A “Protected” Slum

Source: streets@nstp.com.my

Yesterday, I, accompanied by some locals Malays and a policeman, went to a slum of 30 over foreign families at somewhere between Taman Sri Segambut & Taman Cuepacs. The slum is built underneath electricity pylons and close to a filthy river. This illegal quarters have been there for 25 years and now well equipped with electricity and water connections. No TNB meter is installed at each house but wire cables can be seen linking all houses from a TNB pole nearby. I was told by one of the foreigners that he is paying monthly electricity fee to a leader who is staying there. According to a Malay businessman who runs a goat farm along the riverbank, these foreigners will bring in motorcycles and throw the skeletons into the river after dismantling the machines. The goat farmer has lodged few futile complaints about the foreigners with the authorities and he was threatened by the foreigners 2 weeks ago that his farm will be burnt down. It seems to me that with some protection arrangements, even illegal foreigners can be able to enjoy privileges over and above the locals.

Lim Lip Eng

Motorists left in the dark

By Noel Achariam streets@nstp.com.my 2009/05/05

KUALA LUMPUR: For the past four months, motorists using the Jalan Duta interchange have been driving in the dark. The street lights have not been working along the 800m stretch, but no one seems to know who is responsible for their maintenance. Segambut member of parliament Lim Lip Eng, who highlighted the matter, said there had been several accidents in the area since early this year. "When the problem was brought to my attention four months ago, I immediately contacted City Hall. One of the officers I spoke to acknowledged that the street lights were faulty. However, he said the street lights were not under the care of City Hall, but falls under the jurisdiction of TNB (Tenaga Nasional Bhd)," Lim said. When Lim contacted TNB, however, he was told that City Hall was responsible for the street lights. Lim contacted City Hall again, and was given the same reply: the street lights were under the care of TNB. "I contacted TNB again, and they said they would investigate the problem. "After their investigations, the TNB officers told me that the cause of the blackout was missing cables, which were believed to have been stolen." Lim urged whichever party responsible for the street lights to act fast as about 10,000 motorists used the highway daily. "The problem has been going on for a few months and nothing has been done. I fear that if this issue is not resolved soon, there might be more accidents," he said. 
Motorist C. Yadev, 33, who lives in Jalan Ipoh, said he used the Duta interchange daily to commute to his office at Siemens Tower in Damansara. "I have noticed that the street lights have been out for sometime now. It is dangerous for motorists to use the interchange. I hope the local authority can solve the problem soon," he said. A TNB spokesperson told Streets that they had received several complaints on the street lights. "Our officers have checked and the in-coming supply is fine. The problem lies in the street lights and they do not belong to us," he said. 
A City Hall spokesman said he would check on the matter.

© Copyright 2009 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

Condo residents jittery after blaze

Scene of devastation: One of the three damaged units that were hit by the fire.

By Christina Low, The Star

IT WAS a near miss that residents of the Amandari Condominium at Segambut in Kuala Lumpur will not forget easily, and they are now living in fear of a fire outbreak. Lightning struck three units recently, causing a fire and the residents now feel jittery each time there is a thunderstorm and flashes of lightning in the sky.But the real risk during the fire last week was when the firemen arrived and had a hard time driving the fire engine through the condominium’s main entrance. Precious time was wasted as the fire engine had to squeeze through the gate. The residents want the developer to ensure that the two condominium blocks are safe, particularly with arrester rods in working condition and ensuring the easy accessibility of rescue vehicles such as fire engines. The residents raised the issue at a meeting with Azmal Shah, an official of the developer Sheyher Develop-ment Sdn Bhd. The meeting was arranged by Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng.

On the fateful day when the fire broke out, neighbouring residents who heard the loud bang rushed out of their homes but did not realise that a fire had broken out. According to resident K.P. Tiam, it was the foreign workers from the construction site opposite the condominium who saw the fire and alerted them by shouting. Tiam said the residents then called the fire and rescue services department which promptly sent a fire fighting team in a fire engine, but they had a hard time struggling to get past the narrow main entrance. “Much precious time was wasted as the fire engine had to squeeze its way through the gate,” he said. “The condominium developer should do something about the entrance and exit points because during an emergency, getting to the problem area fast is essential to protect life and property,” Tiam said. In addition to the lightning and fire risk, residents of the four-year old condominium also have a bagful of complaints to highlight. “We have been suffering from water leakages and our walls are cracking.” said Ng Yee Kim, 28. Ng said she had been diligently paying her maintenance fees, but when she lodged a complaint on her unit with the developer, the company just ignored her. “I keep reminding the company about the problem but no action has been taken to rectify the situation,” said Ng, who then decided to stop paying her maintenance fees from January this year.

