槟岛升格为市了! THRESHOLD Pg Pg 9 1 FREE Buletin
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DEFER GST, INCREASE 槟岛升格为市了! THRESHOLD pg pg 9 1 FREE buletin Competency Accountability Transparency http:www.facebook.com/buletinmutiara April 1 - 15, 2015 http:www.facebook.com/cmlimguaneng We are a city again! Story by Chan Lilian and Mark James Pix by Alissala Thian and Adil Muham- mad AFTER four decades, George Town has officially been recognised as a city and at its helm as the first mayor of the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) is the newly- appointed Datuk Patahiyah Ismail. George Town was first conferred city status in 1957 by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II but lost it in 1974 when it was merged with the rural districts of Penang to form a local government management board. In 1976, the Local Government Act recognised the board as the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP). The declaration of the Penang Island City Council (or Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang - MBPP) and the appointment of the mayor were held at the residence of Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas at Anjung Mutiara, Seri Mutiara on March 31. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal de- cree on March 24 had declared Penang Island as a city on Jan 1, 2015. The decree was handed over to the Gov- ernor during the ceremony by the secretary- Penang’s city status has been restored since its removal in the 1970’s. general of the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry, Datuk Seri Patahiyah was escorted for her maiden She also recognised that it was the Among the new functions of the city Arpah Abdul Razak. speech at the new Penang Island City Hall hard work of the city council staff that council is more authority over traffic Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, represent- by a motorcade of two vehicles and 12 elevated the township to a city but also management and enforcement. Four new ing the state government, then announced electric motorbikes belonging to MBPP. said that there will always be room for departments will also be introduced, the appointment of Patahiyah as the mayor “Today is indeed a historic day. This improvement in terms of service and namely landscaping, heritage enforce- of MBPP. event has been long awaited and it also management, stressing on their adopted ment, solid waste management and pub- The Governor then handed over the brings with it bigger challenges and greater outcome based administration. lic cleanliness. “cokmar” (ceremonial mace or sceptre) and expectations from the people of Penang,” Councilor Joseph Ng Soon Siang said Penang now joins a list of 13 cities in the garlanded Patahiyah with the Chain of Of- she said. with the new city status, the public can country alongside Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, fice (kalung). “These challenges include providing expect to see better services. Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Alor Star, Johor Both represent the power of the office infrastructure, building our city’s environ- “Before getting city status, expecta- Baru, Malacca City, Kuala Terengganu, and power of the mayor respectively. mental image of being the highest of qual- tions for us to perform was already very Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Kuching North and The Governor, Chief Minister, exco ity and lifting the state’s economy to be high. We met those expectations and our Kuching South. members, assemblymembers and the more dynamic and competitive parallel to efforts paid off but even greater chal- newly appointed mayor had tea before our status as a city,” she said in her speech. lenges await for us,” he said. MORE STORIES ON PG 2 2 April 1 - 15, 2015 Glittering night of Penang stars Story and pix by Chan Lilian general. display. MBPP’s first female mayor, Datuk Bandar Patahiyah FIREWORKS, Penang-born Datuk Patahiyah Ismail, to- pledged to work with her team international stars, P. Ramlee gether with MBPP’s heads of in the MBPP to give the best goldies, Penang boria, drums, departments and councillors service to all Penangites. dances and more entertained the were on hand to meet and greet Meanwhile, Lim congratu- crowd at the night to mark Pen- state government top brass like lated the mayor on being the first ang Island City Council (MBPP) State Secretary Datuk Seri Fari- female mayor in Penang. status on April 4. zan Darus, State Financial Of- However, Lim reminded the Themed “Gilang Gemilang ficer Datuk Mokhtar Jait and MBPP: “With this declaration, Tanjung Penaga”, it was a pot- others. I hope the workforce in MBPP pourri of everything Penang - A gigantic screen flashed will carry out their responsibili- from Hokkien dialect songs to a Penang-born famous celebrities, ties wisely and be ever ready to dance with background of Pen- sports icons, fashion icons and face increasing challenges while ang char koay teow. also brought back memories of providing the best service with