"Together - Let us keep our neighborhood safe"

Monday, December 28, 2009

December 2009 Newsletter

Dear Residents,

The year is coming to a close and we will be welcoming 2010 with vitality and zest. It has been a trying year and we hope that 2010 will open more doors and a better chapter in life for all of us. Before we bring the curtains down for 2009, let’s give you an update of what is in stored this month:

CCTV:

The installation of the CCTV is finally taking shape. Please extend your cooperation when you drive past the guard houses/stations as we will be building road-humps to slow down vehicles that are entering our neighbourhood. This will also give the camera a chance to capture a sharper and clearer image.


CCTV at Gate 4


Close up shot of the CCTV system

Once this is operational, we will be putting up notices to inform potential intruders and trouble makers that they will be physically be monitored by our cameras. We hope with this extra surveillance tool, we will be able to increase our security and control crime.

Vandalism:

On Sunday (13 December 2009) sometime past midnight, the fence opposite the Tejas restaurant was cut and damaged. We had to engage the contractor to repair which cost us money. In this respect, we hope that all residents will help us keep a look out for vandalism like these and report it to us as soon as possible. If possible take some pictures and send it to us. We will report such incidents to the police.

New Year Celebration:

On Friday, 1 January 2010, there will be a BYO (Bring Your Own) party in our playground. You are encouraged to join us in celebrating this joyous day. Bring your own food and drinks and invite your family and friends. We will be having some light entertainment arranged for you.

Remember, New Year’s day at the USJ 11/3 playground.

Car Stickers:

In order for us to control entry of cars coming into our neighbourhood, it is necessary for us to increase our checks especially when most of the residents are at work. The enforcement of cars without valid stickers will be tightened gradually.

Forms will be given to paying and non paying residents. For non paying residents, each and every car will require a form to be filled. Any details left out will not be entertained. Additional stickers over the limit will be charged.
Please ensure you fill in the forms adequately and hand it to your respective street leaders. All the terms and conditions are attached for your information. For subscribers, please fill in the forms accordingly as well. Additional stickers beyond the limit will also be subjected to charges.

Lastly, the Committee would like to wish you and your family, “Merry Christmas” to our Christian brothers and sisters and Happy New Year to all!

Have a safe holiday.

Thank you.


The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Friday, December 18, 2009

GTP


Dear Residents,

On the invitation of PEMANDU to our RA, Peggy and myself attended the Government Transformation Program (GTP) in Sunway Convention Centre, this morning.

The program covered some six key areas which needed the attention of the government namely:

1. Reducing Crime
2. Fighting Corruption
3. Raising Living Standards (low income households)
4. Improving Infrsatructure - rural and urban transportation

We had the privilege to meet with Dato' Sri Idris Jala, who is also the CEO and Deputy Chairman of PEMANDU along with his charming wife. He briefed us on the progress they have made in a very short time and have set up ambitious targets to resolve all the issues which they have identified which are major concerns of all Malaysians. We spoke extensively on the issue of rising crime and how our G&G has managed to prevent such incidences in our area but have not really resolved the problem overall so we merely shifted it to other areas.

I told Dato' Sri that we still need to look at the bigger picture and he assured me the relevant agencies are looking into this issue, which happens to be right on top of the priority list of all the issues identified. I also asked him about the government's stand on G&G to which he then introduced me to the person in charge, DSP Nawawi from KDN at the Crime Reduction booth.

DSP Nawawi and his team then briefed us further on steps they have taken as well as took notes from us and our issues and concerns. They also told us that the government is now looking into drawing up new guidelines related to G&G so that it can be implemented without having to face legal issues, etc later, much like what we are experiencing now. That is important as the proliferation of G&G may lead to other issues later.

We then listened to the opening speech by Dato' Sri Jala, who had presented the NKRAs or National Key Results Area. He promised to work tirelessly with his team and the civil service to meet those targets and to be transparent and publish the results even if there are shortfalls. This extensive planning with clear and concise key targets in such a wide area has never ever been attempted before anywhere in the world and if works, will spur Malaysia into a new era.

This, to me, is very refreshing indeed as there are more elements of such private corporation management styles and measures that are being incorporated into the government civil service. Of course, this all probably came very much from his corporate background in Shell and MAS. Hopefully, the civil service will continue to improve based on specific goals, targets and measurements that will benefit all of the rakyat.

He admitted there were mistakes and dark episodes in the past made by the government but he was given the opportunity to shape and bring Malaysia back together again, a job he reluctantly accepted. He had mentioned that before, the door to resolve such issues was 'closed' but now he sees the door 'opened' under the full support of the Prime Minister. He told all in the audience to seize the moment and get the country back on track towards 2020 again to which there were loud applause.

At the end of the day, whether he and his team succeeds remains to be seen as I am sure there are insurmountable challenges ahead of them including from within.



We then wandered around the other exhibition booths and on our way out of the hall, as we were about to leave, the organisers then introduced us to Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, who is the Chairman of PEMANDU. We had a brief chat on security and other issues. He then asked us for our wesbite to which we gave him the URL. We congratulated him on the extensive plans made on the GTP but also told him that at the end of the day, execution will be very important to ensure it will not turn out to just be another government propaganda, to which he agreed.

Both Peggy and myself then left the hall, with at least some glimmer of hope in our hearts that such transformation, although looked impossible, is being seriously addressed by the government.

We wish both Dato' Sri Jala and Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon and their teams all the best. This after all, is for the the good of our beloved country.

Jeffrey Khoo
Advisor
11 Trees @ USJ

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

GTP



Dear Residents,

This is an invitation for you to attend the GTP at the Sunway Convention Centre on Friday if you are interested.

Thank you.

Jeffrey Khoo
Advisor
11 Trees @ USJ

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Seasons Greetings




Dear Residents of our beloved "kampung",

The Committee Members and their families would like to extend their best wishes for the holidays.

"Seaons Greetings and Happy New Year" to all of you and your family members.

And to our Christian friends, "Merry Christmas". May you be blessed with lots of happiness, good health and good fortunes throughout the new year. Happy "2010" everyone!

Best Wishes,

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Lightning Hazard in Subang

Dear Residents,

As you are aware, we have been experiencing very heavy storms in the last few weeks especially. In these instances, it has caused us a lot of inconveniences such as jams, clothes not able to be dried in the sun, not able to carry out our outdoor activities, etc. The storm has also given the bad guys a chance to commit more crimes as the storm can easily mask their presence.

But the worst is when the hazards of lightning compromises our safety and in a recent case, caused a tragic end to a young man's life.

Hence, we need to start thinking about this seriously and not to take our personal safety for granted. For a start, avoid going out in open space when there is a storm.

And in our houses, we may have to take additional precautions such as unplugging as many of our electrical appliacnes as possible. We can also ensure installing additional protection such as lightning protectors and surge control devices.

Also, you might want to think about taking up an insurance policy to cover all your household items in case lightning do strike your homes and in the process damage some of your household appliances.

Anyway, I am attaching the report of this tragedy that happened a few days ago in our area. If I can recollect correctly, this is the second incident in Subang in the last few years so please take care not to move around in the open when there is a storm especially during heavy thunder and lightning.

Editor

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From The Star

Tuesday December 8, 2009
College student struck by lightning


SUBANG JAYA: A college student who was trying to take cover from a downpour was killed when he was struck by lightning while running to his car in USJ 2/11, near here.

Tan Han Yim, 20, a mass communications student from a college in Subang Jaya, was playing basketball with his friends when it started to rain.

He died on the spot from burns to his chest and face.

In the 5.30pm incident on Sunday, Han Yim and a few friends were running to his car which was parked about 10m from the basketball court.

Han Yim, who was struck as he was running past a tree, was rushed to the Subang Jaya Medical Centre but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Subang Jaya district police chief Asst Comm Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar, when contacted, confirmed the incident.

At the Gui Yuan crematorium in Petaling Jaya last night, Han Yim’s father said parents should stop their children from playing basketball during the current rainy season.

