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Bkt Gasing temple works
a risk to public: Ikram
by Llew-Ann Phang
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: The Public Works
Institute (Ikram) has found the Sivan
Temple development on Bukit Gasing
to be a risk to public safety and repair
works are being carried out on its
foundation.
The temple grounds is divided into
two major areas of concern and Ikram
has only completed its report on the
first area.
Petaling Jaya City (MBPJ) council-
lor Derek Fernandez said after Ikram’s
findings and recommendations, the
developer has begun work to stabilise
the grounds, including correcting the
erosion.
“The MBPJ’s engineering depart-
ment is heading this task to ensure that
the people involved in the construc-
tion abide by the repair works and all
that is necessary to ensure safety are
completed accordingly.
“It’s on-going but it’s slow. We’re
also looking into Ikram expanding its
investigations into the second area to
look into land stability and the stabili-
sation methods,” he said.
“The costs for further investiga-
tions, however, would have to be
borne by the temple authorities,”
added Fernandez.
MBPJ and the temple authorities
are still discussing the next course of
action.
The Sivan Temple was first thrust
into the limelight after a landslide on
March 21, 2007.
The 40-year-old site where renova-
tion works were being carried out was
once a shrine and it expanded into a
moderate temple to an even larger
temple complex.
The complex had originally been
planned to occupy 1,400 sq m but the
new site is estimated to be about four
times, at 5,700 sq m.
The three-storey project, when
completed, would accommodate
8,000 people and the construction of
Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
36 meditation huts, among other at-
tractions.
MBPJ issued a stop-work order
the following day after the landslide,
ordering the demolition of the exten-
sion of the construction but the order
was ignored.
On Oct 18 last year, MBPJ issued
yet another stop-work order on the
renovation and extension work after
councillors Fernandez and A. Thiru-
venggadam voiced their concern
about the development.
Amid their cries of concern for
public safety, there were also ques-
tions on the land ownership and it was
revealed that the land belonged to the
state government.
Subsequently, MBPJ and the state
government, particularly Selangor
Health, Estates Workers, Poverty and
Caring Government Committee chair-
man Dr A. Xavier Jeyakumar, who is
also part of the state’s committee for
non-Muslim religious affairs, have
been working to resolve the issue.
Jui Meng: I’m no
political
opportunist
FORMER MCA vice-president
Datuk Chua Jui Meng, who
crossed over to Parti Rakyat
Keadilan (PKR) last month, says
he is no opportunist.
In an interview with Sin Chew
Daily published yesterday, he said
he had put forward many propos-
als that raised the ire of Umno
when he was still with MCA but
no one from the party dared to
back him up.
“If I am an opportunist, who
isn’t?” he asked.
Chua, 65, took exception for
being labelled an opportunist for
crossing over to PKR, and gave
examples to show that he is not
opportunistic, including his pro-
posal for the abolition of the New
Economic Policy (NEP); his pro-
posal for MCA to withdraw from
the Barisan Nasional (BN) to break
away from Umno’s control; and
turning down Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim’s invitation to join PKR
prior to the last general election
even though he knew MCA would
not let him contest the election.
He said he openly stated eve-
rything. “Did anyone (from MCA)
dare to say it? They did not even
dare to support me. Why wasn’t I
labelled an opportunist then?”
Chua said he first proposed
the scrapping of NEP while he
was a minister and he would not
have done so to jeopardise his
government post if he was an
opportunist.
He said when he proposed
the scrapping of the NEP, no one
from MCA, Chinese organisations
or Chinese business groups dared
to back him up, and nobody said
he was opportunistic.
He also pointed out that in
2005, while he was still MCA
vice-president, he took on then
Fight for Najib’s time
sparked groups’ split
A SCRAMBLE for a more promi-
nent position on the programme
agenda for a dinner hosted by
MCA in Kuantan to celebrate
Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s
appointment as the sixth prime
minister of Malaysia is said to
be the last straw that caused
the split between Hua Zong and
Associated Chinese Chambers
of Commerce and Industry of
Malaysia (ACCCIM).
This, coupled with the subse-
quent squabble between Penang
Chinese Town Hall and Penang
Chinese Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, led to ACCCIM’s
decision to part ways with Hua
Zong (Federation of Chinese As-
sociations of Malaysia) last week.
According to a report in
Nanyang Siang Pau yesterday, it
was learnt that the organisers of
the June 27 dinner had originally
obtained the consensus from all
parties involved to arrange for
Hua Zong president Tan Sri Lim
Gait Tong to deliver his speech
before ACCCIM president Tan Sri
William Cheng, followed by MCA
president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat
and Najib.
This order, which accorded
more importance to Cheng than
Lim, was approved by Ong but at
a subsequent organising commit-
| TUESDAY AUGUST 11 2009
prime minister Datuk Seri Abdul-
lah Ahmad Badawi’s son-in-law
Khairy Jamaluddin for a TV debate
on the NEP, and he spoke up for
the Chinese and Indians.
“Did any other Chinese politi-
cian in the country dare to utter
what Chua Jui Meng said? Did
anyone dare to debate with Khairy
then?”
Chua disclosed that he was
invited to join PKR before the last
general election and given an offer
to contest a seat of his choice but
he opted to stay with MCA despite
the knowledge that he would not
be nominated by the party to
contest the election because he
was hoping that the leadership
would reform the party.
“If I were an opportunist, would
I have done so?” he asked.
Chua, who made two unsuc-
cessful bids for the party top post
in the later part of his 33 years with
MCA, could have chosen to retire
quietly and be “a well-respected
party veteran” but opted to em-
bark on a new political journey
with the Opposition to realise his
ambition to seek reforms.
Asked if it is not too late for
him to make such a decision,
he said: “In everyone’s life, there
exists an opportune time for one
to do a certain thing. And this is
the most opportune moment for
me”.
He explained that this is the
best time to form the two-party
system and the most opportune
time to reform (the country).
Chua also said because he
had proposed the abolition of
NEP, Umno had regarded him
as a thorn in the flesh and tried
to prevent him from becoming
MCA president in the last party
election.
tee meeting in which Ong was
not present, it was found that the
order between Cheng and Lim
was reversed.
An argument also broke out
over who should be seated next to
Najib along with Ong at the dinner.
ACCCIM was said to be displeased
when it later discovered that Hua
Zong had a hand in changing the
order for the speakers to deliver
their speeches.
The matter was eventually
resolved when the order was re-
verted to the original arrangement
but the incident fuelled the split
between the two groups.
On Aug 2, ACCCIM’s execu-
tive council passed a resolution
for seven Chinese chambers of
commerce and industry which are
still members of their respective
state Chinese assembly halls to
withdraw their membership.
Malacca Chinese Chamber of
Commerce and Industry took the
lead to heed ACCCIM’s call with
an announcement on Sunday that
it is pulling out of the Malacca
Chinese Assembly Hall.
The other Chinese chambers of
commerce and industry which still
maintain their Chinese assembly
hall membership are Selangor/
Kuala Lumpur, Klang, Perak, Perlis,
Kelantan and Kluang.