Chow Kon Yeow: 曹观友

8 Mei 2008

Tuan Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjong) minta Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan menyatakan adakah kerajaan bercadang untuk memulihkan sistem pilihanraya kepada kerajaan tempatan. Jika ya, beri butir. Jika tidak, mengapa.

Jawapan:
Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat, KERAJAAN TIDAK BERCADANG UNTUK MENGADAKAN PILIHANRAYA KERAJAAN TEMPATAN.

Short and Sweet. That is the reply from the Federal Government.

8hb. Mei 2008

Tuan Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjong) minta Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi menyatakan apakah tindakan yang diambil untuk mencegah sistem pajak dalam operasi perkhidmatan bas di negeri Pulau Pinang dan apakah langkah akan diambil untuk mewujudkan sistem perkhidmatan bas yang efisien dan mapan di negeri itu.

Jawapan:
Selaras dengan peruntukan Seksyen 39 Akata LPKP 1987, pemajakan lesen, serah hak atau menyebab dan membenar mana-mana orang lain menggunakan kenderaan yang dilesenkan adalah tidak dibenarkan kecuali dengan izin Lembaga LPKP. Pelbagai usaha telah diambil oleh kerajaan untuk mewujudkan sistem perkhidmatan bas yang efisien dan mapan di Pulau Pinang. Antaranya:
1. Mengadakan siri perbincangan dengan pelbagai stake holder seperti kerajaan negeri, pengusaha bas, wakil persatuan dan NGO. Sehingga kini sebanyak 10 siri perbincangan telah diadakan bagi menangani masalah pengangkutan bas awam di Pulau Pinang.
2. Mengadakan perbincangan dengan Yang Berhormat selaku EXCO Kerajaan Tempatan, Pengurusan Lalulintas dan Alam Sekitar pada 17 April 2008.
3. Mengadakan tindakan penguatkuasaan secara berterusan dengan agensi-agensi penguatkuasaan seperti JPJ dan PDRM termasuk MPPP dalam hal berkaitan lalulintas dan penggunaan terminal bas.
4. Tidak menimbang permohonan pembaharuan lesen bas jika terdapat saman-saman tertunggak dan bas berusia melebihi 15 tahun.
5, Menstruktur semula semua laluan mengikut sistem pajak bagi setiap pengusaha yang dilaksanakan sejak April 2006. Di samping itu, mulai 31 Julai 2007 Rapid Penang menyediakan perkhidmatan menggunakan 150 buah bas yang beroperasi di Pulau Pinang dan Seberang Perai.
6. LPKP membuat pemantauan dan auditan ke syarikat operator bas bagi menyemak rekod berhubung pengambilan kakitangan syarikat termasuk pemandu, penyata kewangan dan penyata gaji, caruman KWSP dan PERKESO.
7.Menggesa semua pihak termasuk kerajaan negeri, MPPP dan NGO untuk memberikan bukti kegiatan pemajakan bagi membolehkan kerajaan mensabitkan kesalahan pemajakan oleh operator bas.

Ucapan di Dewan Rakyat pada 13hb. Mei 2008

Tuan Chow Kon Yeow [Tanjong]: Saya ucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada Tuan
Yang di-Pertua kerana memberi kesempatan kepada saya untuk membahaskan Usul Menjunjung
Kasih Titah Ucapan Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong dengan harapan bahawa 8
Mac 2008 ini akan membuka lembaran baru dan membawa harapan kepada era baru demokrasi
Malaysia.
Pada 8 Mac 2008, Tuan Yang di-Pertua, rakyat jelata telah menunaikan kewajipan dan
menggunakan hak mereka untuk memilih sebuah kerajaan. Kita menghormati kebijaksanaan
pengundi untuk memilih wakil rakyat dan gabungan parti-parti politik untuk membentuk Kerajaan
Persekutuan dan kerajaan-kerajaan negeri.
Kita perlu menerima keputusan pengundi untuk menuntut perubahan politik yang
akhirnya memperlihatkan kehilangan majoriti 2/3 parti pemerintah di Dewan Rakyat ini dan juga
lima buah kerajaan negeri. Kita harus menyahut pesanan Seri Paduka Baginda supaya kita
hendaklah menjadi kepentingan negara sebagai matlamat utama dalam menunaikan mandat
rakyat yang diberikan kepada kita. (more…)

Thursday March 27, 2008
No adverse impact on flora on isle
THE proposed water storage tank and retention pond project on Pulau Jerejak will not have an adverse impact on flora and medicinal plants such as tongkat ali, kacip fatimah and aromatic gaharu, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said.

He said the project did not involve the clearing of forest reserve that boasts such vegetation.

“Only the secondary forest will be cleared to make way for the water storage tank and retention pool to store some 45 million litres of water transferred via pipe from mainland to cater to Bayan Lepas Free Industrial zone, Batu Maung and Pulau Jerejak,” said Chow.

He said based on a report from the state Forestry Department, 295ha of forest reserve would be left untouched.

