Parti KeADiLan Rakyat - People's Justice Party - 人民公正黨

in the news (English)

Solving the Aging Problem
thestar - October 15, 2008

WEEKEND car mart, car boot sale or a pedestrian mall a la the Petaling Street Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur?

These are some of the suggestions from traders and residents of the PJ Old Town on how to rejuvenate the city’s oldest township.
Acknowledging the area’s “ageing problems”, the city’s elected representatives are planning and implementing the necessary remedial measures while gathering public opinion.

Petaling Jaya Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee and Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha are all committed to the regeneration process of the PJ Old Town.
The dilemma is that the residents and traders want their cake and eat it at the same time €“ they want modern development for the township but are not willing to sacrifice its old charm serenity.

Hee’s immediate concern is the renewal of the area’s leasehold land titles of 60 years that will expire soon.
He is trying hard to get the lease extended to 99 years.

The extended land lease will certainly attract business opportunities as there are proposals to convert some of the residential units facing main roads to commercial lots.
Land shortage is a hindrance to development so the conversion should bring a new lease of life to the old township.

“We are working carefully on this, though. Not everyone welcomes the idea of turning residential lots into commercial units, so this move is still being reviewed,” Hee said.
Hee plans to request that the next budget of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) includes allocations for the upgrading of the PJ Old Town wet market and for a green lung equipped with recreational facilities for senior citizens.
Illegal hawkers and factories in the area will also be relocated to suitable locations to benefit all.

Celebrating in true Malaysian Spirits
YIP YOKE TENG From STAR Metro - September 25, 2008

PETALING Jaya Old Town residents demonstrated the true spirit of a multi-racial society when they broke fast and celebrated the Lantern Festival together with Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives recently.With them at the event held at the PJ Old Town Food Court were PJ Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee and Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha.
The new leaders also pledged to bring changes to the food court that had lost the shine of its glory days. All together now: Children having a gala time during the procession after breaking fast. They also promised reforms in the administrative systems as they drew attention to the significance of the mooncake, which was used during the Yuan Dynasty to disseminate messages on plans to topple the then oppressive Mongolian government.

"Occasions like this are a good show of the harmonious society peculiar to Malaysia, where people of different races and religions progress together amidst mutual respect and understanding," said Hee.

Hee also called for the release of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin and the five Hindraf leaders, as well as the abolition of the ISA, the Sedition Act and the Emergency Ordinance to uphold freedom in the country.Haniza said her service centre was working together with the Petaling Jaya City Council to bring about better lives for the hawkers.

"We are working towards issuing as many licences as possible to the hawkers."We understand that all are only trying to make a living, especially in this time when the world faces an economic slowdown and our country cannot avoid its impact," she said.
She said she was also looking into other problems in this older parts of Petaling Jaya, including traffic congestion.
Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee said he remembered the good old days of tucking into scrumptious local favourites at the food court when he was a child.He said efforts to revive the food court's popularity were underway. Among the issues noted were cleanliness, lighting, traffic flow and licensing."We are meeting with the stake holders to come out with a remedy that will benefit all," he added.

Dewan Rakyat: Cycling to make a statement
NST Online - 24/6/2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Four opposition members of the parliament yesterday travelled in their chauffeur-driven cars to Bank Negara, and then mounted bicycles for a 3km ride to Parliament.
Wearing their crisp and well-ironed shirts, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat quartet - N. Gobalakrishan (Padang Serai), Tian Chua (Batu), Zulkifli Nordin (Kulim Bandar Baru) and Hee Loy Sian (PJ Selatan) - rode the hardly-used and rusty bicycles, some with balding tyres, to make a political statement against the recent fuel price hikes.