According to Azmal, the residents of the two blocks owed the company more than RM240,000 in maintenance fees. “Sometimes, we manage to collect about 50% of the maintenance fees from the 88 units, but there are times when we only have about 30% to 40%,” Azmal said. He blamed the residents for not taking the initiative to attend meetings organised by the developer, saying that usually only about 20% of them were present. Azmal said some units had gone through various renovations and rectifications which might be the cause of the leaking problem and other defects, but a thorough check had to be conducted. Asked about the fire incident, Azmal said the company was still waiting for the full report from the fire and rescue services department which would take about two weeks. He also said if the residents were not satisfied with the developer, they should perhaps ask the housing tribunal to mediate on the matter.

Meanwhile, Lim said he had discussed the matter with the developer last year when he visited the area but the situation had not changed much since then. Lim said he understood that the developer needed to collect at least 70% of maintenance fees monthly for works on the building, but he did not blame the residents for not wanting to pay as their complaints were not attended to. “I have discussed with the developer urging the company to rectify certain parts of the condominium first to let the residents know that there is value for their money,” he said. “Once residents see that things are being done, I am sure they will pay their fees,” Lim said. Lim said he would wait for the report from the fire and rescue service department to discover the cause of the incident, especially with regard to the safety of the two blocks.

Crying foul over police inaction

New Straits Times, 22 April 2009

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/2537712/Article/index_html

KUALA LUMPUR: A suspect was in hand. The scene of the crime had been established. A confession was made. But that's about as far as the case has gone. After more than three months of waiting, a transport company director has had it with what he claims to be indecisiveness on the part of the police in solving his case. Lam Ng Nga, 61, said he found it baffling that the police had not acted on his report on missing cargo, which he filed on Jan 10, despite him bringing his former driver -- a key suspect -- right to their doorstep. He said the driver, who was supposed to transport 18 pieces of I-beams to Pasir Gudang, Johor, from here in December, admitted selling the cargo to another buyer in Puchong. Lam claimed that the investigating officer took down a confession from the driver, who even showed the officer where he sold the cargo. But no arrests were made. Lam said he had gone to meet the investigating officer seven times in January since lodging his report, and raised it with the officer's superiors in Bukit Aman three times in February, but to no avail. Another complainant, Lee Nai Sim, 40, said that in her case, she was also confused by the actions of the investigating officer who allegedly refused to even meet her. She said she filed a report against her stockbroker last Saturday, after discovering that all her shares had been sold without her consent, amounting to RM400,000 in losses. Lee claimed that the officer merely instructed his subordinate over the phone to tell her to file a suit directly with a magistrate. Segambut member of parliament Lim Lip Eng, who held a press conference for the two complainants, said it was the police's duty to investigate reports and not shift the burden to the victims. © Copyright 2009 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

Illegal parking poser for Desa Sri Hartamas

From http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/4/16/central/3700393&sec=central
By THO XIN YI

MOTORISTS who park at Desa Sri Hartamas and Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur can ignore the parking meters because they are illegal, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said.
Lim said that he had discovered that the roads in the said areas had not been handed over to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). “I visited Jalan Kiara 3 in Mont Kiara with some officials of the developer and the DBKL on April 1 to inspect the poor conditions of the road. The officer told us that the DBKL was not responsible because the roads are still under the developer,” he said.
Lim said he did not understand why the roads were still privately owned while the areas had been developed for about 10 years. “The developer told me that it had tried to hand over the roads to the DBKL three times previously but was rejected each time,” he said. “Who will be held accountable if accidents happen as a result of the poor road conditions?” he asked.
Lim, a lawyer, also questioned the existence of the parking meters in the areas as the roads were yet to be gazetted as public roads.
“Who has pocketed the parking collection?
“The DBKL has no right to collect the parking fees, so were the parking meters installed by suppliers without prior consent from the DBKL?” he asked. “What about the compounds issued to the motorists? “Should the authority refund the money to the motorists?” he said
When Lim contacted a DBKL officer in front of the reporters, the officer told him that the compounds issued were invalid and the DBKL would take action on the operator. Lim said he would write to the DBKL for an explanation.
On a related matter, Lim said the DBKL rented the electronic car park system from four suppliers and had appointed seven operators to collect the parking fees. “The operators pay RM5.50 per parking bay a day in the city centre and RM2.80 a day in the suburbs to the DBKL,” he said.
Repeated attempts to get DBKL to confirm Lim’s assertion proved futile. However, in a faxed statement, City Hall’s corporate communications manager Anwar Mohd Zain said that Jln 25/70A in Desa Sri Hartamas had been handed over to the authority. He added that there were three parking meters along the road and no individual or company had been given the rights to collect parking charges in the area. However, the faxed statement did not make any reference to other roads in the area.