Penang Properties - ED BID Properties

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

MBJB to get tough with errant ratepayers

JOHOR BARU: A task force has been set up by The Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) to identify ratepayers who flout the council’s laws.

Mayor Mohd Jaffar Awang said the task force would ensure that all regulations were adhered to and it would focus on business premises under the council’s jurisdiction.

“Businesses that operate without licence, those who renovated their building without approval and stall owners operating will be be fined by the task force.”

He stressed that the task force was not established to punish people but to create awareness about the council’s laws and regulations.

“The task force was set up with the main aim of making the city a safer, cleaner and healthier place for the people,” he said.

He explained that the task force was divided into three zones and it involved seven departments of the council, namely enforcement, planning, development, assessment, health, engineering and law.

“The three zones are Zone A which is the west side of the city, Zone B covering the middle of the city and Zone C which is the east side of the city,” he added.

Mohd Jaffar said that he hoped the public would comply with the MBJB laws to ensure that the city was a safe and comfortable place to live and work in.

“Eventually, this will help the city become a more attractive tourist destination and also attract new investors,” he said.

On a separate matter, the mayor said business and advertising licences could be renewed between now and Dec 31.

He urged those who needed to renew their licences to do so within the said period to avoid being fined.

“Those who settle their payments late would be subjected to a fine which will increase according to how late they make their payments,” he said.

He added that those who made payments in February would be fined RM50, in March RM100, in April RM150 and May to Dec, RM200,” he said.

Mohd Jaffar said those who had yet to receive their notices for renewal should bring along their current business licence and two passport photos of themselves to the Licensing Department counter at MBJB.

Penang down in the dumps

GEORGE TOWN: Land-starved Penang is facing its filthiest dilemma to date – managing a burgeoning landfill that is stinking up the northern channel and threatening sensitive marine life there.

And if nothing is done fast, Penangites can lay claim to having two high-rise icons – the 65-storey Komtar and Pulau Burung’s tower of garbage.

In September last year, four lorries carrying garbage from the barge jetty to the Pulau Burung landfill on the mainland broke down, causing a pile-up of waste at the transfer site in Batu Maung on the island.

In May, fishermen living near the Pulau Burong sanitary landfill staged a demonstration against what they felt was pollution outside the landfill.

They claimed that nearby residents were exposed to the stench and had experienced itchiness. The fishermen also said their income was dwindling.

In that same month, a leak in a leachate pond in the Pulau Burung landfill was believed to have contaminated the sea off Kampung Changkat.

Phase I of the Pulau Burung sanitary landfill has reached its full capacity. Since 2008, some 700 tonnes of rubbish have been dumped at Phase II daily.

During festive seasons, the amount of garbage doubles.

Pulau Burung was the state’s main landfill. Comprising Phase I, II and III, the landfill’s lifespan was almost up. The first two phases add up to about 162ha of landfill.

State Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow admitted that Phase II would reach its capacity by 2012.

“Phase III has been earmarked for a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) which utilises Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) technology to deal with residual municipal waste.

“It’s going to cost RM18mil but it will be worthwhile in the long run. We cannot keep looking for places to turn into landfills,” he said.

A RM10mil leachate treatment plant would also be built in the hopes of cleaning up the environment.

Chow said the state was also looking to tap methane gas from Phase I to explore supplementary revenue from the generation and sale of bio-energy and participation in carbon trading under the Kyoto Protocol.

If the renewable energy project in Phase I was successful, it would be applied to Phase II.

Theoretically, the Pulau Burung landfill can be used for many years to come once the MBT was in place because its current capacity would be increased four-fold.

An MBT system is a waste processing facility that combines a sorting facility with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion.

“No matter what, we will still need a landfill but the MBT will greatly reduce the waste.

“When Phase III reaches its capacity, we can go back to Phase I which by then would have been rehabilitated,” Chow said.

Apart from Pulau Burung, there was an older landfill in Jelutong and a transfer station in Batu Maung – both on the island. The initial plan was to rehabilitate the Jelutong landfill into a park but that was proving too costly.

The Jelutong landfill now serves as a dumping ground for construction materials.

Chow said a garbage transfer station would be built there soon to replace the one in Batu Maung.

“The Penang Development Corporation will take back the Batu Maung garbage transfer station for development next year,” he added.

Govt allocates RM50mil to help estate workers own houses

CAMERON HIGHLANDS: A sum of RM50mil has been allocated by the Government to help local estate workers to own houses before they retire, said Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Maznah Mazlan.

The allocation was provided under the 10th Malaysia Plan and would be managed by Bank Simpanan Nasional.

“Presently, many locals are staying in quarters provided by their employers.

