By Sarawakian
We have now reached 2022 and Chinese New Year falls on the 1st of February this year. The Metal Ox would give way to the Water Tiger. Let us hope after the Metal Rat of 2020 and the Metal Ox of 2021, the Water Tiger brings to the world some sense of positivity.
The Omicron is still around us but this time, the Global community had tire from the fear of what Covid-19 and its variants bring. Not all countries have their population vaccination rate above 80%. Yet, the countless fear mongering has gone down. People are wondering if the virus still exists or just a manipulative weapon found by Governments of the world to control their population.
Interestingly, the words ‘herd immunity’ have been forgotten. The two dose vaccines on a single type can now be mixed with a booster of another type. Science suddenly said it was okay. Honestly, no one can deny that everyone of us are guinea pigs in our participation. Who is right and who is wrong, remains to be seen. Have we gone into an endemic phase? I am not sure, but some politicians seem to think so but cautious on being decisive. Do we need another Booster? I dare say if they use the same excuse that the efficacy drops, then you would need another. If trend is the same, does it mean every 3 months? 6 months? We live in a world of vaccination certificates now.
The MySejahtera app now comes with the MySJTrace. It uses Bluetooth and must be switched on always as recommended. Regardless of what they say, it DOES take up your battery juice. Only idiots would believe another idiot. So now, with that you would not be able to check out after checking in. It is replaced with the next check in. Sounds very much like the lyrics from the Eagles’ ‘Hotel California.’
Subang Jaya would soon see her second mayor with the transfer of our first Mayor to Klang. Let us hope that whoever takes the role would be more pro-active in making Subang Jaya an innovative and high-tech city. The current website of MBSJ needs to be more customer friendly as it is cluttered.
We really need to improve on the walkability of the pedestrian walkways as they are still not functional. The route to bus stops, LRT station and to the Taman and Commercial areas are not completed properly. The same could be said about the disastrous cycling lanes which have never been improved upon. These came up as a knee jerk reaction to the trend of the day.
The lanes between shophouses in SS14, SS15, Taipan USJ 9, Taipan USJ10 and USJ21 are still in need of rectification. Drains covers remain a problem though it is noticed that in some area drains are now being enclosed. We also hope that a public toilet facility which is safe and secure is created in SS15 and in Taipan USJ 10 as both areas have a high density of commercial activity.
Many of us would have now already forgotten the experiment of using barn owls to control the rat population in Subang Jaya. We wonder what happened to that project. The same could be said about the improved CCTV coverage in Subang Jaya. This would certainly help with the curtailing of would-be crime or provide some insights into crime activities. What has happened to this? The same could also be said about the improvement of waste collection and the separation of waste for recycling. Food waste management is still not being placed in the forefront.
The Subang Ria Recreational Park has been neglected for a long time since the issue of development was brought up more than 5 years ago. We are also still waiting for the chance to vote in our choice of Mayor and the councillors instead of being appointed. This rubbish of appointees for the management of taxes we pay to administer Subang Jaya must stop. We need to have our choice in voting whom we believe would do a better job independently from the state and federal powers.
I am sure that now Subang Jaya is a city, we would see a gradual increase in our tax payments. Yet again, has anything improved from being a town to a city? There should be as a city would require a distinct set of goals. Medical facilities for the public remain a dream. All we have now are private medical centres around us. We really need this improvement especially that the aging population of Subang Jaya would surely increase. MBSJ should look at fool-proofing the public infrastructure and facilities for the aging population. When this is done, you would have covered everything even for the able-bodied person.
In the past 2 years since 2020, we have not seen nor felt that the local government has performed. There is no solid reason we cannot vote for our own Mayor and councillors now. There is nothing to fear. 2022 is a good time for the new Mayor to start Subang Jaya anew. Things have changed as the demographics have changed. It is time to expunge the disease of divisiveness created by the irresponsible politicians form whichever party.
This Chines New Year would see some new SOPs created. Would this yet again be thought of carefully or would this again be a wanton show of power? I think if we look through all the SOPs post 2021, we should expect better easements for social activity. It has been a hard two years for many since 2020.
What we want to see now is a Subang Jaya expunged of the propagation of hatred, discrimination and selfishness. There is no place for entitlements, only a place for merit. If it is required, just do it for the good of all. That is merit. Not for the benefit of just one.
Here is wishing you Kong Hee Fatt Choy 2022.