“I have advised Han Yim many times not to play basketball in the rain.

“He was very alert because when it started raining he ran back to his car,” he said, adding that unfortunately his son was struck as he was running to take shelter.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

LOST YOUR DOGGIE??


Hi Jeffrey

I am staying at USJ11 and found these two dogs roaming around last Saturday. My opposite neighbour and l caught both of these dogs to prevent them from been knocked by the cars. Both has been taken care of now but we would like to return to the owner.

Could you please assist to post it on our blog in hope that the owner can claim them.

Just a moment ago, l have posted at www.usj.com.my forum under Pets corner. Hopefully the owner can come to claim them.

I have informed Liew, my street leader on this matter.

Thank you in advance.

Rgds KM Lim (Nick2525)

Friday, November 27, 2009

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha


The Committee of 11 Trees @ USJ would like to wish all our Muslim Friends in and outside our community "Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya Haji". May you have a joyous time with your family and friends.

November 2009 Newsletter

Dear Residents,

How time flies!

Before you know it, it is almost the end of 2009. And in a few weeks time, we will be welcoming 2010. And it is also a time when we grow a year older. Sigh!

It has, nonetheless, been an extremely interesting year, as far as our Resident Association is concern. We have grown from strength to strength, largely due to the overwhelming support the Committee has gotten from you. And a big Thank you to all of you for your continual support.

Our first anniversary celebration was a success with an unexpected large turnout. This is testimony to the fact that our kampung has become “1”. We were so proud to see all of you turn out in full force for that event. As such, we plan to do something again to usher in the New Year. Do read on for more details.

Collection:

The collection from October 2009 to March 2010 is currently being carried out by our hardworking Street Leaders. Please do cooperate and pay up as soon as possible, your subscription for the next six months. We would also like to highlight to you that the collection this time is much better than the last and it is looking very positive.

We would like to remind the ones who have yet to pay, to do so as soon as you can. Your Committee members will also do a walk-about in the coming weekends to visit the ones who have yet to pay their subscription for the next six months. Please do not forget to write your cheques payable to “PERSATUAN PENDUDUK USJ11/3, SUBANG JAYA, SELANGOR”.

Car Stickers:

The car stickers for 2010-2011 will be printed and will be distributed free of charge to all our subscribers. This is to replace the first batch of stickers which will be expiring soon. Subscribers will be required to return the old stickers in exchange for the new ones. Additional stickers will be charged as per our previous rates.

More stringent enforcements will be carried out once all the new stickers are issued as there have been many incidents of abuses in the past. There will be a grace period for the exchange of the new stickers after which we will carry out stricter enforcement for entry into our area. More information will be provided when we are ready to distribute the car stickers.

CCTV:

The CCTV is finally going to be installed (expected installation on 27 November 2009) after much delay. This was unavoidable as we had to cancel the scheduled testing of the CCTVs at the last minute due to the rains in the evenings which had occurred in the last few weeks. Anyway, we have finally selected the vendor and the contract has already been given out.

In tandem with this project, road humps close to the gates will also be built to slow down the vehicles as they pass through. This is to ensure that the images of the cars and drivers can be effectively captured by the CCTV. Please do extend your cooperation by slowing down in the affected areas when the installation works are being carried out.

The Developer - Top Speed:

The piece of fenced up land near our playground is now going to be developed into two massive bungalows – no thanks to Top Speed. Each unit is expected to be at least eight times the size of our intermediate house. This is going to be huge in comparison to the existing houses in our area and it will most certainly dwarf the houses surrounding it.

The Committee has arranged for a Press Conference to take this case public and it will be held at the playground this coming Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 5 p.m. We appeal to all the residents to come forward and lend us your support to protest this massive development before the court hearing which is scheduled on the 3rd December 2009.

The court hearing has been initiated by the affected residents near to the development against Top Speed. This is our last chance to try and save our green lung. As such we need your support, so please do turn up at the designated time and place.

Withering Trees:

Next year, there will be allocations given by the MPSJ to buy new trees to be planted all over our Subang/USJ. Towards this end, we will work with the JKP and also our councillor, Mr. Rajiv, to replace dead or withering trees and to plant a row of trees along the nature strip facing the Taipan shopping area. These trees along this stretch will be planted as close to each other as possible. This will be done to deter illegal parking along this stretch which has caused a lot of inconvenience to the residents living nearby.

Crime in our area:

There have been two cases of break-ins reported in our area in the month of November. This has happened despite the presence of our security and the measures we have taken. And with more areas in USJ and Subang implementing G&G, inevitably, the criminals are getting more desperate, targeting houses even in broad daylight.

The Committee will be raising these break-in issues with our Security Company to implement measures to overcome this problem such as increasing the frequency of patrols and surveillance of our area at all times.

But we believe the best possible ‘weapon’ is to watch out for our neighbours, especially when they are away from their homes. For example, if you see any suspicious behaviors by strangers in front of your neighbours’ houses, please do raise the alarm by calling our guards or your neighbour. Or you may also call the police to get them to come and check the situation out.

Please do help us keep our neighbourhood safe from crime by being vigilant. You can help by doing your part in keeping an eye on your neighbours whenever and wherever possible.

Security Guards:

Lately, due to the increased in demand for security guards as a result of many G&G scheme being implemented in USJ and other areas, it has affected the quality of the guards in general. We noticed that The quality of the guards has been slowly deteriorating as the more experienced guards were being deployed to other areas by the Security Companies concerned.

The Security Company operating in our area is no different. After all, their business is thriving which we do understand. However, the quality of the services has been compromised. This matter has been brought to the attention of the Committee and we will address this issue with our Security Company.

In view of the fact that there has been a slackening in the quality of our Security Guards, the Committee would like to appeal to all of you to help keep an eye on the performance of the guards. Please report all incidents such as:

- security guards not properly attired
- not noting down car numbers without valid car stickers
- allowing cars without stickers to pass through and not checking the cars out
- abandoning the post without valid reasons
- not placing the cones at entry points
- rude and inattentive

Please note down the time, the gate number and also the guard’s name if possible. Do also remind the guards of their duties and obligation if you happen to observe them doing otherwise.

BYO New Year Party:

The Committee plans to hold a New Year party at our playground on the first day of 2010. It will be a BYO (Bring Your Own) food and drinks party. We plan to have some entertainment for everyone on that day to celebrate the New Year. If you want to know what is in store for you, please do show up on that day.

So, if you are in town and do not have much to do on New Year’s day, then we would like to invite you and your family to join us in celebrating the New Year party. It will be from 7:30 p.m. onwards until you decide to call it the night! Please do join us for this community event. It will be an informal party and so there will no protocols to follow. Please also bring along your tables and chairs if you have them apart from your crockery and your cutleries.

Date: 1 January 2010
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: USJ 11/3 playground
Attire: Shorts and casuals preferred

A final reminder, please give your fullest cooperation to our Street Leaders and ensure that your outstanding subscription is duly paid.

Thank you.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Friday, November 20, 2009

Crime in our area the last one week

Dear Reaisdents,

On Wednesday morning, there was an attempt to break into a Proton Saga parked along 11/3K at about 2:00 am. The alarm went off and alerted some house owners and our guards.

A few days before that, a house in 11/3D was broken into during the day and a laptop and camera was stolen.

Despite the presence of our guards, the thieves are still going against the tide and have taken advantage of the situation to commit their dastardly acts.

We have to be extra vigilant especially when it rains as the sound of the rain and thunder will mask the sound they may make, such as climbing over the fence or the gate. Most people will also sleep soundly during such cool nights.

Alarm system will help in a big way although not fool proof. Installing alarm will be a deterrent as it will alert people who are nearby when there is a break in attempt unless of course if they climb through the roof. Make sure you at least install the alarm system and arm it when there is no one home even if you have to leave the house for a short while. And do inform your neighbouts that you are planning to go out. These are precautions we can take to prevent such incidents from happening.

