Selangor Times Aug 26-28, 2011 / Issue 39

commnty

August 26 — 28, 2011

/

issue 39

Privacyappeal forDUMC Dozen

The longsTrugglefor Trial

p

9

p

12 & 13

localchoir's firsTinTernaTionalouTing

p

6

• Turn To page 2

Green Homesinitiative lauded

By

Alvin Yap

PeTaling JaYa:

Petaling Jaya has become the second cityin the world to reward owners whose home have energy- and water-saving innovations and who recycle.Former Malaysian Institute o Architects (MIA) president Dran Loke Mun said only Freiburg,Germany has previously oeredrebates on assessment rates tohome owners.“I’m amazed. I thought I’d seethis in Europe only. For a localgovernment to spearhead an initia-tive to reward ratepayers to gogreen in their homes is amazing,”said the architect and green build-ing consultant.He lauded the Petaling Jaya CityCouncil (MPPJ) or oering 100%rebates on the next assessment rateto owners.an, who is a panellist on anindependent accreditation com-mittee that audits and conersGreen Building Index (GBI) rat-ings, suggested that the move beextended.He proposed a new category where Joint Management Boards o apartments, ats and condomini-ums could participate.MBPJ councillors who spoke to

Selangor Times

said they could seethe potential in the idea becauserebate savings could be channelledinto a collective und, most notablya condominium mandatory Sink-ing Fund.“It’s an idea that we intend tochase urther when the time comes,”said councillor erence an.Te notion was agreed upon byellow councillor Khairul Anwar.Te initiative was launched byMBPJ Mayor Datuk Roslan Saki-man on Monday."Te frst 100 green homes cho-sen by panel o environmentalists

ohs fmpst Kbjik ak Ytim dMiski al-Mihbi ttd t bk s fst bypmiè Htl Kl.

• STorY on page 18

stand to receive up to RM500 o their 2012 assessment rates, [or100%], whichever is lower,” saidRoslan.he judges include environ-mental experts rom around thecountry.he sustainable homes will beassessed based on energy and wa-ter conservation, as well as recy-cling o ood and solid waste.he incentive is cumulative,and households with more greeninitiatives or acilities will receivea higher chance o obtaining therebate.Among the initiatives that willbe considered are solar water heat-ing, use o energy-saving LightEmitting Diode (LED) bulbs, andthe installation o a rainwater harvesting system, along with turning ood waste into compost.Te rebate will be credited to the winners’ MBPJ assessment accountto oset next year’s assessmentrates.Roslan said the scheme seeks toreward ratepayers who have taken

‘Milestone’ initiative by MBPJ

phone

(603) 5510 4566

fax

(603) 5523 1188

email

editor@selangortimes.com

EDITORIAL

CHIEF EDITOR

KL Chan

COMMUNITY EDITOR

Neville Spykerman

WRITERS

Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Gan Pei Ling,Basil Foo, Alvin Yap, Gho Chee Yuan, Brenda Ch’ng

COPY EDITORS

Nick Choo, James Ang

DESIGNERS

Jimmy C. S. Lim, Chin Man Yen

ADVERTISING

Timothy Loh, Ivan Looi

ADVISORS

Faekah Husin, Arfa’eza Abdul Aziz

2

August 26 — 28, 2011

news

Green benefts

PETALING JAYA:

Green-building designer and architectDr an Loke Mun is applying or MBPJ’s assessment rebatescheme to create greater awareness o the benets o going green.an’s home in Section 11 is one o the greenest in Malaysia,and was awarded a Platinum-category certication in April 2010.His energy- and water-conservation initiatives have seen hiselectricity bill drop to RM190 rom RM700. He accomplishedthis by changing incandescent bulbs to energy-saving ones, as well as opting or energy-saving appliances.He said the monthly savings would justiy the investmentinto appliances that have the international Five Star EnergyRating, which are proven to consume less power.He urther said rainwater-harvesting systems can reduceconsumption o treated water. Rainwater can be collected o roos using a catchment system, and the water can be used orgardening, housekeeping and to ush the toilets.an added that buildings can be kept cooler i the sides withmore windows are designed to ace a north-south orientation,away rom the morning and aernoon sun.He suggested that Selangor create a rst by having new de- velopers build according to the north-south orientation.an, who started going green ve years ago, cited other greenDo-It-Yoursel projects that households could embark on.He proposed that households use ventilation ans to drawhot air out rom living room areas, instead o the area betweenthe ceiling and roo.an claimed that most homes in Malaysia are under-insulat-ed rom the tropical heat, as the space under the roo usuallydoes not contain sufcient insulating material. He said thematerial is not expensive and is available rom constructioncompanies, or can be installed by renovation companies.“People don’t see the advantage o going green,” an con-cluded. “It’s something that enhances our quality o lie, andsaves our environment rom damage while saving money.”their own initiative to adopt greentechnologies.He said a panel o experts romsustainable-development and environ-mental non-governmental organisa-tions will visit the participants to as-sess and veriy the technologies in-stalled in their homes.He said the “rst come rst served”100 places will be expanded next year i there is wide reception rom ratepayers.Bukit Lanjan assemblypersonElizabeth Wong said the move was amilestone among MBPJ’s initiatives,and lauded the scheme as an electedrepresentative in Petaling Jaya.“Furthermore, I applaud the initia-tive as a resident o PJ,” said Wong, who is also the state executive council-lor or environment.She said pollution in the city couldbe reduced or contained through suchinitiatives, and hoped other local

• From page one

No Raya returnfor EO trio

By

Gan Pei Ling

SHAH ALAM:

hree youths whohave been banished rom Selangorunder the Emergency Ordinance willlikely spend Raya away rom theiramilies ater their appeal or release was adjourned to Oct 5.Md Ari Abu Samah, 19, Md RaeMd Ali, 20, and Md Ramadhan MdAli, 22 rom Batu Caves have beenliving in exile separately in Johor,Kedah and Pahang respectively sinceMay 17 or alleged motorcycle the(see pages 12 and 13).Te application or temporary leaveor Hari Raya was heard and recorded yesterday during their application or judicial review to nulliy their two- year Restricted Residence Order.Tey are seeking declaration thatthe restriction order is invalid, nulland void, and a mandamus order romthe High Court to order the PrimeMinister and Malaysian governmentto advise the King to li the Emer-gency Proclamation o 1969 and/orrepeal the Emergency Ordinance en-acted during that period.In addition, the trio isalso seeking punitive, ag-gravated and exemplarydamages rom the our re-spondents: the Inspector-General o Police, DeputyHome Minister, PrimeMinister and the Malaysiangovernment.Tey are serving a two- year Restricted Residence Order is-sued under Section 4A(1) EmergencyOrdinance (Public Order and CrimePrevention) 1969.Teir lawyers wrote to the Attor-ney-General’s Chambers to lit thetwo-year restriction order temporar-ily during Hari Raya so the trio canreturn here to celebrate the estival with their amilies.“We hope the court will [at least]record the trio’s application to be al-lowed home or Raya,” one o theirlawyers, Syahredzan Johan, told theShah Alam High Court yesterday.Under the Restricted ResidenceOrder, the trio cannot leave the dis-trict they are currently living in with-out police permission, must stay in-doors rom 8pm to 6am daily and re- port to the local police station weekly. Justice Datuk Ahmad Zaki Husni pointed out that the jurisdiction to lithe Restricted Residence Order tem- porarily lies with the police and not with the Attorney-General’s Cham-bers.Te court advised the lawyers toapply directly to the local district police stations or the Raya leave onbehal o their clients.Te court adjourned the hearing toOct 5 as the Attorney-General’sChambers’ counsel Nor Hisham Is-mail requested more time to prepareobjections to the prayers related to therepeal o the Emergency Ordinance.governments would ollow in MBPJ’sootsteps when their budgets permit.Entry orms can be downloadedrom the city council website at http:// www.mbpj.gov.my/web/guest/home,and are also available on Residents As-sociation or Rukun etangga premises.Closing date or entries is Oct 21.Te entry orm also contains the listo energy, water and waste-recyling criteria or households to receive therebate.

(F lft) Cucill Khiul aw, W, rsl d cucillrichd Yh.

TT T

Don’t wait!Call us now for a FREEINSPECTIONtoday!

No 3-LG-01, Block A, Megan Salak Park, Jalan 2/125E, Taman Desa Petaling, 57100 Kuala Lumpur

☎

03-9059 1777

Independent owner and operator of

STEADFAST PEST MANAGEMENT SDN BHD

(879577-P)

MogFriday Saturday Sundayafeoongh

Selangor WeaTHer

Suc: