MPSJ Rescue Squad 24-7

For the fourth year, the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) is having its Natural Disaster Operations Room on stand-by during the Aidilfitri festive season.

Our 30-man rescue squad, consisting of employees from various departments, will respond to the distress call from the public in case of emergency.

The squad, which is trained in rescue skills, is divided into three teams and will be on duty round the clock from Sept 8 to 19.

Three members from each of our 22 departments will be on stand-by, too, in 12-hour shifts. They will join the rescue squad if anything happens during their shifts.

In the past, we had taken swift action during the holiday seasons when flood, fire and thunderstorm occurred, and this year we are not letting our guard down.

The public can call our 24-hour hotline at 03-5637 6545 for rescue assistance. Our squad members will be alerted immediately and they will report to the operations room as soon as possible.

Once they are back, they will gather the necessary equipment, such as walkie-talkie sets and boats, before setting off to the affected site.

Meanwhile, the hotline unit will contact the relevant departments, such as Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), police, Social Welfare Department, Civil Defence Force (JPA 3), Rela and ambulance, for further assistance.

Besides providing food aid, we will evacuate the victims if necessary.

We have identified several locations to relocate the victims, including the Enggang Apartments in Bandar Kinrara 6, Kampung Tengah Community Hall, Taman Sri Puchong Community Hall, Kinrara Section 1 Multipurpose Hall, Taman Mawar Community Hall in Puchong, Sri Kayan Apartments and Taman Intan Community Hall in Batu 3, Shah Alam, 3K Complex in Seri Kembangan and the MPSJ Indoor Stadium in Serdang Jaya.

The squad is required to keep the command post in the operations room informed half-hourly or hourly, and they will in turn relay the information to me or deputy MPSJ president.

I see strong commitment in MPSJ employees, who do not hesitate to serve even during the festive season.

News article derived from the Star

Balik Kampung - Rumat Selamat Forms

This form is applicable for residents of Bandar Sunway, Putra Heights, Subang Jaya & USJ

To submit your registration direct to the Polis, you can obtain a copy of the "registration form" from your nearest participating Balai Polis, or print and fill out the form provided below.

Click on image to download PDF files


Please note that the Forms are in PDF format, you would require

More on GnG Guidelines

RESIDENTS associations are setting up gated and guarded communities and the Fire and Rescue Services Department has no problems with it as long as they are not a hindrance in the event of an emergency.

There are no ministry guidelines on such schemes and the rules and regulations differ from one local government to another.

However last month, a set of guidelines were drafted to plan, control and monitor the development of gated and guarded communities by the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

The guidelines were drawn by the Urban and Rural Planning Department and the Cabinet is considering enforcing the guidelines throughout Peninsular Malaysia. The draft would include detailed aspects of planning and monitoring of gated community schemes in line with the Strata Titles Act 1985 (Amendment 2006) as well as for “guarded neighbourhoods”.

In the meantime, the government will not stop anyone from creating a gated community with guards but once the draft is in place, such schemes would have to follow conditions and regulations stipulated by the ministry.

Fire and Rescue Department Malaysia (Inspectorate Unit, Corporate Management and PR Division Senior) Superintendent II, Gan Hock Seong said the department had no objections but it would help if the residents associations discussed plans with the department before setting up such schemes.

He said now the discussion was with the developers but there were certain problems in gated communities that could hinder the department from carrying out their jobs in the event of a fire.

Gan said for example, the erection of boom gates and horizontal bars might cause a problem if they were not built to specifications as the recommended height is 16ft to allow their biggest vehicle to pass through.

“In such instances we can use our hydraulic tools to remove them but we could have responded faster if there were no such hindrances,’’ he added.

Gan said gated and guarded communities were something new and although there were no guidelines set by the Fire and Rescue Department, the residents associations could work with them to follow simple guidelines for a win-win situation.

In Selangor, for instance, 85% of the residents must agree for a guarded neighbourhood whereas a gated community needs 100%.

“This would help the department to reduce the loss of response time as obstacles and other hindrances could cause big losses in the event of a major fire,’’ said Gan.