Our guards have been advised to be extra vigilant but let's do our part and keep a look out for our neighbours. This will be another measure we can take to ensure that criminals are kept at bay. Please do report to the guards, no matter how trivial the matter is, such as unfamiliar cars being parked outside or near your homes.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Friday, November 13, 2009

Letter to YB Abd Rahman, MP Kota Belud and his reply

Dear Residents,

I have written to the MP for Kota Belud about his statements made in Parliament recently. Below is his reply to my email. I am not a politician and never profess to be one. But if an MP were to make such shallow statements this time about G&G, I think we need to set the record straight.

His prompt reply (which I appreciate) was very much trying to explain how a politician should behave in parliament but never answers to my questions.

I urge all of you to please email him at mpkotabelud@yahoo.com directly and ask him why we are in such a predicament and what the government is doing to help us with this very serious security problem facing our community.

It is time we stand up for what matters.

Thank you.

Best Regards,

Jeffrey Khoo
Advisor
11 Trees @ USJ

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November 13, 2009


YB Dato' Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Ahli Parlimen P169 Kota Belud


Dear sir,

I have been following your statements made in Parliament recently.

I am totally dismayed at your ignorance as to what is actually happening on the ground with regards to crime and the measures we have to take to defend ourselves in ensuring our own safety in our own homes. This was done primarily for the safety of our families and our community.

For your information, since we have implemented our G&G about a year ago, the crime rate has dropped almost to zero. We did not solve the problem to be honest, we have merely shifted the problem elsewhere.

In our minds, this has to happen as this is the direct failure of the government to provide adequate security to the citizens at large.

Are you aware that robberies, snatch thefts, break-ins, car-thefts, muggings were all the norm for us before we started this G&G?.

We have been lobbying for better security even during the previous adminstration's days, that is, during Tun Abdullah Badawi's time. There was nothing done while we continued to be "sitting ducks" for criminals.

By stating that we have created G&G communities just because we want to be "exclusive" is extremely shallow. May I know what you are thinking?

If our tax moneys are properly utlitised to fix our securiy problem, we can assure you we would like to save the headache of having monthly meetings etc, managing money and people and having to pay our RM50 share monthly. The money and time saved could be used for our families for other purposes. But prove to us that the crime rate is being brought under control. Then we will more than happy to remove our all fencing and security and we can go about our peaceful lives.

Personally, I think you need a reality check. Please stop making such frivilous statements. You are an MP so do your job and get your facts right.

I am copying my committee members on this email. I will also publish your email to all our residents so that they can also respond to you personally.

At any rate, we would like you to invite you to come and have a dialogue with us if you have the time so that you better understand the problems we are facing on the ground.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

J Khoo
Adviser
Persatuan Penduduk USJ 11/3, Subang Jaya, Selangor

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Dear Jeffrey, thank you for your email.

I have posted my reponse re: crime in Malaysia in my blog so you can have a balanced view of what transpired during the debate.

No one can deny, let a lone myself, that crime is on the rise.

My problem is this. I do not think the way opposition MPs debating the issue (especially budget debate) is right and appropriate.

Instead of talking about specific budgetary items, they went on a rampage to politicise the matter so that they could score some political brownie points. They made sweeping statements which to me were not helping people like you and your organization.

I appreciate what you and your fellow urbanites are feeling. But you must insist opposition MPs to leave rhetorics, generalization and grand standing aside. Otherwise, they are not helping your cause at all. In fact, I sometimes wonder whether they are more interested in the "political dividends" than solving the problem.

Do read my article in my blog http://www.mpkotabelud.blogspot.com.

I apologize in advance if the tone of the article is a bit on the harsher side. I just feel dissappointed that opposition MPs have failed you (atleast in that brief exchanges of points during that particular debate) in addressing the issue. The minister in his reply was trying hard to explain what the government was doing and yet all this was ridiculed by the opposition.

And by the way, if you happen to bump into any of the opposition MPs, ask them to highlight some of the goodwork the police has done all these years (surely there are some). If the police gets brickbats each and everytime the opposition MPs open their mouth to debate in parliament, they will be demoralized. And demoralized people are not that productive. That's human nature!

Thank you.

Abd Rahman Dahlan
MP for Kota Belud

Saturday, November 7, 2009

GIBLET AT IT AGAIN!


Man, this Giblet is one hell of a persistent character!

The man who is very against our G&G is now whacking our locks on the gates.

Here is what happened.

Last Thursday, 5 November 2009, a couple, who are residents from our area were taking their usual stroll around our kampung in the morning.

When they were walking towards the small gate entrance near the HSBC Bank, they saw Giblet hammering away the lock on the gate. It did not take this man long to 'kill' the lock as he was 'giving' it his all. I really pity the lock lah! Kena kau kau from him. Koyak maximum as a result of Giblet's 'abuse'.

Needless to say, the poor couple were horrified at his intensity and pent up anger! They went to report to the guards, who of course did not confront him. The guards have been instructed by the Committee as not to antogise such people if they were to come across such situations and that potentially they may be in harms way. They are to merely obeserve and report as quickly as possible of such situations.

Anyway, after giving the lock a good whack and losing quite a few calories in the process, Giblet calmed down. He then spoke to the couple, justifying his actions. He complained about the G&G and the inconvenience that came with it and that we do not have the right to put up such barricade and that we have all broken the law, blah, blah, blah!

But if he is is so gung-ho about the law, perhaps he should help us do something to reduce crime. For instance, he could organise a 'round table talk' with the crooks and have a chat with them about the law! These crooks also break the law mah, Giblet. So how?

If you want to talk about law then do the right thing and channel your energy to help us rid of this crime scourge and in return, we promise to then take everything down. That way, we all become good law abiding citizens just like you!

Anyway, folks, sad to inform you that the badly mutilated 'lock' did not make it. Funeral services for the poor 'lock' will be held in our vincinity soon! Not sure if we should invite that dude, Giblet...!

Sincerely,

A concern citizen from the Committee

Monday, November 2, 2009

Another frustrated victim of house break-in at USJ12

Dear all,

I have been added to the statistics of break-ins that take place in USJ today.

My house was broken-in when we were away in our hometown. My neighbour called us when they found my gate, front grill door and wooden door were wide open during this afternoon's heavy rainfall. They were away between 11am - 3pm and that's when they suspect the break-in took place. Our house gate & door were still closed when they left their house.

I called the police to go over to our house to check and it was confirmed that the house has been ransacked. Luckily my neighbour was kind enough to help close up the house after the police left.

We arrived this evening to find the gate in good condition. However, the grill's 'ear' (where padlock is placed) has been broken. The wooden door's lock was broken. Drawers have been ransacked. Our bedrooms were in a huge mess, especially the master bedroom. You may think that Hurricane Kathrina has just passed over. Clothes were strewn all over. Drawers turned over. My travelling wallets with different currencies in them were all gone. So was my passport! Some cash, jewellery, electrical components e.g. thumb drive, mobile hardisk, iPod nano, MP3 player ~ gone!!

I have always been very careful to ensure that my house is secured. So, I am very frustrated that I didn't manage to stop the break-in from taking place! If I had been not careful, then it would be my fault! But even when I am doing my part well, this is still happening and I am very angry and upset! I am hoping that our Gated & Guarded community can take off asap so that we can improve the security in USJ2.


Best regards,
J.C.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

An outdoor adventure anyone?

Dear Residents,

Hope you have enjoyed the Deepavali celebrations as much as I have had. Somehow, this year, it felt as if the celebration was done on a grander scale. Not sure if it was my imagination but on the eve of Deepavali, that is, at precisely 12 midnight, fireworks and fire crackers were in full blast till late in the morning. It felt like Chinese New Year!

Anyway, I had my fair share of visiting some of our neighbours and had some great food and company. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Hope you had the same.

Ok, back to something more down to earth.

