Taman Sri Segambut residents signing an attendance sheet at the protest to object a 39-storey condominium being built in their neighbourhood.
TAMAN Sri Segambut residents are fed up but continue to object against a 39-storey condominium being built in their already congested mixed-development neighbourhood.
The residents did a walkabout of the land facing Jalan Udang Siar 2 on Dec 10 to air their grouses.
However, their protest was drowned out by the loud piling works that Saturday morning.
As reported by StarMetro on Sept 28, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had issued the development order for the 540-unit apartment block.
Construction works began around the end of November despite a dozen letters of objection, said M. Raj Kumar, a resident of 16 years.
“The least we hope for is for DBKL to respond, but we have not even got an objection hearing.
“A portion of the empty plot of land was at one time gazetted as DBKL reserve land.
“DBKL is supposed to be trustees for part of the land and, therefore, responsible for managing and developing it with Taman Sri Segambut residents in mind, instead of commercial interests. If the high-rise is allowed, then DBKL can turn any tanah lapang into a site for a condominium,” he said.
One issue that resident Mahendran Dharmaratnam, 28, raised was the lack of infrastructure to support increased traffic with the high-rise.
“The roads in the neighbourhood have not been upgraded in years, so traffic issues have been building up through the years. Many of the people living here have also complained that construction continues past the permitted hours of 6am to 7pm.
Resident of over 40 years, Dharmaratnam Vijayaratnam, 72, preferred for DBKL to provide the facilities it had proposed to them over 30 years ago.
“We were promised a police station, post office, cinema hall and other community facilities to be set up in the square, with the plot of land being divided into small lots,” he revealed.
Market trader Angel Lim, 35, whose mother had been selling poultry in a covered market before it was torn down, said they had been trading along Jalan Udang Siar 2 beside the previously vacant land for approximately three decades.
“Before the market was taken down, DBKL said it will build an indoor market for us but it was not to be. We instead received a letter from DBKL on Nov 4 saying that we could run our business only until Oct 13 next year.
The letter of undertaking sent to traders also absolves DBKL of liability in matters of safety. It required traders to agree to bear any risk or cost in the event of a mishap resulting from the project, exempting DBKL from any claims.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said the Taman Sri Segambut Residents’ Association (RA) should inform other residents of the development or object it on their behalf.
Agreeing with him, several residents claimed that they did not know of the existence of the RA.
A letter from DBKL to the residents dated July 21 stated that Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz had taken the objection into consideration, and gave planning approval to the developer on March 7.
It stated that based on the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA), the developer needed to upgrade the road infrastructure at Jalan Udang Kepal and Jalan Sinar to accommodate increased traffic and to upgrade pedestrian walkways and zebra crossing.
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The developer for the 39-storey Legend Heights condominium, JL99 Development Sdn Bhd’s business development head, Nur Ainaa Che Abdullah, said the majority of the residents welcomed the development project and that only a handful objected to it.
“We have taken into consideration all parties involved directly or indirectly in the development ,” she said, adding that they had followed the requirements according to Rule 5 of DBKL’s planning procedure.
“A high-density development should be encouraged within the city to promote effectiveness of land usage, so no new land or forest need to be destroyed or open up.
“The vacant land is gazetted as open space and was used as a community centre with a playground on site – these facilities were not well maintained and derelict. We have upgraded it with modern facilities to be enjoyed not only by Legend Heights residents but also by surrounding residents or the public,” she said.
