The draft of the Kampung Baru Development Corporation Bill was now with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, he told reporters after handing over sarong, batik material and “duit raya” (Aidilfitri donations) to 783 poor people and orphans.

The event was organised jointly by the Kampung Baru Jamek Mosque and the Titiwangsa Umno Division at the mosque.

Raja Nong Chik said the corporation, which would be operational next year, would serve as the governing body for development in Kampung Baru, a 110-year-old enclave spread over 90.2 hectares and comprising seven village-like sectors with a population of 35,000 in the heart of this city.

At the event, the popular Kampung Baru Mosque “bubur lambuk” (a rice porridge with herbs) was distributed to the aid recipients and other people in Kampung Baru, as part of the personal contribution of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Najib and Rosmah had contributed 50 huge pots of the “bubur lambuk” to be served to the people on Aug 18, 21 and 25. The mosque serves the porridge daily during the Ramadan fasting month.

– BERNAMA

Commenting on the 10-year plan to transform the city into the best place to live in, Raja Nong Chik said the ministry would lead Greater KL to simultaneously achieve the target.

“We aim to be the only metropolis in Asia.”

Ten municipalities have been included under Greater KL to create a sprawling liveable city and economic hub. They are Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selayang, Ampang Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang, Kajang and Sepang.

The 279,327ha size of Greater KL is about four times the size of Singapore.

Raja Nong Chik said besides the ministry, the Economic Planning Unit and the Performance Management Delivery Unit, under the Prime Minister’s Department, City Hall and the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) were also involved in making Greater KL a success.

The ministry will be in charge of leading the overall planning while City Hall and SPAD will execute the projects. “The Selangor state government is also included.”

Raja Nong Chik said so far, the ministry had not held a meeting on the Greater KL plan but he believed the Selangor government would cooperate. “It is a win-win situation. So I hope politics will be put aside.”

He said Greater KL was the Federal Government’s initiative to create more job opportunities and a better public transport system.

Minister in charge of EPU, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, recently said that Greater KL was about driving the economy and improving the quality of life. He expected Greater KL to help the country reap RM115 billion a year in income over the next 10 years.

Raja Nong Chik said 20 per cent green areas were planned for Greater KL, stating that Putrajaya, which boasts 34 per cent greenery, was the best model.

City Hall would provide a 42km-walkway throughout the city and would spearhead the upgrading of the Klang and Gombak rivers. “They will be a hub for activities where people can jog and cycle.”

Raja Nong Chik said all the projects were expected to begin next year.

“Other big plans include building an underground railway line.”

Source: NST

Menurut beliau, skim itu bertujuan mengurangkan kesedihan dan meringankan beban mereka yang kematian ahli keluarga.

Beliau mengakui, dalam kesibukan mengejar kemajuan ekonomi, memang terdapat golongan yang tersisih daripada arus pembangunan.

“Mereka termasuklah golongan mudah miskin yang hidup di bandar-bandar besar seperti Kuala Lumpur.

“Dengan peningkatan kos sara hidup, golongan ini menghadapi kesukaran menampung perbelanjaan harian. Tanpa bantuan kerajaan dan mereka yang prihatin, golongan ini akan terus dihimpit kemiskinan,” katanya.

Beliau berucap pada majlis pelancaran skim itu dan majlis berbuka puasa peringkat Wilayah Persekutuan di Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan di sini hari ini.

Hadir sama, Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin dan Ahli Parlimen Putrajaya merangkap Setiausaha Agung UMNO, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Skim khairat kematian itu amat unik kerana ia terbuka kepada semua warga Wilayah Persekutuan tanpa mengira kaum atau agama selagi memenuhi syarat yang ditetapkan.

Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP) selaku pengurus skim akan menyumbang RM2,500 kepada penama setelah membayar yuran RM5 yang hanya perlu dilunaskan sekali sahaja seumur hidup.

Syarat untuk mendapat khairat itu ialah:

– Berusia antara 21 tahun hingga 75 tahun

– Bermastautin di Wilayah Persekutuan

– Berdaftar sebagai pengundi di Wilayah Persekutuan

– Mengemukakan dua orang penama.

Pada majlis sama juga, YWP menyampaikan bantuan Ihya’ Ramadan sebanyak RM80,000 kepada 320 individu yang tidak bernasib baik dengan setiap seorang akan menerima RM250.

Dalam pada itu, YWP turut memperuntukkan RM235,000 untuk diagihkan kepada golongan yang memerlukan seperti anak- anak yatim, orang kurang upaya (OKU), ibu tunggal, warga emas dan mereka yang berpendapatan rendah.

