Rise in household income tied to govt transformation programmes

The current average monthly household income of Malaysians at about RM5,000 compared to RM4,025 in 2009, is among the initial outcomes of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

Political analysts said the GTP and ETP were not just mere slogans because the implementation report data had proven the programmes' success in raising the household income of Malaysians.

According to the 2012 GTP and ETP achievement report, the two initiatives have started to show significant improvements in the well-being of the people.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Social Science Faculty senior lecturer Dr Jeniri Amir said the Government's move in enhancing the GTP and ETP programmes was a timely step for the country towards achieving developed nation and high-income status.

“Compared to five years ago, the increase is very significant, whereby civil servants' salaries have been raised and we also have a minimum salary for the private sector,” he said.

Dr Jeniri said Malaysia recorded a growth rate of 5.6% despite uncertainties in the global economy.

Strong economic growth continues to generate job opportunities and drive various economic activities, he added.

Read More

Government’s transformation policies have greatly benefited Malaysians

The people have benefited greatly from the Government's national transformation policy which has seen family income grow from RM4,025 in 2009 to RM5,000 a month in four years, says Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Unveiling a glowing report card that listed achievements since he took office in April 2009, the Prime Minister stressed on the importance of the nation having an effective government that delivers on its promises to the rakyat.

Thanks to hard work, dedication and cooperation from all parties, a better standard and quality of life for the people had been attained with the economy progressing while government finances remained healthy, he said.

The Prime Minister said his administration deserved a strong mandate to turn Malaysia into a high-income nation.

He announced that the BR1M cash aid initiative for the low-income group, which started last year, would be an annual affair.

Najib said: “It is clear that this is a responsible Government which delivers on its promises. This Government puts the well-being of the people above everything else.

“In a country that practises democracy, the people determine which party is to be entrusted to form the government. There are effective governments and there are those which are weak and fail to fulfil what is entrusted to them,” he told the nation “live” on TV channels last night as he presented the annual report of Pemandu, the performance management and delivery unit of the Prime Minister's Department.

Read More

Surveys show that GTP is doing what it was meant to do for the country

By most accounts, Malaysia has made great improvements in the past five years.

The findings of major international economic, social and political surveys appear to bear this out.

From confidence to foreign direct investments and the happiness index, these surveys show that the Government Transformation Programme has been close to succeeding in its objective of turning Malaysia into a developed nation with a high-income society.

“Malaysia will be a great place to be in the global economy in 2013”. This endorsement from Osman Morad, Standard Chartered's managing director, is not an isolated view.

According to International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Osman's views were shared by the business community, analysts, fund managers, international and multinational institutions.

“These foreign experts have given their thumbs up to the country's continued improvement despite the criticisms from certain quarters,” said Mustapa in an interview.

The minister said while the surveys were mostly based on perception, the “real economic figures” have also confirmed the findings of these studies.

Read More

Police-auxiliary police cooperation to boost safety

Police will be involved in continuous partnerships and collaborations with auxiliary police to enable more effective crime prevention initiatives under the GTP Roadmap 2.0 from next year to 2015.

“Auxiliary police and police need to strengthen their strategic cooperation and collaboration to prevent crime in public areas without affecting the basic roles of auxiliary police to maintain security at their appointed organisation,” Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said.

However, he said the jurisdiction of the auxiliary police is only limited to the authorised area.

According to him, auxiliary police have limitations when it comes to mainstream crime prevention activities under the Reducing Crime NKRA as there are legal technicalities.

Ismail shared that there are 123 agencies administering auxiliary police operations comprising 25 government agencies, 21 statutory bodies, 32 government-linked companies and 45 companies.

As at Oct 31, 16 more agencies have been given the green light to set up auxiliary police teams.

 

Source : TheStar

Read More

Second wave in crime-fighting

The second wave of the Government's anti-crime drive aims to prop up the feel-safe factor among the people and give more muscle to the police force. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein talks about this push in the Government Transformation Programme in an interview with The Star.

Q: The Government promotes the fall in the crime index as a success under the Crime NKRA. However, there are still sceptics among the society.