The MPs cycled the short distance while being escorted by their aides who drove their cars.
Some 20 policemen stationed to observe their antics at their starting point at SRK Sultan Hishamuddin Alam Shah next to Padang Merbuk were not amused.
The policemen stationed there hardly batted their eyelids when the quartet started their short journey at about 9.30am.
Speaking to a mob of reporters upon arrival at Parliament 10 minutes later, Tian Chua said their aim was to understand the difficulties faced by the people due to the spike in fuel prices.
"Here we challenge the Barisan Nasional MPs to try and see for themselves. We hope this will spark more debates on more issues that directly affect the people."

YouTube Link

Hee: Aims to make PJS a comfortable place to live in.

Roy promises to tackle traffic problems in PJS
thestar Online by Jade Chan - 23/6/2008

PETALING Jaya Selatan (PJS) MP Hee Loy Sian wants to make himself more approachable to his constituents; hence he prefers being called “Hee” or “Roy” and tries to attend as many functions as he can.

“I spend a lot of my time, especially weekends, to meet the constituents, attend events organised by them and help solve their problems.”
Until the new councillors for the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) are sworn in, Hee has only been able to solve minor problems that did not need the councillors’ approval.

“These included settling some rubbish-clearing issues and arranging a dialogue between the developer, Syabas and low-cost flats and apartment residents in Taman Medan on how they can benefit from the free water plan offered by the Selangor state government.
“Most of these flats use bulk meters and aren’t entitled to the free water. I explained the importance of installing individual meters, the cost involved and the need for the residents to settle their earlier bills.
“The residents were responsive and the developer is considering the idea of using the residents’ deposit to pay for the installation of the individual meters.”

Hee said: “It’s impossible to solve problems in the PJ area within 100 days. They need proper planning and can only be solved in one or two years.”
His priority would be to address the traffic congestion and high crime rate problems, to make PJS a comfortable place to live in.
“The traffic congestion at the Rothmans Roundabout and Jalan Othman Roundabout are particularly bad. A short-term solution would be to construct traffic lights at the roundabouts, which MBPJ has agreed to in principle. I’m targeting to have the traffic lights installed within three months.
“A long-term solution is to have a flyover built at each roundabout. The flyovers will link Jalan Semangat to the Sprint Highway, and Jalan Gasing to Old Klang Road respectively.
“This proposal is already in the Petaling Jaya Local Draft Plan 2 (RTPJ2), with funds coming under the Federal Government,” said Hee.
On the high crime rate issue, he said that he has had a discussion with the police to have more CCTVs installed, increase patrolling and have more police beat bases. Hee is also looking into issues on hawkers’ licenses, the lack of Chinese schools in PJS, and the state of PJS markets.

Government compensates LDP operator RM630m
TheEDGEDaily by Pauline Puah - 23-05-2008

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has paid RM630.54 million in compensation to the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong concessionaire over the past nine years, Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said yesterday.

Answering a question from Hee Loy Sian (Petaling Jaya Selatan-PKR), he said from 1999 to December 2006, the government paid some RM480.54 million in compensation to the toll operator.
From 1999, Class 1 vehicles (cars) were only charged RM1 though according to the concession agreement it should be RM1.50.
"From Jan 1 last year, the government paid another RM150 million to the concessionaire after revising the toll charge to RM1.60 when it should have been RM2.10 according to the concession agreement,” he said.

As for the New Pantai Expressway, Mohd Zin said the government has not paid any compensation as the toll rates have not been restructured.
On complaints that drivers were still caught in traffic snarls on the LDP despite having to pay toll, he said the government was considering incentives to encourage motorists to travel during off-peak hours.

“If they leave earlier and travel before the peak hours they will be given a rebate,” he said.
Another alternative was for the government to build a new alignment for the highway, Mohd Zin added.

“However, it will involve very high costs as it would include land acquisition. The people have to eventually pay for the high costs involved,” he said.
He said the government was also looking into upgrading the technology of Touch N Go like those in Japan, Korea and Australia where micro system instead of infra red system is used.
Mohd Zin said the LDP has led to the mushrooming of developments around the area and this added to the traffic congestion.

He also said the study on toll concessions would be completed within three months and would be referred to the cabinet upon completion.

