Monday, December 29, 2008

Notes from Meeting at House 48 on 14 December 2008

A dozen or so residents attended this meeting: Khoo, Sim, Rasyid, Phyllis, Frederick, Lee, Wan Chung, Rebecca, Charlie, David Tiong, Larrie, Patrick, Eugene, Chritopher, me and a few others whom I may have forgotten. The main objective of the meeting was really to provide some feedback on the issues that was discussed at the YB Lee dialogue, for those that could not attend the dialogue themselves.

Disclaimer: These are views separately expressed by various residents at the meeting, and recorded to my best ability. These records may not be 100% accurate and should not be interpreted as the collective view of residents nor they represent my individual view on the matters.

Gas
According to Frederick who went to check at the Sarawak Gas recently, as of 10 Dec 2008 there were 22 residents that have registered. The required number is 60, for Sarawak Gas to connect to the area. Do spread the words to your neighbours and also friends of yours that you know moving to Prima Villa soon.

Wifi
To get a signal boost, contact Danawa the company that runs the wifi service.

Telecom
NAIM to pay TM for connection to be made. This needs follow up with NAIM for latest status.

Security
Committee to contact NAIM for further discussion.

Suggestion was made that NAIM to organise improved security arrangement, and residents to contribute a reasonable amount of fees. An example of an area that was quoted with such arrangement is Taman Bayshore.

Other security related suggestions or issues raised by residents that need discussion with NAIM:
- There’s a CCTV at guard house but was reported not to have correct date and time
- Some contractors have their workers living on-site – this may require some control
- Suggestion was made that NAIM should tighten access control past midnight (e.g. mandatory registration for all persons)
- Need to control speed limit – all residents are reminded to drive slowly, should consider speed bumps?
- Residents reported damage by irresponsible contractors on road surfaces, etc - this requires better control
- The covered drains have a lot of soil and debris – these need to be cleared up to improve drainage

Sim made a plea to all residents to help look out for one another. Exchange contact numbers with your adjacent / nearby neighbours. When noticing other houses’ alarms are triggered, contact the house owner if possible and/or investigate as required. Look out for suspicious persons, alert and/or report accordingly to the authority.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Neighbourhood Gathering on 21 December 2008

Neighbourhood Gathering on 21 December 2008

The crowd spoke for itself – the first neighbourhood gathering was without doubt a roaring success! It was a cool and cloudy day. Amidst a very gentle late afternoon drizzle, the tent erected next to house 28 was packed to the brim with enthusiastic residents of Prima Villa. Thanks to Phyllis who inspired the event at the meeting held a week earlier, the event was made possible with voluntary contributions from all – banner, tent, tables, even cutlery and disposable wares and of course food! It’s a great way to get to know the neighbours. Despite the short notice, the residents of Prima Villa proved themselves more than capable of putting together an event like this quickly and elegantly! I suspect the street party types amongst the residents are already having ideas for the next one, so look out for it!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Notes from the dialogue session with YB Lee

Email sent by Richard Kho on 4 December 2008

Dear all,

---
Next proposed meeting for the residents of Prima Villa and the committee is 2:30 pm, Saturday 13 Dec, at House 48. Thanks to Michael Tiong for offering his house.

Michael, appreciate if you will re-confirm to all.
---

Notes from the dialogue session with YB Lee.

Who made it: me, Eugene, Doris, Mrs Tay, Frederick, Michael, Michelle, Rebecca (I think I missed a couple of names - my apologies)

The following topics were discussed:

1. Telecom
Interesting enough, YB Lee kicked-off by sharing a session he has had with Telekom Malaysia and Naim, apparently held sometime in Sept 08. It turned out that he's been progressing matter between TM and Naim to resolve telecom matters related to Permyjaya areas, and Prima Villa is listed as one of areas. He showed us a table indicating that Naim has agreed to pay (including Prima Villa), and TM agreeing to delivering the solution in 6 months after payment. At the session, there was no clarity as to whether Naim has actually paid as of today. YB Lee was then on the phone with someone from TM (missed his name) and there was mentioning of technical/commercial matters related to cabling (underground cabling in PV) and there is lack of clarity on whether these matters have been fully resolved or not. So conclusion - Need to confirm whether Naim has paid and to also ensure that Naim will pay conclusively to resolve matters related to the underground cabling in PV.

2. DeConnexion wifi
Residents raised that the above does not work well. Michelle who lives close to tower threathened to knock down the telecom tower in front of her house (joke). YB Lee got on phone and contacted senior person in DeConnexion/Danawa, and asked to send someone quickly to look into matters. DeConnexion called back to say it seems to be working. Asked for contact persons to follow-up on status. Michelle's and Eugene's kindly volunteered and their mobile numbers given via YB Lee to DeConnexion for follow-up. Michelle/Eugene, do update us!

3. Sarawak Gas
Sarawak Gas is ready to connect once we reach 60 pax. Basically all of you to go sign up! YB Lee called someone senior in Sarawak Gas and confirmed this. Frederick has volunteered to pay a visit to Sarawak Gas to get list of PV residents that have signed up. Forms available from Larrie or from Sarawak Gas. It costs you RM100 ringgit to sign up - this is not subscription to the gas. When the gas line is connected to PV, then you can subscribe and pay the connection fee. The connection fee is RM 1xxx (can't remember) but you can pay by installment over many years. The gas is cheap - almost free, so in the end, you should be paying about 1 tank of gas every month. My two cents - gas tanks are dangerous in many ways (burglers use them to break in, etc) and you should use cheap gas to heat your water (or sunlight better still), not precious electricity.

4. Security
Nothing YB Lee can do specifically on this. Kindly suggested forming neighbourhood committe, RELA, etc - nothing we/you don't already know. Residents shared concerns. YB Lee called up senior guy in Naim who now heads up Property Department - Vincent Kueh and conveyed resident's concerns. Asked Vincent Kueh to do something it. Give us Vincent Kueh's mobile and PV committee to contact him for follow-up.

Conclusions:

- A useful a dialogue to share our views and exchange ideas with YB Lee (and in fact with YB Andy Chia as well very briefly whilst we were waiting)

- We didn't really solve any of above problems yet. But importantly, YB Lee called up senior folks in TM, Naim, Danawa and Swak Gas. This hopefully gives us the weight needed when we talk to Naim, etc later.

In order to move forward, next proposed meeting for the residents of Prima Villa and the committee is Saturday 13 Dec, at House 48. Thanks to Michael Tiong for offering his house.

regards,
Richard
House 5546

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Dialogue Session with YB Lee Kim Shin on Prima Villa Issues

Email sent by Rebecca Wong on 1 Dec 2008

Dear all,

This is to inform you that we are much honored to have a dialogue session arranged with YB Lee Kim YB Lee Kim Shin to discuss about the issues concerned us in Prima Villa. The details of the session are as follow:

Date: Wednesday 3 December 2008
Time: 9.30 am
Venue: Miri SUPP Office

Lot 659A, 2nd Floor, UNITY CENTRE, (same block as Alliance Bank)
MIRI PUJUT ROAD, 98000 MIRI, SARAWAK. Tel: 085-423399

We will meet at 9.00 am downstairs to have a quick discussion to agree on the issues. Appreciate if you could attend to voice your concern and show our unity. Please also pass the message around to your neighbours for their information and support.

Regards,
Rebecca