Happy Birthday, Malaysia

Tomorrow, we will celebrate our 51st year of nationhood. Predictably, this year's national day celebration will be another fun-filled and parade-thronged day as always.

However, I don't see our national flags fluttering from houses to shops in KL as before. Probably, the people, after DBKL, are cutting back on expenses.

To promote the patriotic fervour among the people, I forked out from my own coffer to buy various sizes of "Jalur Gemilang" to be distributed freely in my Parliamentary constituency, Segambut.

This morning, I gave away freely some twenty large National flags to the businessmen in Taman City, Segambut. Businessmen from all races received it with utmost delight, many of them immediately put up the flags in front of their outlets.

I started to feel the patriotic fervour among the people. Let's just wish the celebration tomorrow at Dataran Merdeka would not be different this year.

Budget subsidy

The 2009 national budget appears to subsidies the entire nation. Is it glad tidings?

I doubt so. How is the government affording the steps increase of subsidies?

Where would the money come from?

It's indisputable that our current economic is stagnant if not failing. Global wise in near future doesn't look so good too.

My question to Malaysians: What will you gain if our economic plummet?


Lim Lip Eng
DAP MP for Segambut
29/8/2008

Draft Kuala Lumpur 2020 City Plan is flawed

The Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act 2001 [TCPA(A)] [Act A1129] signed by the then minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting had come into operation in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur as of March 1, 2002 by virtue of the gazette which reads as follows: ‘‘In exercising the powers conferred by subsection 1(5) of the TCPA (A) 2001, the minister appoints March 1, 2002 as the date on which the Act comes into operation in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur’’.

Sections 7 and 11A of the TCPA (A) 2001 say that the National Physical Plan 2005/2006 (signed by both the then minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah) has to be implemented, however, KL City Hall had failed to do so in Draft Kuala Lumpur 2020 City Plan in particularly in disobeying the requirement for 25 persons per hectare under the National Physical Plan.

The draft plan is also inconsistent with the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 [KLSP 2020] as the objective of KLSP 2020 is to decentralize development and population density and to spread out development equally in Peninsular Malaysia.

Hence under the law, Draft Kuala Lumpur 2020 City Plan is both ultra-vires and illegal.
However, it has yet to be tested in the court of law.


Lim Lip Eng
DAP MP for Segambut
28/8/2008

Pindaan Akta Suhakam diteliti

Berita Harian - Kerajaan kaji beri lebih kuasa pastikan suruhanjaya kekal penarafan status A

KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan akan meneliti keperluan meminda Akta Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Suhakam) 1999 untuk memberi lebih kuasa kepada badan itu dalam usaha meningkatkan dan mempromosi hak asasi manusia di negara ini.

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, berkata langkah itu bagi memastikan Suhakam sebagai Institusi Hak Asasi Kebangsaan terus berada pada status A seperti yang diiktiraf Jawatankuasa Pemantau Antarabangsa Institusi Kebangsaan untuk Mempromosi dan Melindungi Hak Asasi Manusia (ICC).

Beliau berkata, pada 2006, ICC memutuskan negara yang diberi status A akan dinilai semula dan Suhakam sudah menyerahkan laporan mengenai kedudukannya kepada ICC pada Disember 2007.

"Berdasarkan laporan itu, ICC berpendapat Suhakam tidak menepati Prinsip Paris sepenuhnya dan mengesyorkan taraf Suhakam diturunkan daripada status A kepada B.

"Namun begitu, Suhakam masih berada pada kedudukan status A dan sudah diberi tempoh sehingga April 2009 untuk mencapai standard yang ditetapkan ICC," katanya menjawab soalan bertulis Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) yang ingin mengetahui alasan ICC terhadap perkara itu.

Baru-baru ini, ICC memberi tempoh setahun kepada Suhakam memberi jawapan bertulis kerana tidak mengikut Prinsip Paris yang akan menyebabkannya diturunkan gred daripada A kepada B.

ICC dilaporkan tidak berpuas hati terhadap beberapa isu seperti tempoh perkhidmatan anggota Suhakam yang hanya dua tahun dan kekurangan peruntukan dalam Akta Suhakam 1999 yang memastikan anggotanya diambil daripada pelbagai bidang berkaitan hak asasi manusia.

Abdullah berkata, pada 23 Julai lalu, Suhakam bersama-sama Kementerian Luar, Jabatan Peguam Negara dan Bahagian Hal Ehwal Undang-Undang mengadakan mesyuarat bagi membincangkan kaedah terbaik memastikan Suhakam terus berada pada status A.

"Antara cadangan yang dibangkitkan Suhakam adalah pindaan akta dan beberapa keputusan dasar yang akan memberikan kebebasan kepada Suhakam menjalankan fungsinya tanpa terikat dengan mana-mana panduan. Bagaimanapun, perkara ini masih pada peringkat kajian dan penelitian," katanya.

Abdullah memberi jaminan kerajaan akan mengambil langkah sewajarnya bagi memastikan Suhakam terus berada pada status A agar Malaysia lebih dihormati masyarakat antarabangsa.
sebagai negara yang bebas dan merdeka serta hak asasi rakyat terpelihara

My High School Idol

Recently the Residents’ Association of Bukit Damansara and I had a joint press conference to disclose the blatant breach of rules by a development project there and despite numerous complaints in writing were made to DBKL for years, the developer still managed to have got all approvals from the relevant authorities.

The committees of the residents’ association consist of Tan Sri and Datos. We had the press conference in a huge bungalow which has a swimming pool. Quite a number of residents turn out in support of us.

Yet right after the press conference, reporters and photographers swamped around a resident instead of the chairman, committees or me.

I too tried to get near that resident for a photo shot which she graciously obliged.

She is none other than SHEILA MAJID my high school idol.

Lim Lip Eng
DAP MP for Segambut
13/8/2008