Rusli, one of our neighbours bumped into me recently in one of his evening walks. It was unusual to see him do that as he hardly takes leisure strolls around the neighbourhood. At least for me anyway. At that time, he was taking his walk with another one of our neighbour, Salleh.

We broke into a little chat and our topic centered mostly on how safe our neighbourhood had become since our G&G was launched about a year ago. They also mentioned that taking a stroll around our neighbourhood without having to look over our shoulders felt really great. I could not agree with them more.

The conversation then led to me finding out that Rusli was spending a lot of time in his 'adopted' kampung in Slim River as I had asked him earlier where he was as I hardly see him around our neighbourhood.

He told me that his kids were, well, they are no longer 'kids', have all grown up. Some either married or studying overseas. Thus, he could find the time to do what he likes - like spending more time in Slim River. How envious I was!

In fact, he has organised many trips for groups there to enjoy the nature, the water fall, the rapids, the fishing and many other activities.

I told him, I would like to share the story with our USJ 11/3 folks here in our kampung. He had since sent me some pictures taken in some of the excursions he had organised in the past. Please do take a look:





As host, he will make sure that there will be 4 wheel drives to take you into the jungle while you leave your car in a safe place. Once in jungle, you will get to enjoy nature at its best. Leave the cooking to him and his wife. They will make sure you get fed with 5 meals a day!

If you like to spend some time in Slim River for some adventure, you can reach Rusli Zahid at +6012-257 7539.

I don't know about you but I will be asking him to organise something for me and my family soon. Hope to see you in Slim River one of these days!

Cheers.

Jeffrey Khoo
Advisor
11 Trees @ USJ

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Deepavali is here again - Make it a happy one!


Dear Residents,

The fresh smell of curry and spices filled the air and the sounds of pots and the cluttering of pans broke the morning silence. Chatters between the women folks filled the silent gaps.

That was the atmosphere a few days ago in Mrs. Mages's house. They were busy preparing the goodies for this Saturday - the day of the Festival of Lights, Deepavali. And that scene is probably repeated in our Indian's friend's homes all over USJ 11/3 and elsewhere.

It is time for rejoice and family get-together, catching up with friends or just indulge in all the goodies.

So, on behalf of the Committee, we would like to wish our Indian friends in our kampung and elsewhere a "Happy Deepavali"!

Best wishes,

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Hey, committee members ... my tap is leaking!

Dear Residents,

Today, I would like to relate to you a story which had happened this morning.

This morning, my wife went to do her usual shopping at the shops nearby. The moment she stepped out of our house, she heard someone crying out to her from behind. It was our neighbour’s wife. She managed to catch up with my wife and while trying to catch her breath asked my wife if I am a committee member, to which she replied “yes”.

The lady immediately started to complain to her about the stray dogs that were roaming around the playground. She said, “as a committee member, your husband should do something about it”.

My wife replied politely that the only thing to do was to complain to MPSJ and hope that they will do something about it. The lady was lamenting the fact that the dogs were a nuisance and a potential danger to women, children and old folks. My wife said she will inform me and they then parted ways.

I was about to leave the house for my office when she came home. She then told me about our neighbour’s wife complaint and what she suggested I, as a committee member, should do. I was fuming mad when I heard it.

Indeed, the lady was lucky she did not meet me personally and told me about the stray dog problem! She would have gotten an earful from me!!

Such are the apathy that we have in our neighbourhood. This lady (by the way, they live in a renovated house with a few cars but do not pay subscription because they are "retired" people) had the gall to complain to us about such problems and expect us to solve it!

I mean, is that our job? Really?

So what if we are committee members? Are we suppose to look into every single problem there is? I did not volunteer as a Committee member to run errands or to take care of everyone's problems. I mean, why can’t she complain to the MPSJ herself?

Take up the responsibility and stop passing the buck if you feel strongly about something.

No. Instead, such people with such apathy take the easy way out. They expect the Committee members to solve all the problems for them. We are all working people like everyone else and have families and commitments (including financials) to take care of. We do not get a salary for being a Committee member.

I am so disappointed with such people. When will they learn to help themselves? When will they, for a moment, think of others? We live in a community where we have to lend a helping hand to each other not isolate and expect others to do “pick up our rubbish”!

I am sure we are not short of such people in our area. I have a good mind to expose them in this blog but because I would like to show some respect for them, I will not. For now, anyway! I hope this lady will read this article and hopefully get my message.

Look lady, I am not here to do everything for you and I speak on behalf of all the Committee members. If situation is such that you can help yourself, please just do so. Don’t wait for us to solve all your problems. Be fair! And pay up your share of the security that you enjoy. Don't be a free loader to your neighbours.

Jeffrey Khoo
Advisor
11 Trees @ USJ

Sunday, October 4, 2009

October 2009 Newsletter

Dear Residents,

First and foremost, we would like to wish everyone especially the Chinese community in our area, a “Happy Mooncake Festival”. This mid-Autumn festival is a special time to enjoy the different varieties of mooncakes and also the different colours of lanterns!

On a more serious note, there are some immediate issues which we would like to address with you. We hope you will cooperate fully with the Committee. This is to ensure that our security system and our G&G are not compromised.


Gated & Guarded concept:

It is exactly one year now since we have started our G&G and our security services amid much anguish and pain as well as jubilation. It has been a long and arduous journey with unpredictable “road blocks” created by selfish people with agendas that are only known to them.

But you know what?

We have persevered and have successfully launched our G&G and our security services. Through that, we have managed to curb the crime rate and have brought down to almost nil despite the rising crime in USJ in general. This to us, your Committee, is the most satisfying achievement and that we are proud to have done this for everyone and we really hope that you share this sentiment with us.

And with the rising crime being ‘shifted’ to our immediate neighbourhood, you would have noticed that of late, other neighbouring areas are also launching their own G&G after observing the success of our G&G.

We do not think we have much choice but to protect ourselves and our families irrespective of which area we are living in, although some might argue, this is really the job of the Police and the government. After all, we do pay tax.

But the reality on the ground is very different. Crimes rate has soared and the residents in general do not feel safe even in their own neighbourhood. So it does not surprise then that such initiatives are now being taken by others.

Your support is crucial in making this a success. Hence, please do continue to support this by paying up promptly as the next payment is already due. As for your neighbours who have not signed up, do encourage them to do so.

There are still many issues to tackle besides security but we cannot solve the problems immediately or please everyone. However, we will try to do our best and take the majority’s interest into account.

One of such problem is related to indiscriminate parking. For instance, presently there are many cars being parked along our nature strip opposite the Public bank during banking hours and this has caused a lot of inconvenience to the residents nearby. This still happens despite the fact that MPSJ does come round regularly to summon the cars for illegal parking.

This situation is anticipated to get worse as there will be another bank coming up in the new building next to the shop “99 SpeedMart”. We foresee that the same problem will happen as more people from outside our area wanting to convenient them will just park along the nature strip in our area opposite to the new bank. This will inevitably create a lot more illegal parking and inconvenience to our residents.

In anticipation, we are now planning to implement a new system to alleviate this problem and to prevent it from getting out of hand.


Side Gates along the fence facing the Taipan shopping area:

The Committee has decided to keep the gates along the main road facing the Taipan shopping area locked at all times to discourage people from outside to come into USJ 11/3 to park their cars along the nature strip.

Residents intending to use the gates must apply to the Committee for a key for a fee of RM2 per key. This key will open the lock used on all the 4 small gates along that fence. Residents with the keys can access the small gates at all times except from 12 midnight to 6 am. There will be another lock added to the gate from midnight to 6 am. The user is expected to lock the gate after use. This is our collective responsibility so that such problems of indiscriminate parking can be prevented.

If you are one of the residents who need to use the exit often, do apply for the key. A form is attached below for you to fill in. You will need to send in your application by the 11 October 2009. Full implementation of this system will take place from the 19 October 2009 onwards.


