12 TELLING IT AS IT IS theSun | WEDNESDAY JUNE 24 2009

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A tale of two councils

PROPERTY developer Peter How-
ell wanted a dream home. He built
a five-bedroom bungalow in a rural
and tranquil place, away from the
hustle and bustle of the city. It cost
him a whopping RM2.4 million.
He had been given “outline”
permission by the local council
in 2004. Expecting his application
to be “rubber-stamped”, he began
construction almost immediately.
He then submitted plans for the
home and no major objections
were made. But every resident
nearby received a letter claiming
construction had begun without
proper consent and a flood of objec-
tions were raised with the council.
Over five years, Howell fought
to get the development order
backdated, but failed. The court
held that building was “dominant
and visually intrusive by virtue of
its height, bulk and colour” and
“harmed the character and ap-
pearance of the surrounding area.”
The council sent in bulldozers and
reduced his house to rubble.
In 1992, someone submitted a
plan to build a five-storey com-
mercial complex to a local council.
It was duly approved and more
than a year later, construction was
completed. However, instead of five
floors, the developer added a sixth.
The matter was highlighted in the
CitizenNades
by R. Nadeswaran
media and discussed at the local
council’s full-board meeting. After
“deliberations”, the council decided
to impose a RM5,000 compound
fine and allowed the developer to
keep the sixth floor by making an
“extraordinary” retrospective ap-
proval for the additional one.
A case of double standards?
No. In the first case of the house,
it involved the Hambleton District
Council in North Yorkshire as
reported by the Daily Mail. Local
councils in England go by the book
and consider the views expressed
by the entire community.
In the case of the six-storey
building, the local authority was
the Petaling Jaya Municipal Coun-
cil (MPPJ). The sitting councillors
then decided “since it was already
built”, why not just collect the fine
and close the files. And this “tutup
mata” syndrome is visible in most
local councils. Some have even
coined the new phrase – build and
pay – an indication of the state of
affairs in our local councils vis-à-
vis the construction industry.
These startling comparisons
come to mind when one re-visits
the collapse of the Jaya Supermar-
ket building in Section 14, Petaling
Jaya. Two weeks ago, I had sug-
gested that corporate manslaughter
charges be brought against those
responsible for the loss of the seven
lives. But it has been almost four
weeks since the tragic collapse
(the word “accident” would be a
misnomer of sorts) and we have
yet to ascertain what caused it and
who caused it.
In the meantime, “studies” are
being carried out by various organ-
isations including one suggested
as a “way forward” by the project
consultants. In a press statement,
the consultants said that they have
submitted a 400-page report to the
Petaling Jaya City Council.
“The detailed Incident Report
is a comprehensive account of the
events leading to the incident. It
describes the parties involved and
their roles in the demolition works,
the approval process, the permits
and approvals obtained, the proce-
dures observed, a chronology of the
activities following the incident on
May 28 as well as provides a sum-
mary of the possible causes of the
tragedy which claimed the lives of
seven construction workers.
“The report was filed by us in
accordance with our respective
obligations under the Uniform
Building By-laws. Copies have
also been submitted as requested to
other regulators and standards-set-
ters including the Lembaga Akitek
Malaysia and the department of
occupational safety,” the statement,
among others says.
Standards-setters? Who has set
standards? Does any one organisa-
tion deserve such a description?
To be described as one, someone
or some organisation must have
investigated and established the
cause within days! Instead, various
agencies are pussy-footing in the
hope that Malaysians will forget the
issue and the seven deaths become
yet another statistic in the annals of
the construction industry.
Why are we so lackadaisical
when it involves workers? Why do
we jump sky high when it involves
those associated with the rich and
famous or those who have pre-fixes
to their names? Are their lives more
valuable than those who cross the
high seas to eke out a living in our
country? Why this crass attitude
towards safety?
To say that we have sufficient
safety standards is a gross under-
statement. Walk around building
sites and you will see those without
proper working boots and helmets.
Some contractors take short-cuts
and do not want to invest in safety
equipment. But can the developers
or the consultants be absolved of
their responsibilities? Isn’t it their
duty to ensure the contractor meets
the minimum standards required
by the law?
Enforcement of the laws seems
to be a basic problem. There are too
many agencies and departments
that are related to the construc-
tion industry. Instead of acting in
concert, each appears to be acting
without consulting each other.
There seems to be no cohesive
plan and when injury and death
occur, they are treated as “just an-
other accident”. It is hoped that the
measures taken in the aftermath
of the Jaya Supermarket crash will
compel all parties involved to be
more conscious of their responsi-
bilities.
I am tempted to repeat what I
read on a bingo card many years
ago: For some people, nothing gets
into their heads except through a
crack. Likewise, a jail sentence for
corporate manslaughter of negli-
gently causing death would send
the right message to those who
make ringgit signs their priority
over human lives.
R. Nadeswaran will keep remind-
ing those involved and the public
that workers’ lives are as valuable
as those of millionaire developers.
He is editor (special investigations)
at theSun. He can be reached at:
citizen-nades@thesundaily.com

