10 
news without borders
MPSJ second only to
KL City Hall in star rating
by S. Tamarai Chelvi
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SUBANG JAYA: Subang Jaya Municipal Council
(MPSJ) is second only to Kuala Lumpur City Hall
(DBKL) in the Housing and Local Government
Ministry’s latest rating of local councils.
MPSJ was among 10 local councils to be
awarded four stars. (Three to five stars are given
for excellent public service. There was no five-
star recipient in 2008.)
The 10 councils are KL City Hall with 84.50
points, MPSJ (84.40), Petaling Jaya City Council
(80.50), Kuantan Municipal Council (80.25),
Shah Alam City Council (80.10), Johor Baru City
Council (79.40), Alor Gajah Municipal Council
(77.45), Malacca Historical City Council (77.40),
Klang Municipal Council (76.20) and Manjung
Municipal Council (76.10).
The ministry launched its star rating system
in 2008 to evaluate local councils. Grading pan-
els visited the councils in June, and at the Local
Council Consultations Committee meeting in
MACC takes statement
from Fairus
by Himanshu Bhatt
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
GEORGE TOWN: The Malaysian Anti-Cor-
ruption Commission questioned Deputy Chief
Minister (I) Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin in
Johor Baru on Wednesday night.
Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad
Said Hamdan confirmed yesterday the MACC
recorded a statement from Fairus.
MACC investigating director Datuk Syukri
Abdul said the commission did not arrest
Fairus but just recorded his statement.
Fairus, 33, who is Penanti assemblyman,
resigned as deputy chief minister last Saturday.
He is on leave until the resignation is effective
on April 8.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday
he was not aware Fairus had been questioned.
He declined to comment further, saying he was
awaiting a statement from the MACC.
On the state government’s move to seal Fai-
briefs
‘Tiger park criticisms not
based on emotions’
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan treasurer Ng
Fook On said criticisms by conservation groups on
the proposed tiger park were constructive and not
based on emotions as claimed by Chief Minister
Lim Guan Eng.
In a statement yesterday, Ng said Lim should
appreciate the views from the Malaysian Conser-
vation Alliance for Tigers (Mycat), WWF-Malaysia
and Sahabat Alam Malaysia instead of displaying
unhappiness over them.
Ng said Mycat had pointed out there are al-
ready some 40 zoos in the country and maintain-
ing them was a challenge to the authorities.
It also said the number of tigers in Malaysia
had fallen from 3,000 to 500 in the last 50 years.
WWF-Malaysia had said the issue of procuring
tigers for the proposed park was problematic.
Ng said even Lim’s chief of staff Jeff Ooi
expressed reservations in his blog over the pro-
posed project.
Lim had said the state government planned
to create a tiger park on 40ha near the Relau
Metropolitan Park.
Penang to promote clan
jetties to boost tourism
GEORGE TOWN: The state government wants
to promote the clan jetties in Weld Quay for
tourism and is looking to the private sector
theSun | FRIDAY MARCH 27 2009
Johor Baru last week, 10 councils were awarded
four stars.
MPSJ president Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan told
a press conference yesterday the councils were
evaluated on four aspects.
MPSJ scored 26.8% out of 30% in manage-
ment; 30 out of 35 in basic services; 13.5 out of
15 in customer management, and 14.5 out of 20
in community participation and opinion.
“We will improve on this part (community
participation and opinion) if we want to score
high ... we need to focus on this,” Adnan said.
The council received RM200,000 as prize
money, which will be used to upgrade Millen-
nium Park.
At the press conference, Subang Jaya state
assemblywoman Hannah Yeoh said a proposal
by Ikram to improve traffic at Persiaran Tujuan
will be implemented from May 1.
“This is not a permanent solution but this is
the best we can do for now,” she said.
The public will be asked to provide feedback
on the new traffic arrangement.
rus’ office on Wednesday, Lim said the matter
should be clarified by the state secretariat.
“This is normal administrative procedure. It
is standard practice if someone quits a post in
government office,” he said.
Lim said this after launching the Penang
Free Wi-Fi project at a hotel.
Penang Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr Teng
Hock Nan said Lim owed the people an ex-
planation over the questioning of Fairus by the
MACC.
In a statement, he said the development had
raised several questions.
He said Fairus’ case contradicted the state
government’s principles of competency, ac-
countability and transparency.
“We are also unsure whether the state gov-
ernment is facing a crisis,” Teng said.
“We heard speculation that Lim’s chief of
staff Jeff Ooi and the state’s strategy adviser,
Liew Chin Tong, were considering quitting
their posts.”
for support.
State tourism development committee
chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said yester-
day the jetties are among the places in the
city that draw foreign tourists.
“The people here live a simple lifestyle in
wooden houses on stilts by the sea,“ Law said
during a visit to Chew Jetty.
He said the state is looking into ways to
promote the clan jetties and also introduce
commercial activities to benefit residents,
such as organising boat tours for visitors.
The Chew and other clan jetties – the Lim,
Lee, Tan, Yeoh, Ong and Peng Aun – have
existed since the early 19th century and were
once home to Chinese port labourers.
Drop in chicken price
nationwide
KUALA LUMPUR: The price of broiler chicken has
dropped by 40 to 55 sen a kg nationwide.
The Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associa-
tions of Malaysia said in a statement that as of
yesterday, the farm price of live chicken dropped
from RM3.70 to RM3.30 a kg, the wholesale price
from RM4.40 to RM4 a kg and retail price from
RM5.10 to 4.70 a kg.
The wholesale price of dressed chicken
dropped from RM5.20 to RM4.70 a kg while the
retail price of dressed chicken with shank, head,
liver and gizzard dropped from RM6 to RM5.55
a kg. The retail price of dressed chicken without
shank, head, liver and gizzard dropped from
RM7.40 to RM6.90 a kg.
The association’s chairman, Kwei Yew Tong
said, the price drop was the result of the current
financial and economic setback facing the nation.
– Bernama