A: When the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) was introduced in 2009, crime was a cause of concern. Hence, reducing crime was identified as a National Key Result Area (NKRA). A holistic approach was taken with specific targets or KPIs to deliver tangible results; i.e. to reduce 5% of the crime index.

The past three years have seen significant successes in the reduction of both index and street crimes. However, we realise the public remains sceptical of these achievements and have not “felt” the results. This is a challenge we understand and take seriously. This is not exclusive to our society; it's the same case in almost every society.

They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the Home Ministry is not only aware but has been engaging the necessary methods and approaches to ensure tangible outcomes.

Based on the current environment, what are the plans by the ministry and the police to address these issues and concerns?

Read More

Second phase of GTP to see 100,000 law enforcers joining forces

THE second phase of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), or GTP 2.0, will see about 100,000 law enforcers from various agencies joining forces to combat crime.

The Reducing Crime National Key Result Area laboratory has targeted 47,000 police personnel and the rest from other enforcement agencies such as Rela and the Malaysian Civil Defence Department to be deployed whenever needed.

According to assistant lab leader Asst Supt Fatimah Abdul Hamid, the number of crime hotspots will be increased from four to six, with Kedah and Perak joining Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang.

On preventing burglaries, she said police presence would be increased in residential areas since some 150 housing estates around the country have experienced a high rate of break-ins, including in Johor Baru, Petaling Jaya, Alor Setar and Butterworth.

Page 49 of the Crime GTP 2.0 Lab Report states that vehicles theft constitutes, to be exact, 54% of the crime index for 2011.

Read More

Car parks at malls to be rated

PETALING JAYA: Car parks at shopping centres will be rated according to the level of security it offers and will be ranked in a league system.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala said a “Car Park League Table” will challenge the management of shopping malls to ensure the security of their shoppers.

This was in light of a growing concern among shoppers that mall car parks are unsafe following a spate of assault and snatch theft cases.

“We are exploring the idea of establishing a Car Park League Table that will challenge car park operators to beef up their security and be more diligent in ensuring public safety,” said the Performance and Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief executive officer.

Pemandu, together with the Home Ministry had recently engaged the Malaysian Retailers Association and Malaysian Parking Association to gather their feedback on the Safer Parking initiative.

Read More

Home Ministry, police to implement benchmarking policing strategy

The Home Ministry and Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) plans to implement the World Class Policing (WCP) strategy this year as part of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) towards providing the public with better policing services.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein (pic) said WCP, a benchmarking exercise, would monitor inputs and outcomes of the local police in comparison with the police forces in countries like the United Kingdom, United States, Japan and Hong Kong.

He said WCP would serve as a guideline for top police officers and policy makers as to what should be improved and which key areas to be prioritised.

“We'll adopt the best practices and discard outdated approaches to policing,” he said.

Hishammuddin noted that in 2011, police recorded a drop of 11.1 per cent in overall crime rate and a 39.7 per cent reduction in street crime.

Read More

Rakan Cop to be beefed up for bigger role in GTP 2.0

SEREMBAN: The Rakan Cop programme will be beefed up as it is seen as the most effective initiative in reducing crime, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

He said that, for example, police had investigated 1,013 of 1,538 reports lodged by Rakan Cop through short messaging service (SMS) so far this month.

“The police are confident of Rakan Cop’s capability in relaying information and taking immediate action on reports.

“This shows the importance of Rakan Cop’s contribution in combating crime.

“In line with the Government Transformation Programme 2.0 Laboratory (GTP 2.0 Lab), efforts will be taken to improve and strengthen Rakan Cop,” he said during a walkabout in Taman Jasmin, Senawang here yesterday.

Read More

100,000 crime fighters

KUALA LUMPUR: As many as 100,000 law enforcers will be available to combat crime under the second phase of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), with the prevention of house break-ins and vehicle thefts as two of the key focus points.

Under the GTP Roadmap 2.0, the Reducing Crime National Key Result Area laboratory has targeted 47,000 police personnel and the rest from other enforcement agencies such as Rela and the Malaysian Civil Defence Department to be deployed whenever needed.

The number of crime hotspots will be increased from four to six, with Kedah and Perak joining Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang, assistant lab leader Asst Supt Fatimah Abdul Hamid said at the GTP Roadmap 2.0 open day yesterday.

Read More