Unseen Faces, Unheard Voices

D-Day: 30 August, residents of Taman Langat Jaya are geared up for a semi-spontaneous Merdeka celebration, as it is the culmination of the annual community sports day. The event is going to be held on the field adjacent to the community hall in Taman Langat Jaya . The spirit of Merdeka is already apparent among the residents as cars are being decorated with mini Malaysian flags. We have had lots of help with our preparations. In fact, the Kuala Langat Local District Council has graciously provided us with tents, p.a system and technical assistance; not forgetting the 9 hampers of goodies for winners of the community sports events. Parlimentarian , Y.B Tuan Abdullah Sani Bin Abdul Hamid will be gracing the event, which will start at the stroke of midnight with declarations of MERDEKA ! Malaysian flags will be distributed to the children of the area as well as bags of sweets. The decorations are already underway as the excitement builds up. More pictures of the preparations ...

Drains are a major concern in my work. When friends ask me, 'What's the most frequent complaint you attend to?'. You've guessed it...drains! Clogged drains upset people to the extent that they ring me up at 2 am to disturb my peaceful slumber. However, clogged drains lead to problems like dengue and pollution. It is common for fallen leaves to cause clogging in drains. Stagnant water provides a great breeding ground for mosquitoes. Councils provide regular drain cleaning services on a monthly basis. Contractors are hired to ensure the cleanliness of drains. It becomes my job to monitor the level of service provided by these contractors. Some of the drain problems I face in my area are:- Delays in carrying out drain cleaning jobs by contractors Improper disposal of rubbish removed from the drains by contractors Illegal modifications by home owners who cover their drains with concrete slabs, making cleaning of drains impossible Dumping of waste into drains (I had the sho...

Mer deka... Merdeka...Merdeka The enterprising women of Taman Langat Jaya are excited about the plans for Merdeka. Well, they are planning to celebrate it their style. Taman Langat Jaya is a community in the Kuala Langat Council Area about 5 km outside Banting town. The community is made up of mostly lower income earners, despite this fact, it is one of the most active communities in Kuala Langat. The women in this community are eager to commemorate Merdeka with a community sports event. They have been busy trying to organize all the events and prizes as well as garner support. They have provided me with a detailed list of gifts they would like me to sponsor. I am also very excited on their behalf. They plan to invite the local Member of Parliment Y.B Abbdullah Sani who loves to grace events organized by local communities. He has graciously agreed to officiate the event at 11.00 pm on 30th August 2009. There will be a count down as well as singing of the national anthem and the distrib...

It has been quite a while since I last set about writing in my blog about council work. Since then, I have been re-appointed for a second term. I have resolved to better myself in terms of delivery of service and implementation of more educational opportunities for residents about their rights in my zone. Commonly, there are 24 councilors in each council. My council is the Kuala Langat District Council.I happen to be incharge of Zone 11. My area roughly covers Taman Seri (Telok Datok), Taman Langat Jaya, Taman Manggis Jaya 1 & 2, Bandar Mahkota, Bandar Sungai Manggis and Sungai Sedu. There are roughly 20,000 people in this area. I generally, work in areas which are the council's operational areas. What does an operational area mean? Well, residential and commercial areas which have municipal services: garbage collection, grass trimming services and drain cleaning services and much more. I am also responsible for ensuring that the council regulations and by laws are adhe...