KL-PUTRAJAYA ELEVATED HIGHWAY 2 METRES AWAY FROM RESIDENTIAL HOUSES

AUTHORITIES BLUNDER RESULTED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN ELEVATED
HIGHWAY JUST 2 METRES FROM HOMES.
MORE THAN 200 HOUSES AND 1000 RESIDENTS SAFETY AND LIVELIHOOD AFFECTED

[click here for enlarged view]

[ Home ]
[ Issues ]
Follow up letter on meeting with Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu dated 24 Oct 2005

[ page 1 ]
[ page 2 ]
[ page 3 ]
[ page 4 ]

 

Date : 24th October 2005

YB. Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu
Menteri Kerjaraya
Kementerian Kerjaraya
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 2711 1100
Fax: 2711 6361

Via: Y. Bhg. Dato’ Syed Jamal Bin Syed Jaafar Shahabudin, Ketua Setiausaha

Dear YB Datuk Seri,

KL-PUTRAJAYA HIGHWAY – Meeting with Sri Petaling Residents’ Representatives

With reference to the meeting on 19 October 2005, between YB. Datuk Seri, YB Deputy Minister of Works, YB Parliamentary Secretary of Ministry of Works, Secretary General Dato’ Syed Jamal, fellow senior officers of ministry of works and our YB Teresa Kok, residents’ representatives Lau Kien Foh, Au Lai Koong and Sallehuddin on the above matter.

First of all, on behalf of the residents, I wish to express our gratitude to YB. Datuk Seri for granting us an opportunity to meet and discuss the above issues.

The following issues were raised and discussed:

  1. The government’s plan in relation to the highway development along Jalan 2/149 Sri Petaling
  2. The position and requests of the residents from Sri Petaling
  3. The chronology of events and historical development in Taman Sri Petaling and the KL-Putrajaya Highway
  4. The cracks reported at houses along Jalan 2/149 following the highway construction
  5. The rationale of building the highway 2.3m away from residential houses
  6. The proposed solutions

The following issues and action steps were agreed:

  1. Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia (LLM) to ensure that the construction work along Jalan 2/149 Sri Petaling will not pose safety issues and cause disturbance to the residents;
  2. LLM to issue temporary stop-work order for work along Jalan 2/149 pending the completion of independent investigation by Ikram;
  3. The government agrees to abide by the results of Ikram’s investigation. Compensation for cracks reported will be based on the findings of the investigation;
  4. It was agreed that the residents are the victims caused by failures of some authorities in carrying out the land acquisition as planned;
  5. It was also highlighted that the social and environmental issues raised by the residents were actually the concern of the government way back in 1998 and therefore land acquisition was agreed. However, the land acquisition was not executed.
  6. Two alternatives were proposed to address issues posed by the close proximity (2.3m) between residential houses and the elevated highway. No conclusion was made and all parties agreed to continue discussion to achieve an amicable solution.

Below are the details for the issues raised and discussed:

  1. The government’s plan in relation to the highway development along Jalan 2/149 Sri Petaling
  2. According to YB Datuk Seri, the cabinet has agreed that the construction of highway along Jalan 2/149 should not pose safety issues and cause disturbance to the residents along Jalan 2/149. YB Datuk Seri also instructed the Director General of LLM to ensure that this order is being carried out and asked the residents’ representatives to work directly with the DG.
  3. YB Datuk Seri also informed that he has instructed the project team to consider raising the height of the elevated highway so that it is “further” from the residential houses. According to YB Datuk Seri, with the additional heights of the highway, the noise will not impact the houses along the highway as the noise travels up and sideways. The project team is also required build a 2meter strengthen concrete parapet wall and a further 1.5meter sound proof barrier. The road surface will also be layered with high tech materials that will reduce the noise from vehicles.

The position and requests of the residents from Sri Petaling

  1. We elaborated on the efforts taken by the residents in highlighting their issues and also stated the following facts:
  2. We never object the development of highway but instead we support developments that will benefit the people
  3. Based on the facts and evidence gathered, we are of the view that the authorities had made a blunder. They had failed to acquire or stop the development of houses on land supposedly targeted for the highway development
  4. The residents are the victims of these blunders committed by the authorities. It is unfair to shift the consequences of these blunders committed by the authorities to the residents

The residents object to the stretch of the highway (about 1.25km) being built 2.3m away from their houses. Their objections are based on the following:

  • The 2.3m setback is not according to the guideline set by LLM in highway development
  • The 2.3m setback is not “approved” by local authority (DBKL) although it was claimed in LLM’s letter earlier
  • The 2.3m setback as quoted by DBKL is being used for houses to houses, and never intended for houses to highway
  • The mitigation measures proposed are not acceptable to the residents as all mitigation measures do have its limitations
  • The process of approving the highway project is full of ambiguity as there are evidences of serious breached of guidelines, for example significant facts were not reported in the EIA reports.
  • The close proximity of the highway construction has caused serious cracks to the houses

The residents also voiced dissatisfaction on the communication process of the highway development. They were kept in the dark (although many efforts have been taken to seek clarification and confirmation from the authorities even as early as 1997) as to the highway project. There were no consultations, briefing or even meeting the residents to inform of the project, prior to its commencement.