He said although the department was equipped with the tools to remove obstacles such as boom gates, in most cases narrow access roads and security booths in old developments, which were not built to specifications, obstructed vehicle movement.

“In the event of a fire at high-rise buildings, the department would use the sky-lift and it would pose problems if the access roads are not wide enough,’’ said Gan.

Such schemes, he said, should not hinder vehicles from entering the area by putting up barricades and obstructions that were critical to response time.

Gan said under such circumstances, the department could issue the fire-hazard abatement notice under Section 8 of the Fire and Rescue Act to absolve them of any damages caused by the delay.

He said new developments were required to be designed with the minimum hazard or risks and this was provided for under the Uniform Building By-laws.

By CHARLES FERNANDEZ
charlesf@thestar.com.my

Streaming Guidelines on GnG

The Federal Territories Gerakan is pledging support for the Cabinet’s recent approval of a working paper to streamline guidelines for gated and guarded communities.

Its anti-crime and public safety bureau chief, Lim Teck Ang, said they supported the policy because gated communities had helped to lower the crime rate in residential areas like Taman Segar, Taman Megah and Taman Bukit Maluri Kepong.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung announced several days ago that the guidelines would only be implemented after they were considered by the National Council for Local Government, in a meeting to be chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister on Aug 26.

Lim said Federal Territories Gerakan had also drafted a paper last year listing various crime prevention measures to be included for a gated community, based on feedback received from different residents associations.

“In 2008, we received complaints from a few residents associations that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) went to demolish their guardhouses.

“Since then, Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has been concerned and even met the previous Kuala Lumpur mayor to stop further demolition of the structures.

“The then mayor agreed that no more guardhouses will be demolished until the government comes up with guidelines,” Lim said during a press conference.

Federal Territories Gerakan youth chief Lau Hoi Keong hoped that once the guidelines were implemented, the DBKL could relax the ruling a little for existing guardhouses, like the design aspect.

“New developments will have to abide by the guidelines, but for existing gated and guarded communities, we urge the DBKL to be more lenient in their enforcement,” said Lau.

He said the guidelines must also take into consideration residents without car stickers who do not subscribe to the gated and guarded scheme.

“There were times when non-subscribing residents faced difficulty entering into their own housing estate because the guards either did not let them through without the stickers, or wanted their identification,” he added.

They also proposed for a yearly allocation to be channelled to local councils so that the respective RAs could upgrade their security facilities and features, adding that the budget would require the coordination between the Home Ministry, Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Federal Territorries and Urban Wellbeing Ministry.

Lim said FT Gerakan would be setting up 10 service teams to provide help and advice to the RAs on problems faced with regard to the forming of gated and guarded communities.

“We will continue to study the guidelines once they are implemented with a possible briefing to be conducted for all Kuala Lumpur RAs,” he said.

Lau said with the guidelines drawn up, security and crime prevention, however, should not be passed on to the residents. The police, he said, would still need to patrol these areas.

He hoped the guidelines would require only 70% of consent from residents in the area for the scheme to be implemented.

He said this was because there were bound to be about 20% of residents in a particular area who were unwilling to pay the subscription fees.

He added that the current 85% consent set by the Selangor government was high and many RAs had difficulty starting the scheme.

“The guidelines have to also address the legal aspect of public roads that are blocked by boom gates and fencing.”

The FT Gerakan human resources and training bureau head Ong Siang Liang said even where there was 100% consent by residents for the area to be gated, it could be implemented only with the condition that there were no public amenities like schools, mosques or fire brigade in the neighbourhood.

The FT Gerakan also proposed for several measures to complement the gated and guarded scheme.

“The local authority should put up CCTV cameras, ensure that streetlights are bright and working, and trim trees to prevent blind spots,” Ong said.

Article featured in Metro Star today

Let the Police protect your home this Raya Holidays

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan having a quick word with USJ8 officer-in-charge of station Inspector Chia Bee Chuan (right) just right after a ceremony at the balai this morning

THE Royal Malaysian Police plans to go on a nationwide drive to encourage house owners to sign up for police visits to their empty homes during festive seasons.

Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said the ongoing Balik Kampung program which has proven to be effective in bringing crime down during Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Christmas would be emulated across the country.

"Yes. We want to extend this service to all States. This will bring the community and police together especially during the festive season."

"Please participate in this programme. We can watch over your house while you are away for your holidays," he said to reporters after giving out awards to outstanding police personnel recently at the USJ8 Police Station.

Musa said all information contained in the police "Balik Kampung" forms would be treated with the highest confidentiality.

Under the programme, residents going away for the holidays can sign up at the nearest police station to have the cops visit their vacant homes regularly. This programme increases police presence in the immediate area and has proven to successfully bring crime rates down.

Directions from Cabinet on GnG

Below is the article featured in The Star recently:

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has approved a proposal to streamline guidelines for gated communities and guarded neighbourhoods that have become increasingly popular among the security conscious.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said, however, that the guidelines would only be implemented after they had been considered by the National Council for Local Government (MNKT).

He said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was scheduled to chair a meeting of the council on Aug 26 that would be attended also by the mentris besar and chief ministers.

"The Cabinet recently approved the guidelines prepared by my ministry. But we need to bring them to the MNKT. Once the MNKT approves it, I will reveal the details," he told Bernama in an interview.

Gated communities and guarded neighbourhoods have sprung up in recent years as residents, especially in the urban areas, launched their own initiatives to protect themselves and their properties by employing private security firms to guard their housing estates. However, criticism has been levelled at these firms as they often install security booths at strategic entrances and exits of the housing estates, with some even having booms that prevent easy access and exit.

Chor said there were about 480 such guarded neighbourhoods in Selangor alone, and added that not all of the residents agreed with the move to establish a gated community while some had even refused to pay the monthly subscription fee for the service.

He said that currently there were no standard guidelines for gated communities and guarded neighbourhoods, but some states had come out with their own guidelines.

In Selangor, the local authorities have allowed a guarded community to be implemented if 85% of the population in an area agrees to it.

"The local authorities allow guardhouses to be built as long as the application is made through the residents associations, with the consent of at least 85% of the residents," Chor said. The residents associations must also agree that the guardhouse did not put up a barrier and its location posed no obstruction to traffic, meaning it must only be sited on the road shoulder, he said.

This was to avoid complications with existing laws as once the infrastructure was handed over to the local council, the roads, drains, parks and playgrounds should be open to the public unless it was a private property, he added.

"We hope that the ministry's proposed guidelines can be accepted by the various states so that they can be streamlined.

"For gated communities, it is not much of an issue as they already have a legal management body set up under the strata title and most of the apartments and condominiums fall under this category," said Chor. -Bernama

Safer Raya

Safer homes while you are away...Chief Inspector Sulaiman Baputty handing out the Balik Kampung form to a resident at the SS18 Ramadhan stalls. Looking on is MPSJ councilor Dr KM Loi.

RESIDENTS going away for the Hari Raya holidays can sign up early with the police to arrange for regular police visits to their homes during the coming festive break.

It's a simple task to have the men in blue visit homes left vacant during the festive holiday.

All residents have to do is fill up the Balik Kampung forms (which are also available at all the police stations) providing details of their trip away and when they will be back.

Once completed, just drop it off at the police station nearest to home.

During the time a house owner is away, police personnel will make regular visits to the house and dropping a visitation slip in the letterbox.

SS17 Subang Jaya head of station Chief Inspector Sulaiman Baputty said residents are advised to take advantage of this service by the police.

"This service is free. All you have to do is fill up the form and drop it off at the police station nearest to your home."

"All information provided is confidential," he said after distributing forms to residents who were busy shopping for their food to break fast.

Statistics over the past few years have shown a significant success in keeping crime rates down during the festive season with this Balik Kampung program led by the police.

"Residents should take advantage of this extra measure to keep their homes safe while they are away," MPSJ councilor Dr KM Loi said.

Fasting starts on Aug 10

The start of the fasting month for Muslims nationwide will be determined on Aug 10 by both sighting of the moon and astronomy.

The 3 Greens Resident Committee would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Muslim neighbours and friends SELAMAT BERPUASA!