Penang Municipal Council wins Best Municipality Award by Europe Business Assembly

I look forward to seeing Malaysia, and not only Penang, to be competitive in the international arena. Malaysia is (or at the moment "can be") one of the best countries in the world. Malaysians at home/abroad, let us come out/fly back to vote: Restore what Malaysia has long deserved!

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Double boost for council

The Star, March 26, 2013

图： 星洲日报

PENANG Municipal Council (MPPP) president Datuk Patahiyah Ismail, who was the first woman in the country to head a local authority in 2010, has added another feather to her cap.

She has just being awarded the Best Municipal Manager by the Europe Business Assembly (EBA).

EBA is a UK-based independent corporation for development and management of economic, social and humanitarian collaboration.

Besides Patahiyah, EBA also bestowed the MPPP with the Best Municipality Award.

Patahiyah said she received an email from the EBA on Friday to inform her about the two awards in the Sphere of City and Administrative Management categories.

“I’m truly honoured. It is the first time in MPPP’s history that we are bestowed with such prestigious awards,” she added.

She said this after officiating the newly upgraded Datuk Keramat field (Padang Brown) on Sunday.

She said the awards were in recognition of the city’s reputation, the effective management of the city, its constant growth and its attractiveness to tourists.

The presentation of the awards will take place on July 1 and July 2 in Montreux, Switzerland.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng commended Patahiyah on showing great performance in her job over the past years.

However, he also noted that some MPPP staffers still carried with them the “old mindset” and were reluctant to work harder.

Patahiyah said some of the personnel were reluctant to put in extra hours in their work.

“Nowadays, our phones are switched on all the time and if we receive complaints during weekends or even at night, we have to be at the site to inspect the situation.

“This year, we will upgrade two more fields in Lebuh Nipah 2 and Balik Pulau Sports Complex,” she said.

She added that MPPP would create several pocket parks, namely in Jesselton Crescent, Macallum Street and Taman Bukit Kukus/Jalan Beriksa in Bandar Baru Air Itam.

全馬首個獲殊榮‧檳島市局芭蒂希雅入圍EBA最佳榮耀

（檳城）檳島市政局憑著高執行力，促進島上的蓬勃發展，進而帶動投資及旅遊業，獲得歐洲商業議會（Europe Business Assembly，簡稱EBA）提名“最佳市政局＂；檳島市政局主席拿督芭蒂希雅則被提名成為“最佳市長＂！

芭蒂希雅7月飛瑞士
出席頒獎禮

這項全球性的頒獎禮將於7月1及2日在瑞士的蒙特勒（Montreux）舉行，芭蒂希雅證實，檳島是全馬第一個獲得如此榮譽的市政局，因此她將會親自飛到瑞士出席頒獎禮。

她昨日（24日）在出席柑仔園大操場修復工程竣工後，向媒體出示歐洲商業議會寄來的邀請函，該函件上闡明，檳島市政局經該會位於英國牛津的分析中心針對全 球多個旅遊景點在投資、旅遊及休閒機會的調查與評鑑之後，決定提名檳島市政局及市長芭蒂希雅成為“最佳市政局＂以及“最佳市長＂。

稱讚檳島市局效率高

該會盛讚檳島市政局高效率的管理，致使檳島在發展、旅遊及投資表現上成績亮眼。

頒獎禮舉辦的同時，歐洲商業議會也會舉辦一項高峰會議，屆時全球超過30個國家的市長、市政局代表、企業、旅遊業者、商會代表、金融業者、外交官等皆會出席。

林冠英：若民聯再執政檳
芭蒂希雅將續掌市局

對於芭蒂希雅帶領的檳島市政局，檳首長林冠英予以高度肯定，並揚言若民聯再執政檳州的話，芭蒂希雅將繼續成為市政局的掌舵人，領導檳城邁向更好的未來。

他也說，改革之路不易走，政府為了讓檳城變得更好，實行了不少政策，包括鎖車輪等，引起了不少反彈。除此之外，抱有舊思維的公務人員，也不斷地挑戰芭蒂希雅的領導。

“儘管如此，為了廣大人民的福祉，即便會流失選票，我們也要堅持走下去。＂

芭蒂希雅：7天24小時候命
工作時間變長遭反彈

針對林冠英爆料，指芭蒂希雅遭挑戰一事，後者在受詢時笑說，在還沒有換政府以前，市政局的公務員每天下午5時就能準時下班，但現在已經大大不同，因此引起部份人的反彈。

“這幾年下來，大家的工作時間變長，變成每天24小時、每週7天都要準備工作。部門領導人的手機甚至不能關機，只要接到電話，即刻就要處理事情。＂

另外，針對日前市政局被指責對發展商發出停工令後，卻沒有嚴格執行，導致工地繼續有人開工一事，芭蒂希雅回應時否認這項指控，並解釋：“發展商接到停工令 之後，市政局必定會嚴格監控。他們會在工地開工，是因為必須依照規定作出修正，過後，我們才會收回有關停工令。＂（星洲日報／大北馬）