SNAPSHOT | DBKL halts nods to development after KL flood ponds shrink; Muda hits back at Azam

KINI SNAPSHOT | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 9am, 2pm, 6pm and 9pm.

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Cops arrest 4 over firecrackers in anti-Azam rally; PKR student leader denies U-turn

2pm

DBKL

• The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will not approve planning permission for developments on land involving the Jinjang and Batu flood retention ponds until all conditions set by the Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID) are fully complied with.

  The move follows concerns that development activities within the flood retention pond zones have compromised their original function and hindered maintenance.

  

  In a statement, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said that 17 land lots within the Jinjang and Batu flood retention ponds were alienated to developers since 2015, with an estimated 70 percent of land within the water-body zones transferred for development purposes.

  She said the developments had reduced the ponds’ capacity from their original size of 33.5ha, with technical assessments by the Kuala Lumpur DID finding that the situation has affected the ponds’ intended role in flood control.

  To address the issue, the Federal Territories Department has established a task force, involving multiple agencies, to strengthen coordination and flood mitigation efforts in Kuala Lumpur.

Corruption

• Rawang assemblyperson Chua Wei Kiat has joined calls for an independent investigation into outgoing MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki.

  While praising Azam’s courage in investigating “big names”, the PKR lawmaker added that the former must be prosecuted if sufficient evidence is found.

  In a statement today, Chua told the Madani government that it must focus on restoring MACC’s integrity in light of controversies involving the anti-graft agency, including allegations of Azam’s share ownership and reports of a “corporate mafia”.

  

  Chua congratulated ex-judge Abdul Halim Aman over his appointment as Azam’s successor, and urged him to begin the “internal cleansing” of the MACC.

• Muda slammed Azam’s comments yesterday, painting protesters against the MACC as having “forgotten to take their medicine”, leading to them feeling “depressed by themselves.”

  Muda deputy treasurer-general Rashifa Aljuneid cautioned Azam against mistaking silence for support, saying that many are reluctant to speak out against him and the MACC due to fear of weaponised investigations.

  She stressed Malaysians’ right to question MACC’s integrity, accusing the agency of failing to act independently and consistently in high-profile cases involving political interests.

  “The scars on my knees from firecrackers during protests will always remind me of how the people who demand accountability are often treated. Not with transparency, but with insults, sarcasm, and the use of force,” she lamented in a statement yesterday.

  

READ MORE: 'Forgot to take medicine, depressed': Azam ridicules anti-MACC protesters

Fuel subsidies

Editor’s note: Liew Chin Tong has denied announcing a possible reduction of the RON95 quota to 150 litres per month, and The Edge has removed its report.

• The government could potentially reduce the quota for subsidised RON95 petrol under the Budi95 programme further to 150 litres per month, from the 300 litres per month when it was first introduced, and the 200 litres per month since March.

  The Edge quoted Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong saying that data consistently showed that 80 percent of Malaysians used less than 200 litres per month, and 60 percent used less than 150 litres per month.

  He argued that the Budi95 programme should be viewed as a “demand management tool” rather than merely a subsidy programme, as the government needs to ensure the country has a sufficient and stable fuel supply, especially if the geopolitical crisis in West Asia drags on longer than expected.

  However, he emphasised that the government wants to ensure vulnerable groups continue to have access to subsidised fuel, and is also working on a targeted diesel subsidy scheme for Sabah and Sarawak.

READ MORE: Chin Tong denies announcing Budi95 quota cut

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