PM: No protectionism for Proton anymore
thestar online - Wednesday May 14, 2008

THE Government has stopped practising the protective policy towards national carmaker Proton, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
He said this was to increase the automotive industry’s competitiveness in the country.

The Government has implemented various measures such as giving incentives and grants, technical training through international strategic partnership, which also benefit the entire industry, including Proton and Perodua.

"All car manufacturers whether they are local, foreign or joint-venture companies get to enjoy the Industrial Adjustment Fund, which exempts excise payment to a particular car model depending on the manufacturer’s investment in Malaysia," he said in a written reply to Hee Loy Sian (PKR – Petaling Jaya Selatan).

Abdullah also said that the Government was gradually allowing more liberalisation in the industry through free trade agreements.
“For example, under the Asean Common Effective Preferential Tariff, import duties for completely built-up vehicles have been reduced to 5% on Jan 1, 2007, and completely knocked-down vehicles are exempted from import duties,” he said.

Questions from MPs range from tenders to plans for UM
PETALING JAYA: The Finance Minister will be asked in Parliament about the Government’s commitment in carrying out open tenders as stated by the Prime Minister and to justify why certain RM10mil projects were still carried out via closed tenders.

The question, filed by the new Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR – Permatang Pauh), is among those listed for Question Time set to be telecast live over television on Wednesday when the Dewan Rakyat convenes tomorrow.
Malaysians are eagerly waiting for the start of the new Parliament session, to see how their MPs, many new, will perform following the general elections, which have been described as a “political tsunami.”

Hamim Samuri’s (BN – Ledang) question, which is also among the first few, seeks a reply from the Information Ministry on the latest development concerning blogging and how the ministry plans to monitor blogsites.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur) directs another query to the Prime Minister, asking him to draw up 10 guidelines in his mission to reform the country in the next 12 months, to show that he is aware of the people’s wishes following the elections.

An interesting question is from Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN – Batu Pahat) who wants the Prime Minister to state whether in Malaysia’s context, a “simple majority” government was considered weak and could affect the people’s unity, foreign investment and efforts to make Malaysia a developed nation.

Also listed in the Order Paper is a question concerning the controversial Bukit Gasing housing development project, filed by Hee Loy Sian (PKR – PJ Selatan) who wants to know why the City Hall had not taken steps to have a dialogue with residents, noting that the development could cause landslides and chronic damage to the environment.

“Why did the project go on although there was a court order ordering it to stop? ” he asks the Federal Territories Minister.

Khairy Jamaluddin’s (BN – Rembau) question is for the Human Resources Minister on whether state governments had the jurisdiction to impose levy and set the minimum salary for foreign workers.

Also awaiting the Prime Minister’s reply is Fong Po Kuan (DAP – Batu Gajah) who wants to know if the premier is facing any difficulties in appointing a Finance Minister.

M. Manogaran (DAP – Teluk Intan) directs his question to the Education Minister on plans to move the iconic Universiti Malaya to another site.
If so, what is the purpose? What will actually happen to the existing site?

High Court Extends Injunction
We have moral support from 6 elected representatives at High Court hearing
Kuala Lumpur, 23rd. April 2008 - More than 50 Bukit Gasing residents turned up at the High Court hearing today.
Also present were the elected representatives from DAP and PKR. Sensing the media spotlight and intense public interest in this very controversial case (DBKL and the Developer were trying to set aside the ’stop work’ stay order) the judge initially sought to hear the case in chambers.

The respondents requested for a few days to review the new affidavits submitted by our lawyers, and the judge fixed a new hearing date - 25th April (Friday) at 3pm.
On Friday the judge will decide if the stay order will be extended further, until a decision can be arrived at on the matter of DBKL granting us the Public Hearing.

