squeak. speak. roar!

… you really wish he didn’t.

New toll rates by eight concessionaires from Jan 1

IPOH: Malaysians can expect a 10% increase in toll rates, with eight concessionaires raising their charges from Jan 1 next year, said Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.

However, he said the ministry was working on several proposals to spread part of the cost to the concessionaires and the Government.

“Rather than burden the people, we want to divide the load so the companies carry a bit and the people a bit.

“I will ask the Government how it can help in this situation,” he told reporters after launching a book on the Yayasan Strategik Sosial’s Plus 8 project here yesterday.

Asked how much would the toll hikes actually involve, Samy Vellu said the agreement had stated a 10% increase.

“I have submitted a preliminary proposal and explained to the Cabinet what it would actually cost, what the reaction of people will be, what we can do as a government, what the concessionaires can do as responsible companies and what else can be done,” he said.

I guess it was only natural. It’s only logical that this accompanies the potential petrol hike next year eh?

Ipoh-Lumut Highway needs another RM100m: Samy

BOTA: An additional RM100mil is needed to complete the long overdue Ipoh-Lumut Highway, which is now expected to be ready by early next year.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the additional funds were required to meet with some 30% of requests made by residents living along the highway.

Among the requests, he said, were the construction of more flyovers, traffic lights and street lamps.

“If we do not accommodate, these requests will go on for the rest of our lives.

“We cannot give in 100% but we will try to make sure that the highway is acceptable to everyone,” he told reporters Monday after a site visit to the new Sungai Perak bridge along the highway here, about 50km from Ipoh.

“A very basic flyover itself costs about RM17.5mil,” he said, adding that the highway project was initially fixed at RM175mil.

He also pointed out that residents wanted traffic lights that could detect the presence of vehicles.

“For example, if there are no cars coming from a side road, the traffic lights will turn green for motorists along the highway,” he said.

On the street lamps, Samy Vellu said that the request was at a 4km stretch along the highway near the new Seri Iskandar township.

He added that he would submit the proposal for extra funds to the Cabinet and the Second Finance Minister for approval.

On the request by highway contractor Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd for more time to complete the job, Samy Vellu said his ministry was willing to give the company another three months.

“I am happy that 90.19% of the highway is completed. However, I am not confident that it can be completed by the Nov 30 deadline this year,” he said.

The reason for the delay, said Samy Vellu, was because of the various basic amenities such as cables and water and gas pipes that had to be moved.

“To move each of the amenities costs about RM6mil so that’s why I have no objection to extending the deadline. The highway should be ready by early next year,” he said.

Not only does the project need more money, it needs more time. Any Perak readers out there care to shed light on this matter because I don’t believe my Works Minister?

And traffic lights … for motorists?? Have you seen the way motorists drive these days? They don’t care about traffic lights! Traffic lights are meant to be beaten by them. I am actually scared for junctions because there have been numerous times where a motorcyclist (or a group of them) came out of nowhere or beating the red light and almost ran into me. They don’t bother driving on the left anymore. They drive anywhere and at any speed and pay you no heed.

And if it’s the countdown-kind of traffic light, we all know what the motorists are going to use them for. Those bloody Mat Rempits will use them like MotoGP Grand Prix, that’s what. More money means from tax payerslah, what else?

Even more rubbish news. Are you guys ready to see your money go to “police constables equipped with hand-held computers, micro cameras fitted into walkie-talkies and greater use of forensic tools” ?

Police plan high-tech beef-up to fight crime

KUALA LUMPUR: Police constables equipped with hand-held computers, micro cameras fitted into walkie-talkies and greater use of forensic tools – these will be part of a massive plan to beef up the force.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said police wanted to use high-tech devices and set up a network of camera surveillance to fight crime.

“The Bukit Aman control centre will use the latest high-tech devices and communication systems to relay, monitor and coordinate operations throughout the country,” he said in an interview with The Star yesterday.

The project, costing several billion ringgit, is expected to take off by the end of the year.

Under the project, the Bukit Aman control centre would not only be able to communicate and monitor operations on land but also from “surface to air or surface to sea”, Musa said.

This means that police helicopters would be fitted with sophisticated surveillance cameras that can feed images, even those taken at sea, to the control centre for tracking purposes.

Musa said: “We need an e-solution system that will enable us to communicate with our police helicopters, airplanes and marine police as well as with our mobile police vehicles, traffic policemen in patrol cars and on motorcycles.”

Even constables would be equipped with hand-held computers and micro cameras would be fitted in their walkie-talkies for monitoring purposes, he said.

“Police patrol cars will be fitted with mobile personal computers that will enable policemen to check and verify the status of a person as well as that of a vehicle on the spot instead of having to bring them to the police station and inconveniencing them,’’ Musa added.

It is learnt that the Government had looked into buying such a system after witnessing its impressive capability during a recent demonstration of its use in developed countries.

Musa said the upgrading would pave the way for what he termed “Malaysia’s Future Cops”, adding however: “The only difference is that it is not too far away.” The massive project, he said, would see every department in the police force going high-tech, including the forensics department.

He said the forensics department needed to be better equipped, as crime itself was getting very sophisticated.

Citing the recent high-profile Nurin Jazlin case as an example, Musa said a police officer was sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States to seek help just to enhance the clarity of an image captured by a web camera.

“If we had the equipment here, we would be able to investigate faster.

“We must be one step ahead of the crooks at all times,” he said.

The IGP said that the FBI had agreed to help conduct courses, and 60 officers from the CID and the Commercial Crimes and the Narcotics Crimes Investigations departments had been selected to attend the courses.

Billions of ringgit. We are arming cops with high tech facilities so that they can solve crimes faster.

They are missing the point completely isn’t it? It’s about PREVENTING the crime, stupid and not just about solving the crime quickly. The money should go to training and campaigning to recruit more police officers. It should also go to Rukun Tetanggas. Let the money go to training the human capital of the police force or to their pay or bonuses.

“Surface to air or surface to sea” monitoring? The threats we face today aren’t from pirates. They are from people who commit snatch thefts, petty crimes, robberies, break-ins, rape and murder. And really what’s the point of arming with superfly gadgets when it is manpower we need. You know, the kind you can’t replace with gizmos and devices? I can actually imagine bumbling cops dropping their handheld computers and microchip walkie talkies.

Who has got the contract to supply all these??

“It is learnt that the Government had looked into buying such a system after witnessing its impressive capability during a recent demonstration of its use in developed countries.” lol. We can imitate but we can never replicate. It’s not always about the tools but how and who are using the tools.

Don’t say Malaysia wants to emulate developed countries. If the government can’t even recognise simply things like basic human rights (also migrant, refugee, women, animal and children’s rights), rule of law, separation of powers, press freedom, transparent and open society, fundamental freedoms, justice, equitable principles, constitutional supremacy … then this is all just another project to benefit some crony company and we will be showing the world what experts we are when it comes to spending truckloads of money on nothing.

Try again IGP and government. Try again.