14
F●
NEWS
WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2012
THE MALAY MAIL
NATIONAL The licences are also differentiated by colours — blue for buses, red for taxis and green for lorries Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar Land Public Transport Commission chairman
KUALA TERENGGANU
PETALING JAYA
Shock, then relief, for housebuyers Demand for payment result of systems error, says board By ANDREW SAGAYAM andrew@mmail.com.my
AFTER settling his instalments for his PKNS low-cost house in Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara in 2002, Yahaya Ngah Sham had thought his burden of paying for his house was over. However, he received a shock last week when the Selangor Housing and Land Board (LPHS) sent him backdated bills and a demand to pay up RM12,000, which needed to be settled within three months. Yahaya, 69, was not alone. More than 10 others who had bought their houses from the then state government in 1991 also received letters of demand to pay up or face legal action. All of them had finished paying their final instalment and possess grants for their houses. “There are four more years for the agreement (grace payment period) to run, so why is this demand letter
coming now?” asked Yahaya, who was armed with a letter dated 2002, indicating that he had settled his payment. Luckily for them, officers from the board were present at a community hall in their housing area yesterday to collect outstanding payments. When Yahaya and the others confronted the officers, they were told — much to their relief — a “systems error” had occurred and they could ignore the notices. “If they already have a
grant, it means they have settled their loans,” said Mohd Affendi Ahmad Dahlan, an assistant administrative officer with the board. He explained that a “technical error” had caused the false billing. “Our systems were down last week and we had to do some back-up. There was some billing of some old cases. It did not affect these residents alone but also others in Selangor,” he said. The residents were unhappy the board did not seek clarification from them
PAY UP FOR ELSE: The letter of demand that Yahaya received 10 years after he finished paying his instalments
although they suspected a systems problem could have caused the problem. “It can break families, letters like these. House payments are a sensitive issue,” Yahaya said. Affendi assured the residents they would be given a notice of clarification and possibly an apology letter in a day or two.
University lab destroyed by fire AN environmental laboratory at the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) campus was destroyed by fire on Monday night. No one was hurt in the blaze, which occurred at 9.30pm. The fire was spotted by a student feeding fish in an enclosure opposite the laboratory. Muhammad Hafizuddin Md Amin, 19, said he smelt something burning and saw smoke emerging from the second-floor laboratory where various types of gas and acids were stored for use in experiments. He tried to put out the fire with the help of fellow students but failed. Firemen brought the blaze under control in 15 minutes, said Kuala Terengganu Fire and Rescue station chief Kamerul Bieza Mohd Kassim. “We sent 15 firemen to the university. We are investigating the cause of the fire and the damage,” he said. UMT Vice-Chancellor Datuk Aziz Deraman said the university would repair the laboratory immediately. He said lectures and experiments would not be affected as the laboratory was not a
We are thankful no one was injured because some students had asked to use the lab just before the fire broke
Datuk Aziz Deraman UMT Vice-Chancellor
main one. “We are thankful no one was injured because some students had asked to use the lab just before the fire broke,” he said. Meanwhile, the operator of chalets in Kampung Tanjung Gelam suffered losses estimated at RM50,000 after the chalets were were destroyed by fire on Monday night. A son of the operator, Shahir Zulfairy Mohd Zakeri, 18, who was at the enquiry counter, said he smelt smoke and found a room on fire. He alerted guests at an adjacent room and called the Fire and Rescue Department. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR
SPAD starts issuing new licences By ANDREW SAGAYAM andrew@mmail.com.my
COMMERCIAL vehicle operators can now collect their new operating licences from the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD). The commission’s chairman, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, said it had started issuing the licences following the completion of the re-registration exercise launched last April. “As promised, those companies that have re-registered with us will be the proud owners of the new licence. Now, there is no need to have 200 licences for 200 buses, for example, just one main licence is enough to cover all 200 buses. This
new licences are valid up to seven years,”. “The licences are also differentiated by colours — blue is for buses, red for taxis and green for lorries.” Earlier, Syed Hamid handed over the first three licences to three companies — Sani Express, Sunlight Radio Taxi Group and Konsortium Logistik Bhd — at the commission’s headquarters at Plaza 1 Sentral here yesterday. Sani Express owner Datuk Wan Mohamad Sani Salleh, Sunlight Radio Taxi Group executive director Abd Jalil Maarof and Konsortium Logistik chief operating officer Datuk Che Azizuddin Che Ismail received the licences. Syed Hamid said the owners and operators of vehicles that had not being registered
LICENSED TO OPERATE: Syed Hamid (second from right) and Syed Azhar Ahmad, SPAD’s Chief Operating Officer (centre) with Abd Jalil (left), Sani (second from left) and Che Azizuddin at the new licence handingover ceremony — Pic: SHAHIR OMAR
would have to re-apply for the licence. “Those who did not follow the registration exercise are considered illegal operators. It is better for them to reapply again and operate legally,” he said.
The re-registration period was stipulated under Section 10(1) of the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (Amendment) Act 2010. Syed Hamid said only 74,700 of the 90,000 commercial vehicle operators
had re-registered. He said the new measure would benefit the operators as they could use any vehicle for all the determined routes and it would make it easier for the authorities to monitor the companies.
“Law enforcement will be more efficient and effective, as action will be taken against the licensee and not the vehicle,” he said. “The focus of the new licensing concept is make sure operators select good drivers and maintain their vehicle well. This will ensure there will less accidents or causalities while they are on the road.” Syed Hamid said the names of vehicle owners and operators had been published in the SPAD website for their reference. Commercial vehicles getting the new licences are mainly lorries and vans transporting personal and commissioned goods, schoolbuses, taxis and hired vehicles.