist doctor and personal physician to the Sultan, Datuk Dr Anuar Masduki, was given special permission to be present during the surgery, Ong said.

He said the Sultan had, before surgery, asked him to thank all Malaysians, especially the people of Selangor, for their kind thoughts and prayers. He has been advised to rest and recuperate for three weeks in hospital. Surgery for mitral valve regurgitation is recommended when the ejection fraction – a measurement of the heart’s efficiency – drops below 60% and/or the left ventricle is larger than 40mm at rest.

Chua thanks BN leaders for their confidence in him Press Digest by Kong See Hoh

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MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has thanked the prime minister and other Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders for being confident that he will not cross over to Pakatan Rakyat (PR). But he will not hesitate to quit MCA if he finds that he no longer has “the political space and platform to serve the people”, Sin Chew Daily quoted

him as saying yesterday. Speaking to the press after attending a temple function in Johor Baru on Saturday night, Chua said he would not disappoint the people and party members who had given him a mandate, especially party central delegates who had supported him. Also present were several of his close allies, including Pulai Sebatang assemblyman Tee Siew Kiong and Pulai MCA division chief Low Teh Hian. Chua said that although he had limited political space within the MCA, he still placed the interests of

the party and BN above all else, having been with the party for 25 years. He urged others not to speculate on his actions. Asked if he had come under pressure from the party’s top leadership over talk of him jumping ship, Chua said there were bound to be conflicts in any political party, but he had chosen to remain in MCA because of the mandate given to him. Talk of Chua at a political crossroads has been the subject of bloggers for some time, but his admission in an interview with online news portal The Nut Graph on Thursday that the PR

was courting him has created a buzz. Chua has posted the Chinese version of the interview on his blog. On Saturday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak dismissed talk of Chua joining the Opposition, asking: “Who said that? I just saw him two days ago. There is nothing like that”. Najib said he believed Chua would remain a BN stalwart. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said he would be disappointed if Chua crossed over. He said the former health minister

was a leader who knew the struggles of the BN well. Hishammuddin said he would contact Chua and his son Tee Yong, the Lapis MP, to learn their position better. Meanwhile, MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat expressed surprise at reports of PR courting Chua and Tee Yong, but declined to comment when approached by reporters in Pagoh, Muar, where Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was making his first official visit as deputy prime minister. Muhyiddin also parried questions on Chua.