The residents also believed that the higher authorities such as the Minister or even the Cabinet were not given the correct information. This is demonstrated by the facts that the Minister was not aware of the status of construction work at site, the breached of working hours by the contractor and also the seriousness of cracks reported.

The irresponsible attitude of the contractor also irritated the residents especially in handling the cracks issues. The residents took the proactive stand in reporting the cracks to the contractor with the hope that they will work together to monitor and agree on rectification steps. Unfortunately, it turned out that the contractor used the information to “accuse” the residents that the cracks were caused by their “own-doing”.

We ended with an appeal to the Minister and his senior officers to help us as we are the victims of these circumstances. We also expressed our readiness to work with the government in arriving at an amicable solution and we urged all of them to be fair to the residents, and try to put themselves in the shoes of the residents – we asked them that “would they put their family in similar situation as we are about to face, i.e. subject your family to live 2.3m away from an elevated highway?”. We also challenged the officers to proof us wrong as we are ready to walk through our documentation evidence.

The chronology of events and historical development in Taman Sri Petaling and the KL-Putrajaya Highway

  • YB Datuk Seri read through some documents to explain the sequence of events leading to the current issues faced by the residents. YB Datuk Seri also pointed out that the social and environmental issues raised by the residents were first highlighted by the government way back in 1998, and the government was ready to acquire land as advised by the consultant to avoid issues faced today. However, due to the financial crisis, the government had to shelve the project and did not proceed with the land acquisition.
  • According to YB Datuk Seri, the local authority and the developer were well aware of the land targeted for highway development, and they should not proceed with the housing development. YB Datuk Seri is of the view that his ministry should not be blamed for failure to acquire the land for highway development. YB Datuk Seri is not sure who is the culprit but believes that the local authority and developer should also share the blames. It is not fair that his ministry is being seen as the “bad guy” and the rest are seen as “good guys”. YB Datuk Seri admitted that the residents are the victims in these circumstances.

The cracks reported at houses along Jalan 2/149 following the highway construction

  • YB Datuk Seri informed that he understands an independent study by Ikram has started and he agrees to abide by the results of the study. YB Datuk Seri further said that should the independent study shows that the cracks reported were due to the highway project, the government will undertake to compensate the houses affected. The compensation can be in cash or reimbursement of costs incurred by the residents to repair the cracks.

The rationale of building the highway 2.3m away from residential houses

  • We challenged the authorities to explain the rationale of building the highway 2.3m away from the residential houses. It is our view that LLM has wrongly quoted the relevant building bylaw which was meant for house to house set-back and not meant for house to highway set-back.
  • It is also our contention that the set-back of 2.3m is clearly violating the highway guidelines set by LLM and also not being “approved” by the local authority (DBKL).
  • YB Datuk Seri responded by showing us that there were precedents whereby highways were built closer to the houses in several areas.

The proposed solutions

In responding to YB Datuk Seri’s on possible resolutions to our issues, we proposed the following:

  • There are options to realign the highway such as via KL-Seremban highway or Besraya highway. However, this was rejected by YB Datuk Seri and his senior officers, claiming that it is “too late” to realign and they have acquired the necessary lands for the current alignment.
  • The next option is to do the right thing to correct the mistake and if it involves acquiring the houses, then so be it. We also offered assistance and took up the challenge to discuss with the residents on the rationales of such acquisition action. We expressed our view that the residents will respond rationally and believed an amicable solution can be achieved. YB Datuk Seri replied that this will set precedence that will eventually subject the government to costly land acquisition when highway development is planned. He also voiced concern that this may invite investigation by Anti-Corruption Agency as they may suspect some wrong doings. We replied that we are ready to work on the details with the government and also agree to the principle that no-one should “take advantage” or “benefited” out of this arrangement. We are confident that a detailed arrangement can be achieved to address his concerns.

We ended the meeting agreeing that we should meet again to discuss the details on our proposed solutions. Our meeting adjourned at about 5:10pm.

We look forward to hearing from YB Datuk Seri soon to continue our discussion on the proposed issues and proposed solutions.

Should YB Datuk Seri required further information on the above, please do not hesitate to contact myself at 012 396 8138.

Thank you.

 

Yours truly,

Lau Kien Foh
Residents Representative

 

Copy to:
1.Principal Private Secretary to the Honorable Prime Minister – (Fax: 8888 3975)
2.Chairman PAC - YB Dato’ Shahrir Abd. Samad (Fax: 2070 7101)
3.Datuk Bandar DBKL – Dato’ Ruslin Hassan (Fax: 2617 9000)
4.YB Teresa Kok (Fax: 7983 7576)
[ Home ]
[ Issues ]