“However, when they become old, they will be left to fend for themselves and many cannot afford a house,” she said after closing a seminar on occupational safety and health for the agricultural sector at Kampung Sedia, Tanah Rata here yesterday.

Maznah, who is also the Muadzam Shah assemblyman, said the pioneer scheme would be introduced for the benefit of estate workers as part of the Government’s initiative to look after their welfare.

She said those interested could apply for a loan to build a house on an empty land or purchase a completed unit at a maximum interest rate of 4% with a repayment period of up to 40 years.

“The longer repayment period will enable their children to repay the loan amount and later inherit the house from their parents.

“We expect this scheme to benefit some 2,000 local estate workers,” she said.

Maznah said the Government would continue to work closely with employers to provide local estate workers with the opportunity to own houses.

However, she said, the Government would not take over the task completely as it wanted the employers to shoulder this responsibility.

“I was made to understand that 73 plantation companies have built over 6,300 houses to be offered to their workers.

“Some companies even offered land to the workers, but they instead sold them to third parties for short-term gains,” she said.

Non-paying residents in gated communities deserve respect

I REFER to your stories on gated and guarded residential areas.

For the record, I have no objection to the implementation of such schemes.

However, I consciously chose to buy a property which does not require me to pay any monthly security fees.

As a non-paying resident, I did not protest against the issuance of house tags which automatically discriminates the non-paying from the paying residents; and if one were to read beyond the tag, it also “informs” a would-be robber(s) that this particular house is “unwatched” as it is fundamentally right to assume that security will tend to look out for or focus more closely on tagged houses!

When boom gates were installed some years back at the two entry and exit points of our neighbourhood, I did not protest however much the inconvenience. Neither did I recall any protest from the rest of the non-paying residents.

These boom gates remain closed to traffic throughout the day and are opened only during specific times that coincide with school sessions.

I abide by their “rules” when they gave out car stickers; otherwise I get stopped and checked by the security guards if I were to come home after midnight.

The residents’ committee and its paying members must acknowledge and appreciate such cooperation from us non-paying residents for not objecting to the implementation undertaken thus far to make the community a safer place for all.

Bear in mind at all times that every resident has the freedom to choose whether to subscribe to the gated and guarded scheme. No one can impose that right on us, insult or humiliate in any way, those of us who do not pay for the gated and guarded scheme.

We non-subscribing residents have equal rights to stay without prejudice, shame and fear as the rest.

Artist Ai Weiwei 'celebrates' Shanghai studio demolition

Outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says he is offering his supporters 10,000 river crabs -- an autumn delicacy -- to "celebrate" the government-ordered demolition of his new Shanghai studio.

Ai, one of China's most famous artists and social critics, was invited to build the 1.1-million-dollar studio in a new art district in the city's north, but officials have now declared it an illegal structure.

"November 7 is 'River Crab Fest' at Ai Weiwei's Shanghai studio," he wrote in a post on Twitter.

The artist said he would offer a banquet on Sunday including Chinese wine and 10,000 river crabs -- whose name in Chinese sounds like "harmonise", a government euphemism for censorship.

It was not immediately clear whether Ai, who is based in Beijing, would attend the event in person.

A representative for Ai confirmed the details of the event to AFP.

Shanghai called a six-month moratorium on major demolition and construction projects during the World Expo to improve the city's air quality, but since the event concluded on Sunday, halted projects have resumed.

"Now the Shanghai city government has spare time to demolish Ai Weiwei's studio," the artist wrote on Twitter.

Ai had cranial surgery last year for injuries sustained during an incident with police in southwestern Sichuan province, where he was investigating the collapse of schoolhouses in the May 2008 earthquake that left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.

Ai's work is currently being showcased at a giant installation at London's Tate Modern gallery, where he has filled the main hall with millions of porcelain sunflower seeds.

His perhaps best-known work is his collaboration with Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, on the National Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, known as the "Bird's Nest", which he has since renounced as a fake "smile".

Pulau Tikus, Penang, Malaysia

Pulau Tikus, Penang, Malaysia
DOUBLE STOREY LINK

BEHIND ONE STOP SHOPPING COMPLEX. SUITABLE FOR ANY BUSINESS

Contact Details


Negotiator :	Andrew Yeoh Hock Lye
Mobile :	+60164202512
Office :	+604-228 2018
Email :	andrewyeoh@edbidproperties.com

Property Summary

Price :	RM 1,300,000.00
LA :	1600 square ft
Tenure :	Free Hold
Furnishing :	Furnished
Renovate :	Renovated
Zoning :	Commercial
Date Posted :	29-Oct-2010 03:14:54 PM

Green Lane, Penang, Malaysia

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