Thesun 2009-06-03 Page03 Only Poor Should Get Subsidies Says Federation

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| WEDNESDAY JUNE 3 2009

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Ministry starts probe into building collapse PENANG: The Human Resources Ministry, in collaboration with several other agencies, has launched an investigation into the collapse of the Jaya supermarket building in Section 14, Petaling Jaya, which killed seven people on Thursday. Its minister, Datuk S. Subramaniam, said officers from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), the Works Ministry and the local authority were expected to take at least two weeks to complete the investigation, which will cover various aspects. The investigation is also aimed at identifying whether there is negligence or failure to comply with any procedures on the part of the engineer, contractor or building owner, and includes the method used to demolish the building, he told reporters after opening an SME training fair here yesterday. Subramaniam said preliminary information showed that the party handling the demolition had began the work before obtaining approval from DOSH. “It is understood that they started the work immediately after getting the local authority’s approval when they were also required to get approval from DOSH before starting any work,” he said. He said DOSH would have advised the party on the safety features before the work to demolish the building began. If the investigation found negligence had occurred, the guilty party could be fined RM50,000 or jailed two years, or both, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. “Right now, we are waiting for the outcome of the investigation and will determine the action to be taken later,” he said. Subramaniam also said the ministry would amend the act to give the government power to take action against the professionals who failed to run their projects well. “We want the professionals such as engineers to be more responsible for their projects and comply with all the requirements, especially those involving safety mechanism issues,” he said. The amendment was still in the drafting stage and was expected to take a year to complete before it was tabled in Parliament, he said. – Bernama

Only poor should get subsidies, says federation by Tan Yi Liang [email protected]

Agency to help get rid of illegal jetties pg 6

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PETALING JAYA: Only the eligible should be given subsidies if the government wishes to stop wastage, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) vicepresident K. Koris said yesterday. “I have always emphasised that whatever subsidies the government wishes to extend must be confined to those eligible. They should not be across the board but only for the low income group. There must be certain criteria to ensure that only those people who are in need get the subsidies,” he said. Koris, who is also the

Stadium roof comes down Another view of the collapse roof of Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak, Kuala Terengganu. Sixty per cent of the roof at the stadium, built at a cost of RM270 million and opened just over a year ago, collapsed at 9.30am yesterday. There were no reports of casualties.

tions to establish Husam’s good name and to negotiate with the other defendants to settle the case, he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Paloh assemblyman Datuk Nozula Mat Diah apologised to PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa yesterday for making an “untruthful and baseless” report against him to the Anti-Corruption Agency in 2007. The notice of apology, published in Berita Harian, also stated that Nozula retracted all his allegations and expressed regret the claim had caused stress to Husam and his family and tarnished his image. Husam’s lawyer, Ahmad Shabrimi Mohamed Sidek, said in an e-mail to Bernama the public apology followed the filing of a RM6 million defamation suit by Husam against Nozula, Bukit Bunga assemblyman Mohd Adhan Kechik, and The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad in January 2008. His office would continue with further ac-

MALACCA: A customs superintendent and a police sergeant-major were separately charged in the sessions court here yesterday with accepting bribes last year. Yong Yoke Liang, 53, who is with the technical services division of the Malacca customs, pleaded not guilty to receiving RM3,000 from Teh Kim Tin on Jalan Bukit Baru on April 30 last year as an inducement not to issue him a compound for sales tax worth RM20,000 which Teh’s company, Ines Art Design, had to pay. Judge Ahmad Kamar Jamaluddin fixed Oct 28 and 29 for the trial. In the same court, Sgt-Maj Zulkaflee Razak, 54, the head of the Kesang police station, pleaded not guilty to receiving RM250 from scrap iron dealer Lim Chin Chye at a cabin in Kesang Pajak, Jasin, on May 7 last year to refrain from arresting Lim for allegedly buying stolen scrap iron. The trial was fixed for Sept 15. – Bernama

He said a mechanism should be put in place to ensure that subsidies only reached those who deserve them. “There must be a form of mechanism, and guidelines, to ensure that only those eligible receive the subsidies,” he said. Koris said supermarkets and hypermarkets could play a role when these people come with their ration cards. “There is also a CSR (corporate social responsibility) when the needy approach them, to distribute subsidised goods to people with the ration cards,” he said. Koris said an enforced ration card system could stop foreign exploitation of local subsidies. “There are foreigners who exploit the subsidies but the ration card system will stop this. There is a correcting mechanism to overcome this,” he said. He said it was a matter of political will for such a system to be implemented here. “At the end of the day, the whole subsidy system must be regulated by ways of enactment for the betterment of the country and government, so that the government can save billions of ringgit from the subsidies,” he said.

‘Crime rate down with intelligence policing’ by Charles Ramendran [email protected]

Two charged with taking bribes Paloh rep says sorry to Husam

Penang Consumers Protection Association president, was commenting on theSun’s front page report on Monday that the government may cease to subsidise flour, coarse and fine sugar, and standard loaf bread by the end of the year. He said wastage of government funds could be halted when subsidies were only given to those eligible to receive them. ‘Why must the government subsidise the very rich? Malaysians have been too spoon-fed with the subsidy mentality, thinking that it is the right of the people to be subsidised. It is wrong for the government to give subsidies to everyone,” he said. Koris said the ration card, which was used in India, was the best way to solve the subsidy woes of the government. “Only two to three million people need the subsidies and not 24 million. Why are you (the government) now claiming that you wasting so much money? If you want to give it to a vast number of people, it is a waste. If you address the two to three million with a bit of hard work, you can follow the Indian ration card system,” he said.

PETALING JAYA: Intelligence policing, a policy which emphasises acquiring information extensively in solving police cases, has helped to reduce crimes by 4% nationwide. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said yesterday the case-solving by the police has improved since the force implemented the policy of roping in all police departments to liaise with one another in handling a given case. The Special Branch, which played a major role in fighting the communists during the Emergency, has again become active under the policy. Musa, who was at Sri Pentas in Bandar Utama to launch TV9’s fourth season of the police drama series Akademi Polis, said the police had earned praises from Interpol for their skills and ability in handling serious crime cases and terrorism. He said the police force had among the highest discipline levels in the world and this was one of the reasons why it was sought for peace-keeping duties in countries going through war or unrest.

“Our personnel are committed and are of high standards but every basket of fruit will have rotten ones in them and these are the ones who will not be spared of stern action,” he said. Musa said the TV series or programmes on the police have helped create awareness on how the police function. He said this in turn will help draw youth to join the force. “People sometimes have the misconception that police recruits will be bullied during training but this is not the case. They are not bullied but put through a strict regiment to ensure they are disciplined to the highest standards so they know how to control themselves in all aspect when they are faced with trying situations. “The life of a police personnel is a tough one. We have to face all kinds of situations including being slandered and facing all sorts of allegations,” he said. He hoped more non-Malays would join the rank-and-file in the force. “The number of nonMalay applicants for rank-and-file positions is small. However, non-Malays seem to have responded very well to recruitment of officers.”