The gold medalists in the individual event each received RM3,500 and RM7,000 for team event, while the incentive for the silver medalists was RM2,000 (individual) and RM4,000 (team) and RM1,000 for bronze medalist (individual) and RM2,000 (team).

Aquatic athlete Chan Kah Yan received the most incentive, totalling RM26,000. She won seven gold medals and two silver medals.

The athletes received the incentives from Federal Territory and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.

In his speech, Raja Nong Chik said RM992,300 was allocated by the Federal Territory Sports Council to be given as incentives to the successful athletes this year.

This year’s Sukma was held from June 10 to 19 in Melaka. The Federal Territory contingent ranked third with 43 gold, 42 silver and 49 bronze medals.

– BERNAMA

He said efforts would be made to ensure providers of the facilities, like Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), made available the facilities in the affected areas.

Although, Kuala Lumpur had 100 per cent Internet coverage, there were residents in some areas in the city who had yet to be exposed to ICT, he added.

“The Barisan Nasional government never forgets residents in these areas and today’s launch of TM’s broadband with netbook package for Kuala Lumpur residents is proof of the government’s commitment to enculture the use of ICT in the society,” he said when launching the package at the Sri Perak Public Housing, Bandar Baru Sentul, here Saturday.

Raja Nong Chik, who is also Federal Territory Umno deputy liaison chairman, said the public should utilise the opportunity provided by TM for them to have access to the Internet.

“Think about your children’s future. It is true that there is the negative side to the Internet, like gambling and pornography, but with monitoring by parents and the use of filters, it will make it safe for children,” he added.

–BERNAMA

The visiting Malaysian Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister, Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, said heer Tuesday that the respective mayors would sign the document in Kuala Lumpur during the planned visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Malaysia in November.

The twining of the two cities, he added, augured well for Chennai and Kuala Lumpur, which shared robust historical ties.

“Both cities are fast growing in Asia and the memorandum of understanding will foster closer cultural, economic and tourism ties. It would certainly improve existing relations between both cities,” Raja Nong Chik told the media here.

The minister, who is leading a 20-member delegation on the visit, held talks with Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M. K. Stalin at the State Secretariat office here.

He noted Tamil Nadu and Malaysia enjoyed cordial relations and the proposed twinning of the cities reflected the commitment to further enhance two-way diplomatic ties.

“Historically, the people of Tamil Nadu and Malaysia have enjoyed close cultural links because many of the Tamil population in Malaysia originated from south India. With the signing (of the MoU), I expect trade between Chennai and Kuala Lumpur to double or triple in the next few years,” said Raja Nong Chik.

His deputy minister, M. Saravanan, and Kuala Lumpur Mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail were also part of the delegation to Chennai.

– NNN-BERNAMA

The three different battle tanks courtesy of the Malaysian armed forces were parked in front of the Tun Sambanthan monorail station.

It was the first time the tanks made a public appearance, giving curious onlookers the opportunity to get up close and personal with the formidable ‘giants’.

Both adults and children were seen enthusiastically taking photographs, while the visually impaired felt their way around the tanks.
Hello: Ngiam (right) welcoming Anwar (left)and Wan Abdul Bari (second from left) to the carnival.

Mun Guan Fatt, 22, who is visually impaired said he was scared of the tanks but that did not stop the inquisitive lad from getting into the vehicle.

“I have never been afraid of fire trucks but this tank feels so huge. I am quite afraid,” Mun said while gingerly touching the vehicles.

The carnival also had booths by the armed forces featuring uniforms, and information counter about its universities.

There were also booths by the police and free health screening by the Satya Sai Centre Cheras with a team of doctors.

Earlier, the People’s Voice forum gave the Brickfields community a chance to ask questions to the members of panel present.

The police represented by the Brickfields OCPD Asst Comm Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) corporate communications director Anwar Mohd Zain addressed the queries from the floor.
Majestic: The Data Technic AFV Sibmas getting due attention from curious onlookers.

The children of Brickfields had a field day with a colouring contest organised by Kuntum and a Merdeka fashion show, while cultural performances by the National Arts and Culture department of KL kept the guests entertained in the afternoon.

RT Brickfields chairman S.K.K Naidu said in line with the independence month they organised cultural activities to instill patriotism in children.

The event was launched by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi while Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin dropped by to visit booths.

