Have amenities, builders told
28/08/2002 The Star By Esther Chandran

ALL requirements that will ensure the well-being of the community should be included by developers in layout and building plans, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Mohmad Shaid Mohd Taufek said.

He said developers should look into all aspects for a harmonious community environment including the building of kindergartens, community centres and reserving a green lung when seeking approval for their projects.

Shaid said developers, by allocating space for the building of kindergartens through integrated planning could reduce the number of houses converted into kindergartens.

The mayor acknowledged that looking for an operator to manage the kindergarten could be difficult but the idea to build kindergartens according to the population ratio in an area was a feasible one.

“Small developers can come together to build kindergartens as they may not have the resources like bigger development companies,’’ Shaid said at the launch of the Fiesta Merdeka festival and ground-breaking ceremony for Landmarks Land and Properties Sdn Bhd housing project in Section 1, Wangsa Maju, last Saturday.

About 400 people from Wangsa Maju and bordering areas joined in the celebrations which was set up in a carnival – like atmosphere with food stalls, clowns, helicopter and balloon rides, free medical and dental check-ups and games like mud volleyball, tug-of-war, sand art and karaoke competitions.

Also present was Wangsa Maju MP Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique, Landmarks managing director Mohamed Abdul Halim Ahmad, general manager Tan Ching Meng, chairman Datuk Mohd Desa Pachi and director Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

Shaid encouraged the setting up of clubs for women in community halls.

He referred to his recent trip to Angkara, Turkey, where he came across many such clubs with gym and make-up facilities, sewing classes besides others where women congregated and built a rapport among them.

“Such clubs help in a woman’s self development and builds a positive attitude. The fees to these clubs are cheap over there but here people want to make money,” Shaid said.

He said developers should incorporate such facilities within a housing project.

The mayor lauded Landmarks’ efforts in organising the pre-Merdeka celebration at the project site as it showed the company’s commitment as a corporate body in encouraging the people to get into the Merdeka spirit.

Shaid also congratulated Landmarks for doing a good job in its development of Wangsa Maju, which projected an image of a systematically planned suburban area with a 16ha town park and 3.08ha sports complex.

On a separate issue, Shaid said the response towards the call to light up buildings and hoist the flag in conjunction with the National Day celebrations was better than last year.

“There are still a lot of building owners who have not lit up their buildings or hoisted the flags and I hope they will remember that without Merdeka, we would not be where we are today,’’ Shaid said.