MPs & ADUN present at the court hearing:
YB Elizebeth Wong; Selangor Exco / Bukit Lanjan State Assemblyman
YB Nurul Izzah Anwar; MP Lembah Pantai
YB Hee Loy Sian; MP PJ Selatan
YB Sivarasa Rasiah; MP Subang
YB Tian Chua; MP Batu
YB Edward Lee - Bukit Gasing State Assemblyman

Hee (right) with Elizabeth Wong (left) and other party members whlie campaigning for the March 8 polls.

Just call me Roy, not YB
NST - Sheila Sri Priya

PETALING JAYA: Just call me Roy! This is the request of Petaling Jaya Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian to the public.

"We should let the public call us by our names when we meet them.
"We could call our fellow MPs and state assemblymen "saudara or saudari" and perhaps on formal occasions we could be addressed as 'Yang Berhormat'.
"This is to ensure that the public will find it easier and more comfortable talking to us.

"I personally prefer to be called by my name or Roy," said Hee.
Hee, 38, was born in Taiping, Perak and lived in Bagan Serai until he was 12.
"Later my family moved to Selama in Kedah. It is 40km from Kulim.
"Now my friends tease me by claiming that Selama has been made famous by me during the election campaigning and the media highlighting it.

"I had my primary education at SRK Tiong Wah. For my secondary schooling, I went to SM Selama and SM Dato Hj. Hussein. I did my Upper Six at King Edward, Taiping."
He enrolled at Universiti Malaya in 1991 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in physics.
"After my graduation, I was hired as a project engineer in an air-conditioning company. Now I have formed a company with a partner," said Hee.

Q: What were your favourite subjects in school?
A: They were maths and science.

Q: Why did you choose to represent Parti Keadilan Rakyat?
A: I always wanted to see a change in the country's politics as well as to be involved in a political party which consists of all races.

Q: What are the languages/dialects that you converse in?
A: I speak Hakka, Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Mandarin, Kedah Malay and English, seven in total.

Q: What are your hobbies and the things you love doing?
A: I love reading, especially newspapers, Chinese history. Anything related to politics interests me the most.

I love football and my favourite team is Liverpool. In my teen years I never missed watching English Premier League matches, and I will stay awake all night to catch them. Somehow life took a turn after my involvement in politics when I have to skip watching football matches.

I also love hiking, and I have climbed more than 10 mountains in Malaysia. Among them are Gunung Tahan, Korbu, Yong Belar, Gayung, Charmar, Ulu Sepat, Yong Yap, Irau, Batu Putih and Gunung Kinabalu.

My favourite is Mount Charmar because it's a virgin mountain, there are no footways to guide you to the peak and you will need the natives' assistance to get to the top. And if you get lucky you will be able to see tiger's footprints or the tiger itself. It's a five-day journey... it takes three days to get up the mountain and another two days to come down.

Q: What's your favourite food?
A: I love Indian food, especially curry. Fish curry and Indian-style fried vegetables are my favourites.

Q: Please share your overseas travelling experience.
A: I travel almost every year and I have gone around Europe, South Korea and other countries. My favourite is New Zealand. It is because of the country's serene landscape as well as its less hectic lifestyle.

Q: What's your favourite radio station?
A: The local radio station Light and Easy, maybe because I do not like anything that is too loud. In general I love music.

Q: Tell us something about your wife.
A: She's my webmaster and she's in charge of updating my blog. We have been married for four years but I have known her since 1996.

Q: Anything interesting about your family?
A: I had relatives detained under the Internal Security Act because they were suspected of being involved with communists. But they were not. Some of my aunties and uncles spent nine to 15 years in prison without a trial.

It's a pity how some wasted their young adult life because of this law. My relatives had to start their lives all over again when they got out of detention. Most of them couldn't find jobs, so they ventured into business.

Q: How was March 8 (election day) for you?
A: At 7.30pm I got the news that I had won, but it was only at 4.30am the next day that the official result was announced. The first thing I did on March 9 was to rush to all the markets in Petaling Jaya's Old Town, SS17 and SS14 to thank the public.

They were the pillars behind my victory and I would like to thank each and every one of them and not forgetting my ex-Universiti Malaya friends and the folk from my hometown who contributed money and supported me during my campaign.

