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MP SPEAKS | The year 2018 has been exciting, inspiring though heart-wrenching at times but fun-filled with boundless energy. My first annual report, after being elected as a member of Parliament, aims to capture this spirit of Petaling Jaya. 

This annual report is part of my effort to account and share the various community programmes, issues raised and how the allocation was used by my office for the year 2018.

The support from volunteers, the public and residents has been top notch and untiring. They have shown me that the people of PJ do want to be part of the change that GE14 promised. 

We have also worked closely with state assembly representatives, councillors, CSOs and PJ residents. Their dedication had been an eye-opener as each of us brings in different experiences to further enrich our work in P105 Petaling Jaya.

My vision is to bring about values that encourage participation, integrity while ensuring dignity for all while promoting an inclusive culture so that no one gets left behind in the development process.

The initiatives that my office have launched were products from our consultative discussions with volunteers and residents. The P105 initiatives introduced seven workstreams, organised by volunteers from my office and they run various programmes aimed at uplifting the various communities in Petaling Jaya in line with our vision. 

The seven P105 workstreams are Health, Environment, Youth, Women, Democracy, Housing and Transportation. I have also introduced a number of other initiatives such as the P105 Mobile Office to reach out to those who are unable to make the journey to my office at No 18, Jalan Changgai, Petaling Jaya to receive our services. 

We also have the "People of PJ" campaign on social media to highlight and document the challenges faced by various people living in the Petaling Jaya constituency.

Among the achievements of the workstreams initiative include having successfully created a platform where residents can participate and engage in the decision-making process, providing food to those who are earning less than RM800 a month and are truly in need of assistance and empowering women and youth through various programmes.

I hope to expand the work done to include entrepreneurship programmes, even more awareness programmes about the role of joint management boards (JMBs) and good governance. This office also hopes to work with the Housing and Local Government Ministry on their pilot project to create a sustainable housing environment. 

I hope that this will eventually expand to include other PPRs and low-cost flats. Besides this, we will also continue to work on improving public transportation so that more residents including those from the B40 group have access to important social service centres.

Since May, my office has received various complaints and cases from constituents of Petaling Jaya. From May 9 to Dec 18, I have received 156 cases. Cases that involve identity cards (32), welfare (16), housing (14) and legal (13) make up the categories with the most number of cases.

As a member of Parliament, I have provided information on the types of issue that I have raised in the Dewan Rakyat. Many of the issues raised were brought up by the residents of Petaling Jaya to my office. This includes issues of urban poverty, introducing a progressive taxation system and improving access to healthcare facilities. 

I have also advocated for the abolishment of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), the necessity to institute gender equality and institutional reforms on anti-corruption, ending abuse of power and setting human rights framework and actions.

I would also like to express my gratitude to assemblypersons Rajiv Rishyakaran, Syamsul Firdaus Mohamed Supri and Halimey Abu Bakar; PJ mayor Mohd Azizi bin Mohd Zain and his officers; MBPJ councillors Ahmad Akhir Pawan Chik, Ermeemarianna bt Saadon, Derek Fernandez , Sugumaran Annamalai, Norainie Haziqah, Raja Dairuz bt Raja Mazlan, Elaine Magdaline Nathaniel, Thayalan Krishnasamy, Leong Chee Cheng, Rahibah Che Omar, Loyis anak Uding, Anwar Nekhan, Farhan Haziq, Shakiren Bin Abd Razak, Ong Swee Leong, Terence Tan Teck Seng and Shah Alam councillor Afzainizam Abd Rahman.

I am also grateful to Selangor state and federal government bodies such as the Welfare Department and the Petaling Utama District Education Office; community leaders; residents' associations and neighbourhood watches around Petaling Jaya. I would also like to thank the volunteers from my office who have contributed a lot of time and effort towards achieving the vision and aims of my office.

I aim to produce a report each year not only to highlight the work that my office is doing but also to increase the accountability and the quality of service that we provide for the people of Petaling Jaya.

 


MARIA CHIN ABDULLAH is member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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