letters
The devil you know letters@thesundaily.com

by Eric S. Margolis

IRAN’S intensifying political crisis re-

mains dangerously unpredictable. It’s
still too early to determine if the bitter
feud within Teheran’s political establish-
ment will lead to a revolution against
Iran’s Islamic government that so many
foreigners hope for, or burn out.
Caution is advised. Much of the opin-
ion we are getting on Iran’s crisis comes
from bitterly anti-regime Iranian exiles,
“experts” with an axe to grind, and US
neo-conservatives yearning for war
with Iran. In viewing the Muslim world,
westerners keep listening to those who
tell them what they want to hear, rather
than the facts.
US President Barack Obama’s prop-
erly stated he would refrain from being
seen to meddle in Iran’s internal affairs.
He did the right thing by apologising for
the US/British coup that overthrew Iran’s
democratic government in 1953.
But Washington has also been actively
attempting to undermine Iran’s Islamic
government since the 1979 revolution.
The US has laid economic siege to Iran
for 30 years. Recently, Congress voted
US$120 million (RM426 million) for anti-
regime media broadcasts, and US$60-
75 million (RM213-266 million) funding
opposition, Marxists, and restive ethnic
groups like Azeris, Kurds, and Arabs un-
der the “Iran Democracy Programme”.
Pakistani intelligence sources put CIA’s
recent spending on “black operations”
to subvert Iran’s government at US$400
million (RM1.4 billion).
While the majority of protests we see
in Teheran are genuine and spontane-
ous, western intelligence agencies are
playing a key role in sustaining them and
providing communications, including the
newest method, via Twitter. The Teheran
government made things worse by limit-
ing foreign news reports and trying to
cover up or brutally repress massive
protests.
We also hear lot of hypocritical hum-
bug from western capitals. Washington,
Ottawa, London and Paris accused Iran
of improper electoral procedures while
ignoring autocratic Middle East allies like
Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan,
and Saudi Arabia, which hold only fake
elections and savage real opposition.
US senators, led by John McCain,
blasted Iran for not respecting human
rights. That’s pretty rich after they just
voted to bar the public release of ghastly
torture photos from US prisons in Iraq.
Iran is a weird hybrid of repressive
theocratic state and democracy. Its po-
litical powers are fragmented to prevent
re-emergence of another despotic shah.
At least Iran holds elections, and allows
often fierce political debate, though it of-
ten bars candidates. Its recent electoral
turnout was an impressive 85%.
There are many questions about
Iran’s vote, of which incumbent President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won 60%. But
however much foreigners may detest
Iran’s abrasive elected leader, he remains
widely popular at home thanks to his
populist programmes, generous subsi-
dies, and ascetic lifestyle. Particularly so
among farmers, the poor, pensioners, the
military, and religious people. Pre-elec-
tion polls that showed him headed for a
big win may have been right.
Ahmadinejad’s chief rival, the more
moderate-sounding Mirhossein Mousavi,
is also a conservative who backs Iran’s
nuclear programme. He is supported by
Iran’s young, many of whom are fed up
with obscurantist restrictions imposed by
the religious establishment. In the wings,
veteran politician Ali Akbar Rafsanjani
is waiting to pounce. He heads the As-
sembly of Experts which theoretically
has the power to unseat Iran’s Supreme
Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei is not a strong leader and
his best hope is for a political compromise
between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. But
he could end marginalised by a secular
government.
Reuters reports Israel’s intelligence
chief, Meir Dagan, thinks Ahmadinejad
will win out. The Mossad boss reportedly
worries that if Ahmadinejad falls, there
will be less international pressure on
Iran to end its nuclear programmes. He
is probably correct.
Other Middle East nations will look
at Iran and conclude giving democratic
rights is downright dangerous and must
be avoided.
Eric S. Margolis is a contributing editor
to the Toronto Sun chain of newspapers,
writing mainly about the Middle East
and South Asia. Comments: letters@
thesundaily.com
