Week Of Statements

1. Another property of Zakaria, The DZ Satay House restaurant, has been found illegally built and has been slapped with a closure order by the Klang Municipal Council (MPK).

“Yes, it has been sealed because the restaurant sits on JKR (Public Works Department) reserve land, which is state land,” municipal councillor Datuk Teh Kim Poo said yesterday. ”Furthermore, the restaurant does not have any temporary occupancy licence or a business licence.

Datuk Zakaria’s press conference statement :
“I thank those, including the media, for giving me guidance on the need to follow rules and regulations.”

The Klang Umno division rallied behind its chief Datuk Zakaria Md Deros with a show of support and loyalty, claiming that he had been “sabotaged” by the Opposition.
“The entire thing is the work of the Opposition to discredit him. The only thing wrong here is the non-submission of building plans, that’s all,” division information chief Shoimi Shafie told pressmen at 6.45pm yesterday after the division held an emergency meeting.

2. Faizal Abdullah, a councillor from the Klang Municipal Council said,
“Yes, it is my mistake for not submitting the building plans before constructing the house,” Faizal said, when contacted yesterday after it was revealed that a property under his name in Jalan Melikai, Kampung Raja Uda here, had been slapped with a stop-work order from the council.

3. ‘Everyone is doing it, but my house is small' – Datuk Mazlynoor Abdul Latiff
The second Klang Municipal Councillor caught building his house in Kampung Raja Uda in Klang without approval.

4. The 2am raid by religious officers.
A Kedah Religious Department spokesman said the raid conducted at 2am on Oct 12 was made following public complaints of immoral activities at the condominium.
“The officers only knocked on the door and they did not enter the condominium.”

Retired policeman Randal Barnhart, 62, and wife Carole, 61, had complained the officers demanded to see their marriage certificate although he had told them that they were Christians and should not be subjected to Islamic law.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) wants the Cabinet to reassure all Malaysians that their privacy will always be protected and nobody is subjected to harassment from Islamic Religious Officers.
“The CFM joins the voices of other concerned groups in the country in affirming the personal freedoms guaranteed to every person in our Constitution and that no person should be subject to laws other than what is sanctioned by Parliament,” it added.

5. Malaysia has recommended its policy of transparency and open scrutiny of government plans and policies to China and other Asean countries as a means to increase investment in their countries. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said greater information flow and transparency, especially on economic and industrial development, was vital.

6. From today consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will pay more for water. Under the new tariff there will be no increase for the first 20 cubic metres used, and consumers will continue to pay 57 sen per cubic metre.
Selangor Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Fatah Iskandar said the Government saw the increase as a way to get consumers to conserve water as they would not have to pay more if they kept their usage below 20 cubic metres a month.

Businessmen involved in industries that use lots of water will wait for next month's water bill before deciding whether or not to raise prices.
“There might be an increase, but I think we will wait for next month's water bill to see how much more it'll be,” car wash supervisor Teh Leong Ket, 47, said yesterday.