Collection:

This matter needs your urgent attention if you have yet to pay the subscription. Without your continued support, the G&G which we have all worked so hard to put up will collapse. Hence, you are encouraged to pay up before the 9 October 2009. Please make cheques payable to “PERSATUAN PENDUDUK USJ11/3, SUBANG JAYA, SELANGOR” in compliance with the requirements from the ROS. For cash payment, we would like you to bank in the money and submit the bank-in slip. This is on the request of the Street Leaders and also for better control and accountability.

The Committee members will be doing a walk-about to visit those who have not paid on the 10 & 11 of October 2009 from 4:30 pm. We would really appreciate it if you could pay up as soon as possible so as to lessen the work on the Committee members.

Your support is very important to ensure that all the outstanding plans/works which are in the pipeline such as our CCTV will come to fruition. Enhancement works such as better lighting, signage, etc, cost money. As such we can only implement these plans gradually and according to our budget and affordability.


CCTV:

We have now short listed 3 contractors/suppliers of the CCTV system after extensive evaluation. The decision of the award to the contractor to install the CCTV will depend on the outcome of our latest collection. If all goes according to plan, the final decision to award the contract will be on the 11 October 2009 and installation of the system should happen on the 15 October 2009.


Insurance coverage:

As an added benefit to our residents, the Committee is also looking into the possibility of giving free insurance coverage to our residents/subscribers to cover loss of items and valuables in the event of a robbery of theft in our area. This is being looked into at the moment and detailed evaluation such as cost, feasibility, etc, will have to be looked into before we can implement it. We will update you on this progress as we go forward.

Finally, please give your fullest cooperation to our Street Leaders and ensure that your outstanding subscription is duly paid. Do get in touch with any of the Committee members should you have any problems or queries.

Thank you.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Lantern Festival


Dear Residents,

We are indeed very lucky to live in Malaysia and to be able to share our different cultural experiences peacefully. We have just celebtrated the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and now the focus will be on the Mid-Autumn or more well known to us as the Mooncake festival.

In China and Korea, the Mid-Autumn festival is a big deal where it is celebrated on a grand scale. And to commemorate this celebration, it is actually a national holiday there in these countries.

Back home, we have the unique mooncake which now comes in all sorts of assortment and flavours and its appeal is spreadout throughout the different communities in our country. Lanterns of different makes, shapes and sizes are also part of this unique celebration.

So, on behalf of the committee, we would like to wish everyone, especially the Chinese community, "Happy Mooncake Festival"! Bring out your lanterns tonight and enjoy yourselves...!

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

COLLECTION, COLLECTION COLLECTION!

Dear Residents,

We would like to remind you to pay your monthly subscription which is already due. The amount for 6 months is RM300. Please do pay your Street Leaders as soon as possible. Payment by cheque can be made out to "Persatuan Penduduk USJ 11/3, Subang Jaya, Selangor". Please put in the name in full to comply with the requirements of the ROC.

There have been some delays in our CCTV installation plan as we are still in the final evaluations of the system. We wanted to be sure that whatever we spend on CCTV, we try to get the best possible system that can withstand the punishment. The final system has been selected and we should proceed with the installation soon.

Yesterday there was an article in the Star that reported that a straight A student lost her life to a snatch thief. Such things still happens and therefore we should be always conscious of our vulnerability and not take our safety for granted.

Hence, it is important that we, as responsible residents, start to pay up as soon as possible so as not to disrupt our security services in our neighbourhood, in the name of our safety and the safety of our families.

Thank you.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Litterbugs Beware

Dear Residents,

We have observed that usual 'out-of-sight' and 'out-of-mind' mentality among us. The lack of be consideration for our neighbours has resulted in rubbish being thrown in startegic places. This include old furniture, chopped trees and many unwanted items. This behaviour however is not confined to our area only it seems.

In Kajang, the municipal council is now planning to take action against such litterbugs and are asking for feedback against such indiscriminate throwing of rubbish. Please read the article below.

In this respect, we would like to seek your views on this matter. But please restrict your comments only to this issue.

Puan Anita from MPSJ's Legal department has indicated that they will prosecute whoever dump rubbish illegally around the park and surroundings provided we, the residents have evidence such as photos and are willing to come forward and lodge our complaints with them.

We would also like to get the committed schedule for collecting the big bulky items from Alam Flora to be posted so that you do not have to throw your rubbish indicriminately. It will be collected right in front of your homes.

Thank you.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


The Star
Tuesday September 29, 2009

Reward those who take photos of litterbugs in action, says councillor
By OH ING YEEN


TO deter people from indiscriminate dumping, Kajang municipal councillors have suggested that the fine be increased and that those who take photos of the culprits be rewarded.

At the monthly meeting held to monitor public complaints, councillor Lee Kee Hiong suggested increasing the fines as the current rate of RM1,000 may not be enough to deter litterbugs.

On the other hand, fellow councillor Steven Chan suggested that the people be given a commission for taking photos of people littering and indiscriminate dumping.
However, council president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman said the amendment of the by-laws had to be done via the federal government as the fines were set in accordance to the relevant Acts.

He said all councils in the state had increased the fine for illegal dumping from RM500 to RM1,000 in 2007.

“The problem we are facing is the dumping of construction waste, which has to be disposed of at Dengkil but as it is far away, some just take the easy way out of dumping it here in Kajang.

“As for Chan’s suggestion, we will take it into consideration and discuss it during the meeting with the legal department.

“It is a good suggestion as the photos will be used as evidence when convicting those who dump rubbish indiscriminately,” he said.

MPKj legal officer Muhammad Ruzaini Ramli said even though the fine had been increased, there had yet to be an improvement to rid the municipal of litterbugs due to lack of evidence.

“It is hard to catch the litterbugs red-handed and those who witness illegal dumping do not step forward and testify as witnesses,” he said.

MISSING PUPPY



NAME : ANGEL
BREED : SHIH TZU
AGE : 4 +
COLOUR : LIGHT BROWN
HOPING FOR SAFE RETURN.PLEASE HELP.
YOUR KINDNESS WILL BE REWARDED.
OWNER : VIJI @ 016-3144630

Saturday, September 19, 2009

SELAMAT HARI RAYA!



To all our Muslim Friends in our neighbourhood and beyond,

"SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI" to all of you. May you all have a wonderful and safe celebration. To those who are going back to your "original" kampungs, drive safely, "Berhati-hati di jalanraya" and do remember to secure your homes while you are away.

Have fun all!

Best Wishes,

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Robbed in USJ 11/3

Dear Residents,

I got this email from Chris Eagle who lives over at USJ 11/4. His young son was robbed in our vincinity when he came over to our area for tuition last Monday, 14 September 2009. The email is attached for your reading.

We have also informed all our security guards about this incident and we have instructed them to be extra vigilant and to be more stringent in their checks. And over the holiday period, we intend to keep all the small gates locked at all times to minimize unwanted intrusion.

The theives and robbers are now getting more and more desperate as they are targeting softer targets. With increased security, they have now less opportunities than before.

There are steps we can take to avoid such situations. For kids with handphone, we should advise them never to use it when they are alone or in open areas where they can be potentially robbed. They have to be educated about motorcyclists who are near them and to take extra precaution. It is our responsibility to ensure that safety of our children are always taken care of. And education is one big part of it.

We would like to thank Chris for informing us of this unfortunate incident. With this, we can be more alert towards such possible situations.

Lastly, please do be careful this coming long weekend. Do secure your homes well if you are planning to go away for the holidays.

Thank you.

Jeffrey Khoo
Advisor
11 Trees @ USJ

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Dear Jeffrey,

I am a resident of USJ 11/4. I feel the need to inform US 11/3 RA of the robbery happened to my son today around 2.10pm in USJ 11/3.

My son was going for tuition in USJ 11/3C. He has just cycled past the security guard and was suddenly stopped by a motorist (who came from behind) just when my son was about to turn left into USJ 11/3C. The robber came down from his bike and confronted my son asking for money. He then grabbed my son’s hand and snatched the hand phone from my son’s pocket.