Q: What is the one thing you would like to do in your lifetime?
A: As I love travelling, I have this dream to live with the natives of Africa. I want to be able to experience their native lifestyle. Somehow I love to gain new experiences of different communities around the globe.

Q: What political news will shock you the most?
A: That the once-opposition parties -- PAS, DAP and PKR -- are the ruling party in Malaysia. It's a dream which is possible with hard work, unity and determination.

Fruitful meeting for new PJ representatives
THE newly elected Petaling Jaya representatives were all smiles when they walked out of the room after their first meeting with the mayor and the heads of departments of the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MBPJ).
The representatives, who discussed issues on planning, maintenance and public complaints, were satisfied with the outcome of the discussion and happy that complaints were dealt with efficiently.
“It was a fruitful discussion and we can foresee further meetings like this so that other issues can be looked into.
“This is a good start and we intend to keep things this way,” Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong said.
Positive results: Lee, Sivarasa, Wong and Hee speaking after the meeting.

“We also informed MBPJ that our new state government is run on the basis of greater transparency and that is something we expect to see from the local council in terms of awarding contracts, tenders and development projects,” she added.
MBPJ responded positively to the expectations of the new state government.
“They had no problem with that and are willing to work on providing better information to the public to promote transparency.
“Our new state government is built on a platform of more governance with zero-tolerance on corruption,” Subang MP R. Sivarasa said.

The meet with MBPJ was also a chance for the newly elected representatives to understand the workings of the council but Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee stressed that the new board of councillors must be put in place as soon as possible to bring policy-making into effect.

“All the representatives will be discussing the structure of councillor appointments.
“It will not be an arbitrary decision made by the state exco but something agreed to by all,” Wong said.
“After the new councillors have been appointed, changes can then take place and I am sure that there will be changes in the management and administration of the council to promote efficiency,” Sivarasa said.

The representatives also pledged to take pro-active measures to create a win-win situation for residents and the MBPJ.
“Transparency keeps residents in the loop so that they know what is happening and not just point fingers at the council,” Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Mohamed Talha said.

The representatives who were present at the meeting were PJU MP Tony Pua, PJS MP Hee Loy Sian, Sivarasa, Lee, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PKR – Seri Setia), Haniza, Dr Cheah Wing Yin (DAP – Damansara Utama), Lau Weng San (DAP – Kampung Tunku), Wong and Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim (PKR – Kota Damansara).

Thank you: Hee (2nd from left) shaking hands with a trader at the PJ Old Town. With him are Haniza (left) and Lee (3rd from left).

No time to rest for newly elected reps
By JADE CHAN

ONE OF the first things the new PJ Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian and Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Mohamed Talha did after winning in the general election is set up their service centres.
I'll be working together with Hee to run our service centres so that we'll be more accessible to the people. They can come to our centres to make a complaint or seek our help, said Haniza.

Hee, Haniza and Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee had also gone on a walkabout at the PJ Old Town market at Jalan Othman to thank the constituents for their support and address the issues the traders are facing.

“We would like to make the market's environment more conducive for the traders and customers,” said Lee.
“Some of the complaints we received from traders include irregular water and electricity supply, and foreign workers being harassed by the authorities.”

We'll check if the allegations that the foreign workers are here without a working permit are true, or if the authorities have other reasons for harassing them,” said Haniza.
The traders also complained about the maintenance of the building and its facilities, and that there are illegal traders who ply their businesses during the weekends.
“Meanwhile, the hawkers at the nearby food court complained about the thefts of their properties like cooking utensils and gas cylinders, due to the inadequate security measures.

Lee said that he and Haniza would be working closely to address the issues to make the market a nice and better place to shop.

We're also proposing that the markets at the PJ Old Town, Section 17 and Section 14 be upgraded with better facilities and renovated to make them more modern,” said Hee.
We'll ask the town council (Petaling Jaya City Council) and engineers to study the possibility of having the markets upgraded.