Focus on efficient energy use
THE country’s demand for
energy will increase with the
increase in population and ex-
pansion of industries. According
to Energy, Green Technology
and Water Minister Datuk Peter
Chin Fah Kui, Malaysia’s energy
demand may hit 28,500 mega-
watts (MW) by 2020 compared
to 15,656 MW last year. This
means there will be an increase
of nearly 82% from our current
electricity demand.
Such an increase in demand
Asian will cause an increase in usage
shares of raw material and eventually
dive on increase in cost of electricity as
future fuel market prices will
recovery continue to surge. As consum-
fears ers, all of us would like to pay our
pg 15 price and ensure that electricity
is used efficiently.
Do our nation’s policies
reflect that?
First, industries that consume
a lot of electricity are given a dis-
count. This will actually promote
wastage as it’s cheaper to waste
electricity than being energy ef-
ficient. The industry that reduces
its energy consumption while
maximising output should be
rewarded, as its energy footprint
per product is reduced. Indus-
tries that support “true” energy
Respect dissent, stop the violence
THE International Movement for
a Just World (JUST) condemns the
violence that has accompanied the
Iranian government’s crackdown on
dissent in the last ten days following
the disputed presidential election of
June 12.
According to state media, 17
people have been killed so far and
hundreds injured. The alternative
media has highlighted the killing of
a 16-year-old girl who had demon-
strated in Teheran on June 20.
From various sources inside and
efficiency approaches through
engineering solutions must also
be promoted.
Power factor requirement
enforcement must also be
done by providing industrial and
commercial consumers proper
guidance on how to improve
power factor through usage of
capacitor banks.
Second, energy efficiency
labelling of electrical and
electronic goods is lacking. Lo-
cally designed labelling is only
available for refrigerators and
industrial high efficiency motors.
What about the rest? Labelling
and enforcement must be there
to ensure consumers can make
an informed choice to reduce
their energy consumption.
Third, unification of energy
sectors as a whole. Too many
agencies are involved in energy
industry.
There should be one agency
that is in charge of energy from
source, generation, supply and
pricing. This agency must be
able to connect to all related
agencies to function and not a
“stand alone” agency.
Fourth, search for new
resources for energy is the
current focus. There is no solid
outside Iran, the general picture
that emerges is of people protesting
peacefully against alleged electoral
fraud. Harsh retaliation on the part
of the security forces and the Basej,
the militia that is loyal to the Supreme
Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is
unwarranted.
The Iranian government should
recognise and respect the legitimacy
of peaceful dissent expressed through
rallies, assemblies and the alternative
media. It is a right enshrined in the
Iranian Constitution itself. It is conso-
move towards ensuring energy
efficiency in all levels. For ex-
ample, is the steam produced
in our power plants used? This
utilisation ensures that energy
conversion loss is reduced.
There should be integrated
power generation to supply
excess steam that can be re-
used for processes. It has been
practised in many countries for
many years to maximise the use
of energy source. We must inno-
vate to ensure energy efficient
products.
Even if energy demand is met
with huge investments, no one
would agree that it should be
supplied to be wasted.
There will never be a real
cost benefit analysis as we are
buying electricity to waste. We
urge the government to tackle
energy efficiency issues before
moving forward with solving the
predicted energy crisis.
Consumers can find more
information on energy efficiency
at www.switch.org.my.
S. Piarapakaran
Secretary-General
Water and Energy
Consumer Association
of Malaysia
nant with both the letter and the spirit
of the Noble Quran and the life of the
Prophet Muhammad (may peace be
upon him).
Suppressing legitimate dissent
through force will only undermine the
moral authority of the government. It
is such suppression that often leads
to instability, “bloodshed and chaos”.
Dr Chandra Muzaffar
President,
International Movement for a
Just World