So much ignominy, sadness and double-speak
A budget on corruption levels is also needed.
The morality of taxes and other stories
So much ignominy, sadness and double-speak angry KL-lites who want the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to roll back planned hike in property assessment taxes for 2014 have been told to hold street protests. the topic ‘Morality & Legality’Activists are today questioning engku Adnan Mansor ’s tax policy
There seems to be a lot of buzz about something called the the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to roll back planned hike in property assessment taxes for 2014 It will, apparently, change the way the KL-lites is headed. Amongst other things. However. Question arises:- Just where are we headed as KL-lites anyways?
Let me try to articulate this question further – enough has been written about the way politician and Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor yo yo man Kuala Lumpur City support services have pushed towards the mouth of the abyss again, of late. Thejugalbandhi of the two major formations in power,Tweedle dee Dumb and Tweedle dee Dumber, take your choice, will ensure that for some time to come, we will not have much choice.
In short, almost everything appears to be headed in only one direction – down. With the specific exemption of levels of corruption, and individual enterprise across many levels despite governance, that is. Those appear to be headed upwards.
Take corruption – not too long ago, specifically early ’80s, I was in a foreign country best un-named when a major “agreement” for some equipment required was being signed. To even the most retarded of people, it was abundantly clear that the donor country was doing so because their economy depended on sea-trade, and it was essential that the Motherland, as a huge supplier of shipping manpower, moved its training in keeping with the times.
And also, perforce, increased its consumption.
In other words, it was supposedly a no-cost to us kind of deal, no strings attached. Sure, KL-lites would earn money, and hopefully buy consumer goods from that country, was the unspoken sentiment, and as a matter of fact, we now do. Buy a lot from that country. Of mostly useless consumer goods. And junk food. Horse meat and nuclear charged, get the picture?
The Thais are protesting because the Shinawatras easily con the poor rural folks by bribing them and therefore stay in power. Now, this is the exact mirror image in Malaysia and how BN has been in power all this while. BN and Kunan should be happy that Malaysians are not as aggressive as the Thai people and this is something for them to ponder. If you push the Malaysian people too much with such price hikes and other things, don’t be surprised, Malaysia will be another Thailand DBKL has undertaken many wasteful projects.One example is a Bullshit Flyover just completed in Segambut after a delay of 1 year.Now the traffic jam is even worse than before.Instead of widening Jalan Segambut they built this useless flyover and nobody is using it.Millions of ringgit have been lost.If the govt gets too corrupted the only way is to demo to save the rakyat:s future otherwise they will suffer
We are now in the 21st Century, not 19th or 20th Century. Any politician who thinks that their political position is a god given rights they better think again. Don’t ever think that they can steal or grab rakyat’s money without any repercussion. If they cannot perform to the rakyat’s expectation, they should just give up the position and balik kampong. Don’t ever think that they can dictate to the rakyat in the 21st Century not expecting any adverse reaction. Adnan is the crazy one not KL-lites.
Enrique Penalosa (left) is an influential thinker on urban challenges particularly those related to the relation between urban design and sustainability, mobility, equity, public space and well being. His vision and proposals have significantly influenced policies in numerous cities throughout the world. He is currently a consultant on Urban Vision and Sustainability Strategy and works with many local, regional and national governments as well as other organizations all over the world. He is President of the Board of Directors of ITDP (Institute for Transportation and Development Policy).
As mayor of Bogotá, the 7 million inhabitant’s capital of Colombia, between 1998 and 2000 he implemented profound changes which transformed the city and its citizens’s attitude towards it. He massively improved slums, built formidable schools and nurseries, beautiful libraries and hundreds of parks and other pedestrian spaces. He was a leading innovator in America in creating a 300-km bicycle path network, restricting car use and radically improving pedestrian facilities. He built more than a hundred kilometers of pedestrian-only streets and greenways, such as the Porvenir Promenade, a 24 km pedestrian and bicycle- only street that goes through the poorest neighborhoods, and the Juan Amarillo Greenway, a pedestrian street that goes from the richest to the poorest neighborhoods of the capital. Inspired in the Curitiba model he created the TransMilenio bus system which has been a model to many cities and it is now considered the best bus system in the world.
Penalosa has lectured at many universities throughout the world as well as many environmental, urban, and managerial forums. His work and ideas, as well as his articles, have been featured in publications from many countries.
Enrique Penalosa is an influential thinker on urban challenges particularly those related to the relation between urban design and sustainability, mobility, equity, public space and well being. His vision and proposals have significantly influenced policies in numerous cities throughout the world. He is currently a consultant on Urban Vision and Sustainability Strategy and works with many local, regional and national governments as well as other organizations all over the world. He is President of the Board of Directors of ITDP (Institute for Transportation and Development Policy).
As mayor of Bogotá, the 7 million inhabitant’s capital of Colombia, between 1998 and 2000 he implemented profound changes which transformed the city and its citizens’s attitude towards it. He massively improved slums, built formidable schools and nurseries, beautiful libraries and hundreds of parks and other pedestrian spaces. He was a leading innovator in America in creating a 300-km bicycle path network, restricting car use and radically improving pedestrian facilities. He built more than a hundred kilometers of pedestrian-only streets and greenways, such as the Porvenir Promenade, a 24 km pedestrian and bicycle- only street that goes through the poorest neighborhoods, and the Juan Amarillo Greenway, a pedestrian street that goes from the richest to the poorest neighborhoods of the capital. Inspired in the Curitiba model he created the TransMilenio bus system which has been a model to many cities and it is now considered the best bus system in the world.
Penalosa has lectured at many universities throughout the world as well as many environmental, urban, and managerial forums. His work and ideas, as well as his articles, have been featured in publications from many countries.He holds a BA in Economics and History from Duke University, a Master’s Degree in Government from the IIAP in Paris and a DESS in Public Administration from the University of Paris II. He was also a Visiting Scholar at New York University for 3 years and has taught at several Colombian universities.
Let us listen to him–Din Merican
