MPAJ's abuse of power allegations baseless

AMPANG - The abuse of power allegations against Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) staff that have gone viral on social media since Friday are considered baseless.

MPAJ in a statement said the monitoring of licence compliance conducted on Wednesday and Thursday was carried out on all vendors at the build-operate-transfer (BOT) stalls in Taman Lembah Maju A.

It said on Wednesday, MPAJ conducted a community cleanup at the trading site, along with a briefing on licence compliance and stall inspections.

"During the programme, there was provocation from the vendors' children towards the MPAJ staff.

"They belittled the work being done by MPAJ and obstructed (physically touching one of the MPAJ staff) during the inspection," it said in the statement, today.

It said the monitoring and inspections at the same location were continued the next day at 9am and 4pm.

"During the inspection, MPAJ staff were verbally abused and prevented from conducting checks at the site.

"Fines were imposed on vendors for operating without an MPAJ licence," it said.

It said fines were also imposed to licensed vendors for violating licence conditions by employing foreign workers.

"During the inspection, the children of one of the fined vendors continued to provoke and obstruct the inspection and monitoring work by MPAJ staff.

"MPAJ has lodged a police report at the Pandan Indah police station regarding the issue," MPAJ said.

On Saturday, it was reported that a viral video surfaced alleging bias by MPAJ enforcement officers during an operation at the trading area.

it was reported that a viral video involving claims that MPAJ enforcement officers were biassed during their operation at the trading area.

The recording included a claim that an MPAJ staff member named "Hisham" contacted an individual requesting "bribe money" at night.

However, MPAJ president Dr Ani Ahmad, said the operation was conducted in accordance with local authority regulations concerning licence violations.