The glittering night was old Penang and included sev- a Competent, Accountable and graced by Governor Tun Abdul eral historic moments of the is- Transparent (CAT) administra- Rahman Abbas and his wife Toh land. tion.” Puan Majimor Shariff, Chief The huge crowd which filled With the declaration of its Minister Lim Guan Eng, exco the Esplanade field will long city status, MBPP’s workforce members, assemblymembers, remember the momentous night has increased from 3,576 to invited dignitaries and consuls- which ended with a fireworks 3964. The Governor and other VIPs enjoying the fireworks display. Patahiyah is mayor of Penang Island DATUK Bandar Patahiyah Ismail, sponsibilities of being the mayor ing Department as its director and who was wearing a blue ceremo- of the Penang Island City Council. was instrumental in getting George nial mayor’s robe with golden lace Patahiyah began her career in Town listed as a Unesco World trimmings, appeared at the Gov- the Penang Island Municipal Heritage Site in 2008. ernor’s residence looking very Council (MPPP) in 1985 as an In June 2009, she made a mark serious. architect attached to the Building in history as the first female sec- This was to be expected as she Department. retary in the MPPP and then be- was to receive the tasks and re- In 1992, she helmed the Build- came its president on March 1, Patahiyah explaining to exco member for Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Chow Kon Yeow the symbolic meaning of the Chain Of Office. 2010. United Kingdom. She was conferred the Darjah Patahiyah spoke to reporters Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) after the ceremony and said: “I am by Governor Tun Abdul Rahman aware of the heavy responsibilities Abbas in 2012. of the mayor as there are a lot of At the declaration of the Pen- things to be carried out for the is- ang Island City Council on March land of Penang.” 31, Patahiyah received the sym- Later at another ceremony at bolic “cokmar” or the ceremonial the Penang Island City Hall, Pata- mace to signify the power of the hiyah said in her maiden speech: Penang Island City Council. “The declaration of the Penang Thereafter, she was given the Island City Council is a historic Chain of Office after she took her moment for our state. We will oath. continue to work hard to deliver The robe, “cokmar” and Chain efficient and effective services to of Office were designed and made the stakeholders and bring im- according to specifications of the provements in all areas including Commonwealth Countries’ May- safety, cleanliness, greener envi- oral office. ronment and health.” Patahiyah’s robe in blue signi- Henceforth, Patahiyah shall fies the blue seas surrounding be addressed as the Datuk Penang and it was tailored in the Bandar. April 1 - 15, 2015 3 No hidden costs in affordable housing Story by Victor Seow parks or renovation packages. I’m saying the devel- contractors by the owners to renovate different parts oper can offer but only if that offer is accepted on a of their unit. STATE Exco for Housing, Town & Country Planning willing buyer, willing seller basis then it can be given “Each time you get a unit, it is a bare unit and you’ll Jagdeep Singh Deo has cleared the air on any confu- out but not under forced circumstances. have to renovate it anyway. That’s why developers are sion over an article which appeared in the vernacular “Our objective is to make housing accessible to offering renovation packages and to be fair to the press alleging that there are hidden costs in the afford- Penangites, not to impose further burden on them,” developers, many purchasers are willing to take the able housing scheme in Penang in the form of extra Jagdeep said during the press conference on March package as it is a good bargain. The cost of renovation charges for parking lots or renovation packages. 26. increases if you were to engage a different person for Refuting such allegations, Jagdeep clarified that any He also noted that new units bought under the af- the kitchen or the toilet. deal between the developer and the purchaser must be fordable housing scheme are bare units which need “The renovation cost is more bearable if you have done on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis. some renovations, developers are prepared to offer everything done in a single package. The bottom line “Let me be extremely clear on this. The developer renovation packages which are more economically is, there is no issue if everything is done on a willing has no right to force the purchase of additional car expedient when compared with engaging different buyer, willing seller basis,” he added. Affordable housing programme a success Story and pix by Danny Ooi PENANG exco for Housing, Town and Country Planning Jagdeep Singh Deo said it is very encouraging to note that from last November till March this year, there was a 28% increase in applicants applying for RM200,000 afford- able housing units, 61% increase for RM300,000 units and 42.5% increase in applicants for RM400,000 housing units.