The whole incident happened right on the same straight road, maybe 200m from where the security guard checkpoint was situated.

Regards,

Chris

Balik Kampung - Rumah Selamat Campaign

Dear Residents,

The long holiday weekend is around the corner and a lot of you will be leaving for your kampungs or for your holidays and your homes will be without occupants. Well, it is also the time the thieves and robbers will take advantage of the vulnerability of houses when the occupants are away.

Thus, we would like to advise all of you to be vigilant and secure your homes well when you are away. Please also inform your immmediate neighbour about your travel plans.

There is also a "Balik Kampung - Rumah Selamat" campaign being run by the Police. If you want to particpate in this campaign, you can get the forms from our guard house at Gate 4.

Please see the related article below from SJ Alert:



"Balik Kampung - Rumah Selamat" is a joint security campaign initiated by SJ Alert with the various Residents' Associations and the Subang Jaya District Police for residents of USJ/SJ/Putra Heights/Bandar Sunway.

This "FREE Service" extended by the Police to those who are planning to "Balik Kampung" or go away on short vacation/holidays during the forthcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive period.

All you have to do is to register using our specially-printed "Balik Kampung" forms (available at your friendly Neighbourhood Balai Polis) or register on-line at www.sjalert.com.my to get the Police to keep an eye over your unoccupied home.

Kindly note that this "FREE Service" is available to all residents living in SJ/USJ/Putra Heights/Bandar Sunway, regardless of whether they are SJ Alert Members.

So please tell your neighbours and friends about the Balik Kampung - Rumah Selamat campaign.


Editor
11 Trees @ USJ

September 2009 Newslettter

Dear Residents,

We hope you had a wonderful Merdeka celebration and to our Muslim brothers and sisters, may the holy month of the Ramadan strengthens your faith. Within this month and early next month there will be some interesting celebrations which we share amongst us. After the long puasa month, our Muslim friends will be celebrating their Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and on October 3 – the Chinese will be celebrating the Moon Cake festival. Some celebration to look forward to – most certainly!

We do have some important information which we would like to highlight for this month’s newsletter. The most important being the collection of the bi-annual fees which is already due. The other is the progress on the CCTV and finally the progress on the guard house near the Chatters restaurant.


Collection:

The fee for our security is now due. Please do make payment to your street leaders as soon as possible. The collection for six months is RM300.00. Please make cheque payment to “Persatuan Penduduk USJ 11/3, Subang Jaya, Selangor”. It is important that you write the full name as required by our RA’s constitution. Please ensure you get your receipt.

For cash payment, please ensure that you give it personally to the Street Leaders and get your receipts issued to you immediately to avoid any misunderstanding. This is very important as your Street Leaders are busy people. They might forget that they have collected the money and therefore lose track of the payments made.

As for your Committee members, we make the full payment for 12 months. If you like you can also do the same. We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation and understanding. Prompt payment means our security services are not disrupted at all.



CCTV:

The evaluation of CCTV system is not almost complete. We expect the project to take off sometime at the end of September. This is after much time spent in evaluating the system. We short listed to three vendors and we had to test all systems which were in the proposals that were submitted to us.

As most of us do not have much experience on CCTVs, we had to ask a lot of questions. It was a high learning curve for us. We have to give consideration to lightning, vandalism, lighting, power supply, robustness, price, etc. In the end, we managed to choose the system. We should award the project soon and expect the installation to follow suit.


Guard House at Chatters entrance:

We would like to inform you that the upgrade works on this particular guard house has been on-going. Power supply had been an issue but we managed to apply for the supply directly to TNB via our RA. It has been approved by TNB and now installation works has already begun. We should expect the supply to be connected anytime. This will enable us to ensure that this particular guardhouse will have its own lighting and eventually its own CCTV system as well.


Development at the Playground:
We would like to inform you on the progress of the piece of land on the playground. We would like to
Suggestions and ideas:

Again, the committee would like invite you to give us your feedback, ideas and suggestions on how we can improve further and the types of programs that you would like us to carry out for you. Our goal remains the same, to ensure our kampong is a safe and happy place to live in.

The Committee wishes to recruit more street leaders to better serve the community. If you have the time and enjoy contributing your services to the community, please do contact our Chairman, Mr. Ng Peng Hin at +6019 333 1859 or any of the Committee members.

Street Leaders & Contacts:

Your street leaders and contacts are listed below. In case you are unable to reach any of them for whatever reasons, please kindly get in touch with any of the Committee Members which is available at our blog.


Row 3A YBhg Datuk Faridah 019-382 8740
Row 3B Mr. Vellu A/L Sinnakucandai 012-689 0805
Row 3C Tuan Hj Abdul Aziz Mohd Awal 019-645 0253
Row 3D Mr. Yong Yu Loong 012-383 3198
Row 3E Mr. Liew Kim Yen 019-223 7188
Row 3F Mr. Sivaneshwaran 012-265 9098
Row 3G Mr. Adrian Nathan 012-649 9397
Row 3K Mr. Lee Tick Seng 012-316 2977
Row 3L Mr. Murali 012-372 3140
Row 3M Mr. Michael Chow 012-209 9782
Row 3N Ms. Irene Chong Kim Song 017-275 8126
Row 3P Mr. David Chow Kee Cheok 019-383 8268


Thank you.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Monday, September 7, 2009

Unwanted Visitors

Dear Residents,

Apologies for the long silence as work has sort of caught up in recent days. I hope you all had a good Merdeka weekend and to all our Muslim brothers and sisters, I would like to wish you all "Selamat Berpuasa" and may you attain all the good things that god has wished for you in this very holy month of Ramadan.

And speaking of the holy month, there are some unscrupulous people who are making their rounds in our neighbourhood soliciting donations in the name of Islam.

It is most certainly not an isolated case as in Kuala Lumpur and in certain areas of PJ, you might have seen "Buddhist monks" in orange robes asking for donations in return for alms. Well, these are bogus monks as real monks DO NOT do this.

This is also a tactic for such people to collect donation on behalf of Orphanages. Do you know that such people are "hired" to collect money? They operate by showing you some pictures of unfortunate kids, some letters purportedly signed off by some officials. Most time, we cannot authenticate their claims.

Even if they do pay the money eventually to the Orphanages, it will probably be substantially less than what you have donated originally as from the money collected purportedly for the orphanages, they would have taken their "fair" share of the "commission" and other related expenses, not to mention the cut for their "bosses" or people who had recruited them!

I guess these sort of people will do anything for free money and what with Malaysians generally very generous and willing to donate to the less fortunate, they will use such sentiments to enrich themselves. Well, do not be taken in!

Here is an email from Michael (3M), one of our Committee member highlighting his neighbour, Nik's plight. Please do read the story below:


Jeff,

I got a complaint from my neighbor Nik this afternoon. He got a visit from 2 guys wearing in a typical muslim attire white shirt and a white songkok and they speak little English and no malay. This shows that they are foreigners. What was shocking is that they were asking for donations for muslim cause and they even requested him to go to the bank to withdraw money for the donations. He have asked the guards to stop these people from coming in to prevent other muslim residents to be pushed into making this “donations”.

Maybe you can put this up in the blog to warn our muslim residents about this “so called donation” drive.

Best Regards

Michael Chow


Now coming back to our point, there will be people taking advantage of these situations. My take on this is, if you really want to donate, take the initiative to find out if you are actually donating to a legitimate body, be it religious or otherwise. Do check and make sure that they are a running and legitimate NGO, religious organization, etc, so that they are assured of getting your generous donations. As for the Muslims, well I am not an expert but I do believe there are zakat that you can contribute to.

These people who are doing their rounds for such unsolicited gains in our neighbourhood will be stopped from entering into our area in the future. They have no business coming in and we will not allow them to do so. This is also for the sake of safety and unncessary harassment from such people.

And if you have you come across such people, please do highlight it to us as soon as possible. Better still, have your camera ready, snap a shot and send it to us. We will publish it in our blogsite and will also distribute it amongst our guards so that they can keep a lookout and to prevent such people from coming in.