The fifth carnival in The Star Peoples’s Voice – You’ve Got The Power campaign series, the other guests included Star Publications Sdn Bhd group managing director/CEO Datin Linda Ngiam, deputy group chief editor (1) David Yeoh, deputy group chief editor (2) Leanne Goh, and RedFM and SuriaFM chief operating officer Azrullah Mohd Nor.

- from The Star

Muhyiddin, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said issues related to government policies, the administration, statements made by leaders and programmes implemented which are twisted by the opposition should be countered with confidence based on facts.

He said if the Opposition’s lies were not countered, people might believe them to be the truth and this would make Umno and the government to appear weak, which in turn could cause an erosion of support.

“I am sure we are aware of various issues they (Opposition) have raised all this while. They go around the country holding meetings and campaigns openly where they deride the government by telling lies.

“We cannot just keep silent because we have the facts and figures to counter their lies,” he said when opening Federal Territory (FT) Umno’s annual convention on Sunday.

Also present were FT Umno chairman Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, its information chief Datuk Dr Mohd Shafie Abdullah and Putrajaya Umno head Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Muhyiddin said now the younger generation of leaders were expressing concern that that the administration was slow to react to the lies spread by the Opposition, especially in the new media (Internet).

He said this should be taken seriously by government and Umno leaders because the they (younger generation of leaders) would be the future leaders of the country.

Muhyiddin said in this Internet age, leaders must respond quickly to issues raised, failing which they risked losing support form the people.

Umno leaders, he said, need to have wide knowledge of issues raised so that they were in a position to counter allegations hurled at the government and the party.

As such, Muhydiddn said he hoped information programmes would be arranged from time to time by highly capable people to clarify issues raised.

“We must be proactive. We cannot be defensive but be assertive in tackling whatever challenges that may come in our way,” he said.

– BERNAMA

Federal Territories and Urban WellBeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin said this at his closing speech at the Asian Bloggers and Social Media Conference 2010 yesterday.

He said the government would increase access to tap the Internet’s full potential.

“The ministry has explored many avenues to engage with the rakyat, such as Facebook hours. It provided us with a check-and-balance while we also deal with the people’s grouses and complaints.”

Raja Nong Chik said blogging could help highlight the positive aspects of Malaysian society, as what transpired in the ministry’s BlogforFT competition earlier this year.

The ministry would also leverage the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter by introducing awareness programmes scheduled at year-end. “This conference is a step in the right direction. With the involvement of many established bloggers, be it from Malaysia and other Asian countries, I believe it has benefited the participants tremendously.”

Yesterday’s session started off with talks by blogger-journalist Niki Cheong, CyberSecurity head Ahmad Izham Khairuddin and lifestyle blogger Kenny Sia. Cheong addressed the conflicting issues of being a blogger and a journalist, while urging social and traditional media to work in tandem with the advent of technology.

The highlight of the evening session was a panel discussion on Freedom of Speech and Blogging: Finding the Harmony with Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Kenny Sia, Oliver Robillo, Joyce Wong, Ahmad Nazuwan, Niki Cheong, Amit Varma, Foong Cheng Leong and The Malay Mail’s entertainment, lifestyle and new media executive editor, Irwan Abdul Rahman.

They presented different views on freedom of speech, with the discussions moderated by Zakhir Mohammad.

Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin who said this, stated that the government was very supportive of the development of the diplomatic precincts in Putrajaya, thus the development taking place at the 4GDE plot in Precinct 4 was in tune with the objective.

He said the 4GDE plot, near Persiaran Perdana, had frequently been the venue of various national and international events including the Merdeka Day celebrations.

“Embassies based here will not only be near ministerial buildings but also the headquarters of several multinationals in future,” he said at the launching of the Putrajaya diplomatic precinct in Precinct 4, here, today.

Raja Nong Chik said the area’s proximity to Kuala Lumpur would also be a draw for more foreign mission representatives to be located here.

“I am delighted to be told that the Iraq embassy’s two-storey building in Diplomatic Precinct 15 to be used as its office, is almost completed,” he added.

According to Raja Nong Chik, Diplomatic Precinct 4 is divided into five plots with only four plots open for sale as the other plot has been sold to the Indonesian embassy.

“Each plot of land is between 9,000 sq metres and 15,000 sq metres in size which will enable a building of eight to 10 storeys high to be constructed on the plot.

“Since the 4GDE plot has a township environment, the construction of more high-rise buildings will be allowed there compared with Diplomatic Precinct 15. It can be developed to accommodate the ambassador’s official residence, embassy office and staff quarters,” he said.

– BERNAMA