It is customary for Indians and Chinese to offer prayers after opening the shop in the morning. Does MBI want them to offer prayers facing the toilet? And then for the rest of the day the traders have to face the toilet.

The traders are adamant that instead of giving explanations, excuses and justification, MBI must immediately demolish the toilet. The Prime Minister always says that his is a people friendly government and yet it appears that MBI does not adopt this policy. Unilateral decisions have been made without consultation of the people affected.

The traders are also partly to be blamed. Instead of each individual making a statement, they should get together and submit their proposal to MBI.

Knowing the poor track record of maintenance in Malaysia, the toilet will not be properly maintained and there will be a stench in the area. During Deepavali, Thaipusam and other Indian festivals when a large number of people will be using the toilet, the whole area will stink of urine.

The work on the project seems to have come to a standstill. When I visited the site during mid morning on a week day, no one was working. The whole area is fenced and people cannot see what is going on inside. MBI must inform the people there when the project will be completed including the final cost.

In future when MBI carries out this type of community projects it must hold public hearings to get input from the people.

A. Jeyaraj

At the base of the wall a section of the panel has been removed exposing the burnt brick wall which is not plastered. What is this for?

The Town Hall and the park in front of it are popular tourist sites. On Sundays, tourists, especially foreigners and those from other states, arrive by buses and visit the park and Town Hall. Tourists walk around and take photographs of the Town Hall. This is a heritage building and must be well maintained.

Without any further delay, MBI must repair the defects. It should not be an eyesore to tourists. The contractor as well as the MBI supervisor must be investigated for the shoddy paint job done.

We must not let down the image of Ipoh.

A. Jeyaraj

Apart from this, whenever it rains heavily, Jalan Perajurit, at the junction is always flooded and traffic to Ipoh Garden East comes to a standstill. I believe it is due to the drainage system. Although the authorities did try to remedy the situation, the problem is still there.

Motorists driving at night going towards Ipoh Garden East via the bypass at Jalan Perajurit will have to drive very slowly because it is dark. To solve this, more lights have to be fixed. I hope the authorities will act fast before a tragedy happens.

Give the residents some peace!

K. Letchimanan
1 June 2010

(L-R) A resident showing Dato' Lee and Counsillor Lim a waste chute

Residents of Waller Court recently approached BN Perak’s National Public Service and Complaints Centre to complain that MBI was not maintaining its property, i.e., Waller Court.

The Waller Court flats located off Jalan Onn Jaafar (Cockman Street) and bordered within Jalan Lim Bo Seng, Taman DR and the Kinta River was built in 1962 to cater for the lower income group.

It is owned by the Ipoh City Council and houses 500 units of flats and 30 shop lots. The rental per unit ranges from RM70 to RM120 depending on the number of rooms per unit.

The Centre’s Chief, Dato’ Lee Kon Yin together with City Councillor, Lim Huey Shan subsequently visited the flats to check out the residents’ grouses.

Resident Nahaman

One of the residents, Nahaman bin Mydin provided a long list of complaints such as poor overall cleanliness around the flats, leaking pipes, clogged drains, broken drain covers or no drain covers.

The residents also complained that the rubbish is not collected on time and that the rubbish chute where the bin is located should be washed down 2 to 3 times per week as the smell from rotting rubbish was overwhelming. Indeed the stench emanating from a waste chute was stifling the media personnel present while a resident was explaining the problems to Lee and Lim.

Security was another issue of concern by residents with children returning from tuition at night. Other issues reported were drug addicts living in abandoned units and that of exposed electrical wires.

Overall the issues raised were about maintenance or rather non-maintenance. As Nahaman lamented, “I am sure MBI as the owners can do something”.

Dato’ Lee stated that he would bring all these issues up with Datuk Bandar and the respective MBI officers immediately and would also follow up on them subsequently. Additionally Lee suggested organizing a gotong royong and initiating a dialogue with the residents as well as with the police on security issues.

For the future Lee advised the residents to call Councillor Lim Huey Shan (012-5127564) or Matthew from the Complaints Centre (017-5627594) whenever their complaints to MBI are not acted on after 2 weeks.

JAG

As expected, MBI did not respond to my letter of complaint.  I sent them a reminder on 9^th November 2007, which also was ignored. On 28^th November 2007, another letter was sent again, asking them how approval was given to my neighbour, since I did not give my consent.

To cut a long story short, finally with the good office of the Public Complaints Bureau, and 2 other government departments roped in by the Public Complaints Bureau, a stop work order was enforced on 31^st January 2008.

Simple-minded Me thought that that was the end of my woes. I actually believed that MBI would protect my rights and that I will receive justice and restitution, but not so. My neighbour has started work again!

I have many questions but no answers:

1)     How did MBI approve such a monstrosity with no regard to uniformity and harmony?

2)     Will complete excavation of the foundation next door affect the stability and safety of my house?

3)     Is my house structurally safe since common steel beams shared by both semi-detached houses were cut off?

4)     MBI had admitted that no approval was given for the construction.  That being the case, then the building is deemed illegal.  If it is illegal, then why was it not pulled down?

5)     When MBI lifted the Stop Work Order, why was I, the aggrieved party not formally informed?

6)     Why were my letters ignored when I asked for confirmation on the Stop Work Order being lifted?

And I would like to add one more question: Tell me please, how to practice the adage “Love Your Neighbour?”

Perhaps Mr Fathol Zaman would like to investigate this issue and give me some answers. The MBI file is F2/2/139/481/07.

I would be more than happy to meet you to show you the place. Otherwise, you have the address you can do a site visit yourself. Please act fast before they complete the building, then it will be a different ball game altogether!

I’m attaching some photographs as well. Happy viewing!

Thank you for your time in reading this mail.

Margaret Wong

The poster does not state where the Garden is located or give any contact details. However, the website of Perak Tourism is given in a panel under the poster.

When I enquired how to get there from Ipoh, the receptionist in the Garden informed that I should drive along Gopeng Road and turn right into the road leading to Kellie’s Castle. The Garden is about one kilometre from the main road. There is no signboard of the Garden along the main road. How are tourists going to get there?

The booklet issued by Perak Tourism Action Council on 10 Tourism Icons of Perak states the Garden is open Monday-Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and closed on weekends just like the Tourist Information Centre.

Family outings are normally done during weekends when people are free and if the Garden is closed during weekends and Public Holidays how does Perak Tourism expect people to visit the site.

A. JEYARAJ

The first person we meet upon entering an office is the receptionist or counter clerk. Very often, especially in government departments, we come across a person who is not very helpful. However, the situation in MBI is different. As we enter the building, on the left is a One Stop Counter and on the right side is the Information/Complaints Counter. The staff are pleasant, friendly and helpful. The One Stop Counter handles issues relating to buildings. When a complaint is lodged, the complainant is issued a printout acknowledging receipt of the complaint. The staff also direct the people to the relevant department to lodge their complaints.

I accompanied my friend who had number of complaints regarding his housing area. The clerks in all the departments were friendly and helpful. In one department the clerk even said he was sorry for keeping us waiting since the person authorized to sign the acknowledgment was not in. However proper signage must be put up in the landscaping and engineering departments.

What impressed me most was that the banner listing the services provided is in all four major languages. This is in line with 1Malaysia concept and makes people happy seeing that their language is recognised. This is good PR of MBI.  

Meanwhile action must also be promptly taken on complaints received.

A. JEYARAJ

A tourist maybe at the junction eagerly seeking the direction to the centre and yet not realising that it is just about 50 metres away.

A. JEYARAJ

1. “No Chime, No Time” – IE 86 pg 10. “MBI will conduct maintenance works on December 10“.
2. “Hazardous Road Junction” – IE 87 pg 12. “The road junction is located in an area outside of the council’s jurisdiction. We have redirected the complaint to the Perak Water Board for action“.
3. “Calling Dirt Vigilantes” – IE 87 pg 17. “MBI has cleaned up the mess on January 5“.

Thank you MBI, Ipohites appreciate your taking action.

This incident occurred at the Meru Golf Club’s gym. Three treadmills are placed right next to one another. On two of them, two men were chatting away as they jogged. On the third was a young woman struggling with her daily dose of cardiovascular exercise. Suddenly a loud thud was heard as the young woman fell to the floor. A concerned elderly lady who was in one corner, doing her daily stretching routine, rushed to help the young woman. Fortunately the young woman was not hurt, suffering only a bruised ego.

During the fall and afterwards when the elderly lady went to help the young woman, neither of the men on the treadmills even bothered to turn their heads, offered to help or even express concern!

The fact that the two men are Chinese, the young woman Indian and the elderly lady, Malay, begs a question from Ipoh Echo: Would the men have stopped and helped if the young woman was Chinese? Or is the age of chivalry well and truly dead, replaced by a callousness that can only be described as despicable.

SFCK