Have a pleasant day otherwise!

Jeffrey Khoo
Advisor
11 Trees @ USJ

Sunday, August 23, 2009

MERDEKA!



Persatuan Penduduk USJ 11/3 ingin mengucapkan kepada semua penghuni dikampung kita, Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan Malaysia yang ke-52! Semoga semua warga USJ 11/3 dapat tinggal bersama sama secara aman dan makmur.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

SMK USJ 12 ordered closed

From The Star
Saturday, August 22, 2009

USJ SCHOOL CLOSED FOR NINE DAYS

SUBANG JAYA: The Ministry of Health has ordered SMK USJ 12 to be closed for nine days from Thursday.

The school was empty when The Star reporters visited the premises. A ministry notice of closure was posted on the main gate. A lone guard on duty said that no ministry officials had visited since it was ordered to close.

Earlier, reports stated that the school decided to continue with classes until Friday and some parents were anxious to know whether the school was really closed after a teacher died from complications from the Influenza A(H1N1) virus on Wednesday.


Shut down: Loh standing outside SMK USJ 12 with the notice of closure from the Ministry of Health posted on the main gate.

Stephanie, from Subang Jaya, was one of three parents who dropped by the school to check whether it was really closed.

She said her 12-year-old son was supposed to sit for a music theory exam by The Associate Board of the Royal Schools of Music on Monday morning at the school.

“Until today, we have not heard anything from the Education Department about a new venue for the test,” Stephanie said, adding that the department was not even aware that the school was closed when she contacted it.

Joann Loh, also from Subang Jaya, said her daughter told her about the closure but still came to check for herself.

“I have kept my two other children who are in primary school at home for three weeks and am making them study at home.

“This is really bad, especially with the UPSR around the corner,” she added.

Selamat Berpuasa

Dear Residents,

Our Muslim brothers and sisters will be observing their Holy month of the Ramadan expected to begin today. Observed by Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a time for spiritual purification achieved through fasting, self-sacrifice and prayers for the Muslims.

Celebrated during the ninth month of Islamic calendar, the fast is observed each day from sunrise to sunset. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five Pillars of Islam. The Islamic belief that requires that Muslims perform five central duties in order to strengthen their faith.

Of course, after the long fasting month, our Muslims brothers and sisters will celebrate the end of Ramadan with the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebrations.

It seemed like it was just yesterday when we send out a similar greeting last year, almost the same time when we started our Resident's Association. How time flies!

Anyway, on behalf of the non-Muslims residents in our kampung in USJ 11/3, we would like to wish all our Muslim brothers and sisters a safe fasting for this holy month of the Ramadan to all who reside in and outside our community.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Monday, August 17, 2009

August 2009 Newsletter

Dear Residents,

We are pleased to inform you that the event for the residents “Malam Famili Ceria” which was held recently to commemorate our first anniversary, went very well. The attendance was beyond our expectations and was overwhelming. We believe we have also had visitors from our neighbouring areas which we were very happy about. However, this has caused some shortfalls such as the food which had run out faster than we anticipated. In fact, we were worried about the excess food and had prepared plastic bags for takeaways!

But we thank you, our dear residents for your support and it has motivated us to work harder for you. We will make sure we are better prepared next time when we organize such events again in the future.

Now back to some more local and pressing issues. In case you are not aware of, the crime rate has gone up significantly for the last month or so. This was posted on our website and is reproduced for your information:

While we are sleeping easier these days with our G&G that our 24x7 security services provide, please do pause spare a thought that we actually did not resolve any problems. We merely shifted it to our unfortunate neighbours in our surrounding areas.

Here are some of the reported cases in the last few days:

i) Sat, July 11, house at USJ 11/4N broken into;
ii) Tue, July 14, house at USJ 11/4M broken into;
iii) Wed, July 15 morning, break in reported at house in USJ 11/4B.
iv) Sun, July 12, 2 cars reported stolen from USJ 11/2
v) Wed, July 15 - dawn/morning 300 newspapers stolen from vendor in front of 7-11
vi) Sat, July 11 - car stolen by Indian man in USJ 6/3A at 1:30 pm
vii) Tue, July 14 at USJ 6/3B a man got robbed in front of his house at noon

A few weeks ago,a family in USJ 11/5 got robbed, 2 cars stolen and victims driven to ATM to withdraw cash.


Fencing:

The fencing project has been successfully carried out despite the many threats and complaints made by unknown people (apart from Gilbert and gang), especially to the MPSJ. The fence has no doubt enhanced our security capabilities.

But since the installation of the fence, there were some people who had vandalized it. They have used the drums as ladders to climb over the fence while there were also some who deliberately bent the fence, damaging it along the way. The drums are not removed because it provides additional safety, as it will then be visible to drivers at night.

We seek your cooperation by snapping pictures of people who vandalized our fence and submit it to us. We will use that to lodge police reports so that action can be taken against these irresponsible people.


Rubbish Disposal:

It has also been reported that some people, maids included has started to pile rubbish in front of the fence. This is not only unsightly; it also shows that we have irresponsible people living in our midst. What you can do as a resident, do not confront them. Just take pictures of them in their act and find out where they live. We will publish them in our website and newsletter for all to see.

There is a schedule printed on a signboard near the playground on when the rubbish disposal people will come around. You can use that to plan and ensure that the accumulated rubbish such as garden refuse can be collected in front of your homes rather than having rubbish strewn everywhere.


CCTV:

The next project the committee would like to carry out (on a urgent basis) is the CCTV project. CCTVs will be installed at strategic entrances and will be monitored on a regular basis. For this project to take off, we will require additional funding.

As many people have donated generously for the fencing, we do not intend to run anymore fund raising campaigns but instead would like to appeal to the people who had not subscribed to the security services or new residents to do so. We would like to appeal and seek your kind cooperation to pay the RM50 monthly subscription so that we can use the additional funds to improve our security. Reminder notice will be sent to your home just in case you have overlooked to pay.

So, if your neighbour has not paid, please do encourage them to do so. We hope to install the CCTV system latest by end of September 2009. For your information, evaluations are already taking place to choose the best system available, given our limited budget.


Suggestions and Ideas:

Again, the committee would like invite you to give us your feedback, ideas and suggestions on how we can improve further and the types of programs that you would like us to carry out for you. Our goal remains the same, to ensure our kampong is a safe and happy place to live in.

The Committee wishes to recruit more street leaders to better serve the community. If you have the time and enjoy contributing your services to the community, please do contact our Chairman, Mr. Ng Peng Hin at +6019 333 1859 or any of the Committee members.


Street Leaders & Contacts:

Your street leaders and contacts are listed below. In case you are unable to reach any of them for whatever reasons, please kindly get in touch with any of the Committee Members which is available at our blog.

Row 3A YBhg Datuk Faridah 019-382 8740
Row 3B Mr. Vellu A/L Sinnakucandai 012-689 0805
Row 3C Tuan Hj Abdul Aziz Mohd Awal 019-645 0253
Row 3D Mr. Yong Yu Loong 012-383 3198
Row 3E Mr. Liew Kim Yen 019-223 7188
Row 3F Mr. Sivaneshwaran 012-265 9098
Row 3G Mr. Adrian Nathan 012-649 9397
Row 3K Mr. Lee Tick Seng 012-316 2977
Row 3L Mr. Murali 012-372 3140
Row 3M Mr. Michael Chow 012-209 9782
Row 3N Ms. Irene Chong Kim Song 017-275 8126
Row 3P Mr. David Chow Kee Cheok 019-383 8268


Thank you.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Vandalism rearing its ugly head

Dear Residents,

This was just a matter of time as there are some quarters who would just like to break something that is working fine and indrectly for their benefit.

There are some irresponsible individuals who have vandalised the guardhouse located at Gate 4, reasons only known to them. They smashed the glass window on the guardhouse and of course it would mean having to repair it at some stage. This occured on 14 August 2009 at around 1:30 am.

