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Apartment
residents object against new access road
12/12/2009 The Star By JADE CHAN
VISTA SUBANG and D’Aman Crimson Apartment residents are demanding an
explanation as to why the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) wants to build
an access road on a highway buffer zone in their neighbourhood, when it
was never requested by them.
“Why must a new road be built, when there is already an existing access at
Jalan PJU 1A/43 for our residents,” said Vista Subang Joint Management
Body (JMB) and Residents Association (RA) chairman Mohd Muswan Abu during
a joint press conference organised by the Vista Subang JMB and RA, D’Aman
Crimson Action Committee and D’Aman Crimson Management Company (MC).
“We first found out about the issue during a dialogue session that we had
with the MBPJ in March 2008, which highlighted some accusations allegedly
made by the nearby Winchester link house residents. They claimed that our
residents were breeding dogs, that the dogs were making a mess, and that
we were cutting down their Christmas trees.
“It would appear that the MBPJ officials and Winchester residents are not
aware that the majority of our residents here are Muslims,” said Mohd
Muswan.
“To address the problem, the MBPJ said that the access road via Jalan PJU
1A/43 would be walled and cutting us off. A new road would then be built
to service our apartments using the highway buffer zone.
“The road would be constructed such that it would take over Jalan PJU
1A/41A, the dead-end road that was the entrance to D’Aman Crimson
Apartment and part of their parking lot.”
Vista Subang residents noted that advertisements calling for tender to
construct the new road were published in two newspapers in June 2008.
D’Aman Crimson MC manager/ director Yong Kwai Fatt said: “D’Aman Crimson’s
residents and management were only made aware of the MBPJ’s intentions
during the first quarter of 2009. We had no knowledge of the ongoings
between the MBPJ, Vista Subang and Winchester throughout the previous
year.
“The MBPJ contacted us in May 2009 with a written notice of their
intentions and that they had appointed a developer to construct a new road
to link Vista Subang Apartments to Jalan PJU 1A/41A.
“They required us to inform the residents to vacate the parking area to
enable their contractor to enter and carry out the construction, and
subsequently issued a 30-day notice for all interested parties to submit
their objections on the road.”
D’Aman Crimson Action Committee member Koeh Siew Lim said they also
disputed the legality of the use of the buffer zone at D’Aman Crimson to
build the road, which they believe goes against the Street, Drainage and
Building Act 1974 (Act 133).
Yong said the MC and Action Committee has subsequently lodged their
objections and written numerous letters to the MBPJ and PJ mayor, but
received no response.
According to him, on Nov 19, a group of MBPJ and police officers came in
and forcefully demolished D’Aman Crimson’s parking toll booth and gate,
despite the MC having just renewed the licence for the parking lot.
“We immediately sent a memorandum to Selangor Menteri Besar (Tan Sri
Khalid Ibrahim) asking for his intervention and restoration of the
situation,” said Yong.
“The next day, Tan Sri instructed the mayor to prepare a report on the
situation and submit all the documentations on the subject by Dec 5, and
said that a copy would be extended to us.”
On Dec 2, the Vista Subang residents discovered that the MBPJ’s contractor
had started depositing construction material at the site where the wall is
supposed to be erected.
While they were able to halt the construction, they questioned why the
MBPJ went ahead with the construction despite Khalid’s intervention.
Residents from both apartments have since submitted a joint letter to
Khalid, highlighting the many irregularities and requesting, among others:
> A public hearing is held about the access road that the MBPJ wants to
build, which is estimated to cost RM1.8 million
> That the MBPJ abandons its attempt to force build a road on a buffer
zone and the situation reverts to status quo
> That Jalan PJU 1A/43 reverts to its proper use as a public road serving
both Vista Subang and Winchester |