“The project only involves 3.54ha of the total 362ha of Pulau Jerejak,” he said, allaying nature lovers’ fear the development would destroy the pristine environment.

The project to build the facilities started last December and would be completed within 18 months.

Chow said the Forestry Department hoped the contractor, Premidon Construction, would carry out the work well to minimise erosion risk.

“The contractor has been told to build a silt trap and drainage system to mitigate erosion and control the pollution to the sea.”

He said all the trees cut to develop the project would also be transported back to the mainland for disposal.

“We prohibit burning on the island,” he said.

Adopt a green lung areas
By CHRISTINA CHIN
TO encourage the corporate sector to help beautify Penang, companies will be allowed to advertise their company names in their respective “adopted areas”.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the companies would be allowed to advertise in return for sponsorship and corporate adoption programmes.

“The move has proven to be an effective and efficient way to reduce local councils’ landscaping and beautification cost,” he said.

Chow said it was not feasible to plant flowers that incur huge monthly maintenance cost.

Green haven: Cheap and easy to maintain plants and trees will be planted at spots like Gurney Drive.

“What we need are more trees and plants that are cheaper to plant,” he said in an interview.

When contacted, Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohd Idris said the state should rethink the private sponsorship and corporate adoption programmes.

“It does not cost a lot to ‘green up’ Penang. In 1963, I was in the local council and we initiated a tree-planting campaign that was very successful.

“We do not need the private sector because it does not cost much to plant trees. Until today, the trees still stand – look at the Peel Avenue, Jalan Masjid Ne-geri and Macalister Road stretches. The local councils should also consider bougainvillea shrubs and other creepers that are cheap, pretty and easy to maintain,” he said, adding that beautification should be the “people’s project”.

“Get everyone involved. Get students to plant trees outside their school compounds, encou-rage homeowners to plant trees outside their gardens and urge corporations to do the same in their surroundings.

“When it comes to planting trees, everyone should be allowed to do so even if it is on state land. So long as the trees and plants do not obstruct traffic and pose a danger to road users, it should be allowed,” he said.

Idris also warned that allowing the private sector to advertise in return for sponsorship could lead to “ugly, obstructive and distracting advertisements” mushrooming everywhere.

Saturday April 5, 2008
Repair cracks, builder told
By NG SU-ANN
THE Penang Municipal Coun-cil has directed a developer to repair the cracks on some 10 houses in Changkat Bukit Gambir which appeared after it started work on a nearby apartment project last year.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the council would not hesitate to issue a stop work order if the developer did not comply with the requirements.

“The developer should have taken a more pro-active stance to repair the cracks and not wait for the residents to complain to us before doing something about it,” he told newsmen at the Vista Gambir construction site yesterday.

The visit came in the wake of several complaints from the nearby residents concerning the cracks as well as noise and dust pollution caused by the developer’s rock blasting work at the site.

Condo site:A view of Vista Gambier apartment project near Jalan Bukit Gambier.

Chow said the complainants were also concerned that their access road would be used by the apartment’s residents upon the project’s completion.

“They fear this will result in traffic congestion,” he said, adding that there were about 50 houses in the neighbourhood.

Council president Datuk Zainal Rahim Seman said: “If the developer doesn’t repair (the cracks), we will repair them.”

A company spokesman, who only wanted to be known as Cheah, said they would begin repairing the houses as soon as possible.

On the rock blasting, he said it had been completed.

Vista Gambier is a 19-storey condominium block with two wings comprising 144 units.

The project is expected to be completed at the end of next year.

Monday April 7, 2008
Brakes on bus lease scheme
PENANG: Bus operators here have been told to stop leasing their buses to drivers.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said they would face the music if they refused.

He said the lease scheme, which involves drivers paying a certain amount for rental and maintenance, has given the state’s public transportation system a bad image.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Chow said the bus operators should look into substituting the lease system with a salary scheme, which would enable the drivers to follow a proper time and route schedule.

He said that under the lease system, drivers claimed they got better income and did not have to be on the road during off-peak hours.

“The state is against the lease system.”

He alleged that the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), was well aware of the problem but had failed to act against these operators.

He said the state also would not hesitate to endorse Citizens for Public Transport (Cepat) plans to take legal action against CVLB for allegedly failing to regulate and supervise the bus system in the state.

He said that although the state had not fixed any time frame for the bus operators to do away with the system, it was nevertheless “very, very serious'’ in its caution to the operators.

When contacted, CVLB chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran asked the state and Cepat to submit a written complaint to the board with details of bus companies that were using the lease system.

“Give me the details. Which bus company is using this system? How many buses? What are the bus numbers? We need all these data before we can act,” he added.

He said that to date, CVLB had yet to receive any official complaint from any party regarding the matter.

“If they submit an official complaint to us complete with details, then we will take the necessary action.

“If we still fail to take action after submission of these complaints, then they can proceed and take legal action against us,'’ he added.