A Police has been lodged. Please help us look out for such characters as it is our intention to apprehend such people and bring them to book.



On another note, we are now finalising the security CCTV which we hope to install within the next one month or so. This will hopefully help us identify such people and information/images like these will be handed to the Police for further actions. So, vandals, please beware as we are taking your actions very seriously.

Please also be reminded that the next round of collections will be carried out soon, that is, in September 2009. We hope you will promptly pay up so as not to disrupt the operations of our security services.

Thank you.

The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ

Friday, August 7, 2009

USJ residents give thumbs up to gated and guarded scheme

From the Star, Tuesday 4 August
By THO XIN YI


IN recent years, the USJ neighbourhood in Subang Jaya has become a fortress of sorts with more and more residential areas putting up barriers and boom gates at their entrances.

Some even have their boundaries fenced up to stop intruders from entering their territories.

To complete the picture, there are also smartly-dressed security guards stationed at entry points. For most of the residents, such gated and guarded security schemes give them peace of mind, for they know they can rely on the guards to keep the neighbourhood safe.


Keen watch: A security guard keeping a watchful eye on the goings-on in USJ 11/3.

They agree that the crime rate has dropped drastically after the scheme is implemented, thus convincing those who were skeptical at first.

These schemes were usually put into place when many of the residents fell victim to rampant crime cases and USJ 5 is no exception.

USJ Residents’ Association president Melvin Lee and his USJ 5 neighbours kickstarted their neighbourhood watch programme in 2002 before bringing in the security guards two years later.

“At first, the intruders came in at night so we had our daily night patrol. Then, their modus operandi changed, so we looked at security company for larger surveillance,” he said.

Initially, the guards were stationed at USJ 5 for 12 hours from 7pm to 7am, but once the crime pattern became more unpredictable, the residents decided to expand it to 24 hours.


Your destination?: A security guard taking down the details of a driver before allowing him to enter USJ 11/3.

Today, the neighbourhood is fenced up with an impressive guard house facing the main road.

USJ 3A, B, C and D implemented their guarded scheme about four years ago after getting the green light from most of the residents. Those who were unwilling to subscribe to the service might be seen as freeloaders but as neighbourhood watch chairman Jason Lee observed, some of them decided to join after seeing how effective the security system was.

“We have also seen some buying food for the security guards,” he said.

The USJ 3B resident added that his neighbourhood has zero-crime now and the residents are satisfied with the results.

USJ 11/3 is another succesful example of the gated and guarded security scheme, although it drew strong opposition from some of the business traders in the neighbourhood.

Their extensive and detailed security plan has most of their 11 entry-exit points closed for the whole day or during certain hours.


Barricade: USJ 11/3 has a massive security plan to safeguard the neighbourhood.

Aside from the perimeter fencing and soon-to-be-added CCTV cameras, guards are also stationed at four gates to monitor the vehicles and people who enter the neighbourhood.

Residents’ association chairman Ng Peng Hin said the scheme had instilled confidence in the residents.

“When we first started the scheme last year, about 100 households had moved out due to the crime rate.

“Now, most of the houses are renovated and inhabited — a sign that the residents are here to stay,” he said proudly.

Ng observed that the scheme had made USJ 11/3 a close-knit neighbourhood with residents actively participating in activities like tree-planting and joint-patrol with the police.

Recently, areas such as USJ 11/4 and USJ 3/1 had meetings to kickstart their security schemes.

USJ8 police station officer-in-charge chief inspector Loi Yew Lik, in one such gathering, told the residents that the scheme was effective in curbing crime, although zero-crime is not guaranteed.

Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh stressed that gated and guarded scheme should only be an interim measure while waiting for the Home Affairs Ministry to increase the police force to safeguard the nation.

She is also calling for a review on the guidelines drawn up by the Selangor Housing and Property Board as some are not relevant in today’s situation.

“For instance, the current guidelines allow the residents to put down the boom gate from midnight to 6am only, but most crime cases happen during the day.

“In some housing areas with too many inlets and outlets, the residents have no choice but to close some entrances. But the guidelines specify the need to place a guard at such spots, which is not financially feasible for the residents,” she said.

Yeoh said she had raised this in the recently concluded Selangor state assembly but the feedback was that the current guidelines were sufficient.

“However, Selangor housing, building and squatters committee chairman Iskandar Abdul Samad promised to call for meetings with the residents to get their feedback,” she said.

Yeoh would also be pushing for a meeting at the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) to listen to the residents’ views.

“The police will also be invited to give their endorsement on the scheme,” she said.

Jason said the government should frame a policy soon to legalise and formalise the gated and guarded scheme.

“We are doing the government a favour actually by cutting down the crime rate.

“If they forbid us to implement such schemes, they should improve the security of the nation,” he said.

Melvin, on the other hand, advised residents’ associations that intended to implement the schemes to do a lot of homework before enlisting the help of the security company.

“Visit other areas where they had set up the scheme to gauge their services. Then, constantly monitor their performances and communicate with them.

“Also, be prepared to change them if their services are not up to par — we have changed our security company once when they slackened and did not respond to our warning,” he said.

“And most importantly, never overpromise the residents. If not, they will feel dejected and eventually drop out from the scheme,” he added.

H1N1 close to home ALERT!

Dear Residents

I got this on my Mobile Phone but was unable to send out the message promptly, sorry for the delay.

3 mpsj staff tested positive for h1n1.
Whole legal dept self-quarantined.
Ydp advise public to defer coming for tmrw's mesra rakyat session if possible. Tq.

Please heed the advise and reframe from going to MPSJ unless on urgent matters.

Regards
Robert

SJ Alert

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Talk on Autism

Dear residents,

The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) who is currently operating in 3C building has requested my office to assist with an awareness program for the community in Subang Jaya and MPSJ staff in 3C. NASOM would love to see residents from various community groups present for this talk. Do join us if you can.

Date : This Sunday, 2 August 2009
Time : 10.00am to 12.00 noon
Venue : Kompleks 3C MPSJ, Jalan PJS 11/2, Bandar Sunway
ADMISSION IS FREE!

TALK

Much has been said about autism recently. But what really is autism? – A disease, an illness or a disorder. Is it hereditary, can it be cured? Many are still unaware of this condition whilst some pass it off as a phase in the child’s life and that the child will grow out of it. Mistaken and misunderstood, child with autism are sometimes labelled stupid, mischievous or even institutionalised.

Autism is a lifelong complex neurological disorder that affects 65 million worldwide (World Autism Organisation, 2009). It blocks the ability of the child to communicate and inhibits emotional and social development. It is associated with rigid routines or repetitive behaviors such as obsessively following schedules or arranging belongings in a specific way.

TALK OUTLINE

· What is autism?
· Characteristics of autism.
· Early signs of abnormality.
· Can autism be cured?
· How we can help?

THE SPEAKER

Rica Frances Talon, Master of Arts (Major in Psychology), Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines and Master of Education (cand.) University Malaya (Specializing in Special Education) has been working in the field of psychology and education for more than sixteen years. Her work in the sixteen years has seen her involved in various capacities covering human development, which includes assessment, counselling and therapy, education, training and development, supervision, human resource development and research.

Her main focus typically involves the development of children, adolescents and adults, including students, teachers, counsellors, administrators as well as other people with special need eg autism, ADD/ADHD, emotional-behavioural disorders and psychiatric problems, Down Syndrome, learning difficulties, brain injury and other at-risk individuals, as well as children and adolescents who are gifted.

In 2008, Rica pursued her career further and went to Europe as an academic visitor in Roehampton University, London, Charles University, Prague and Fontys OSO, Netherlands. This was part of a research scholarship funded by the European Commission. Currently, Rica is involved with The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM), providing her professional services as member of the Multi Disciplinary Team.

Thank you. See you there!

Regards,

Hannah Yeoh
Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor
N.31 Subang Jaya
http://www.hannahyeoh.com