Posts Tagged Malaysia Ministry of Works
Meeting with Dato Ketua Pengarah of LLM
Posted by sripetaling.net in Correspondences, Residents Actions on July 1st, 2009
Last week on 24 June 2009, Dato’ Ketua Pengarah of Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia organized a meeting to meet the residents representatives regarding the issues highlighted in our email earlier. It was a well represented meeting with relevant organizations like Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR), Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), highway concessionaire and of course LLM themselves.
The meeting provided a platform for us to reestablish our long forgotten struggle and reengage with LLM to seek a resolution to our issues. We were also glad that we were able to share our concerns and highlight any incorrect information that was provided to Dato’ Ketua Pengarah previously.
We presented 3 key issues of which we are seeking resolution to immediately. They are :
1. Long outstanding decision for an amicable solution
Independent studies by Biro Pengaduan Awam and Jabatan Audit Negara confirmed the flaws in the approval of the highway project which has caused a negative impact to the residents. They have recommended the Government to find a solution which included the acquisition of all the affected houses or provide compensation on any loss incurred by the affected residents.
Based on our previous survey conducted with the affected residents, the majority wanted compensation for the loss of market value and cost to mitigate air and noise pollution (eg. installing air conditioning system, double glazed windows, ionisers and exhaust fans).
2. Noise pollution far exceeded the limit approved
We also presented our findings where the noise levels have exceeded the approved limit stated in the condition of EIA approval.
We hope that Government is able to provide a better quality of life for the residents living next to the highway by installing noise barriers of appropriate height for both above in the elevated section and below the highway to mitigate the noise impact to the level in compliance with the EIA approval.
3. Outstanding repair work / compensation for houses with cracks
We also highlighted to Dato’ Ketua Pengarah that the repair work / compensation for houses with cracks and the monitoring work by DBKL have halted.
We believe that Dato’ Ketua Pengarah will be able to conduct a thorough review of the progress and resume the initiative to repair / compensate the cracked houses
We sent in an official letter summarizing our meeting with LLM on June 26 of which Dato’ Ketua Pengarah had replied indicating that he will be preparing a report to be sent to Ministry of Works while some of the items needs to be brought to the Minister’s attention for resolution.
We would like to thank Dato’ for looking into this matter on behalf of the affected residents and hopefully we can see the light soon.
The exact details of our letter can be found here. [page 1][page 2][page 3][page 4]
(sub)STANDARD reply from LLM
Posted by sripetaling.net in Correspondences on June 22nd, 2009
Tan Sri Mohd Sidek
First of all, we would like to thank Tan Sri Mohd Sidek who had acted on our email sent on 28 May 2009 swiftly. He requested Kementerian Kerja Raya and its associated agencies to reply to our email. Tan Sri sent the email out on June 11 2009 and subsequently we received a reply from Ketua Pengarah of LLM, Dato’ Ir. Hj. Ismail bin Md. Salleh, on June 12.
According to a key paragraph of the reply, the Government is studying our request to take over the houses affected by the highway but it involves high cost and will take some time to conclude.
In LLM’s reply to address our current concern, the points to note are;
1. The developer is still in the process of fixing all the houses damaged by the construction for the cooperative residents
2. Noise pollution readings taken in April 2008 last year indicates that the noise level is below the requirement of Jabatan Alam Sekitar and in fact it is now lower than before the highway was constructed.
3. If the concern of safety is still there, the authorities will raise the parapet wall above the highway to 1.8m (6 feet)
From the looks of the reply, it it seems Dato’ Ir. Hj. Ismail bin Md. Salleh has not been given the correct update, and is probably too busy to investigate the facts. The reply clearly demonstrated that the department which is handling the project implementation is giving a standard and outdated answer without much understanding and concern on the whole matter.
Let us analyse the reply.
a. “LLM claims that to take over the houses would be very costly and therefore need to study the proposal carefully”. First of all, the current issues arise as a result of the Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia’s blunder. The residents shouldn’t be put to unnecessary suffering any further and the agency should proactively seek engagement with the affected residents to find ways to solve the current issue. As of our record, LLM has been ignoring us since Apr 2008 last year.
b. “The developer is still in the process of fixing the houses damaged by the construction for the cooperative residents”. The process is taking too long a time to complete and presently there has not been any updates to the residents so far. Imagine, the highway has been completed and launched but some of the houses issues have not been resolved. We question LLM’s commitment to resolve the issue.
c. “Noise pollution readings taken in April 2008 last year indicates that the noise level is below the requirement of Jabatan Alam Sekitar and in fact it is now lower than before the highway was constructed”. This is the most absurd point of them all. Even a ten year old will be able to tell you that when you build a concrete structure above your roof, the noise would have no place to disperse and the echo effect would be increased thereby making it louder. How can it be lower than before the highway is built? Does that mean the residents should thank LLM for putting the highway above our houses? Clearly, such a reply would not come from a Ketua Pengarah!
d. “If the concern of safety is still there, the authorities will raise the parapet wall above the highway to 1.8m (6 feet)”. The parapet wall of 1.8m in height was promised by the Minister of Works and should be done immediately.
Here is the email reply. (Some of the personal contact information has been removed)
From: Dato’ Ir. Ismail Md. Salleh <Ismail@llmnet.gov.my>
Date: Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Subject: RE: KL-Putrajaya Highway - Unresolved issues in Sri Petaling Read the rest of this entry »
Meeting with DBKL on house cracks
Posted by sripetaling.net in Events & Meetings on May 18th, 2007
A meeting was arranged to find a resolution to the affected houses on 17 May 2007 (Thursday). Among the key attendees include Timb. Pengarah of JKA, Ir. Tan Ken Chok, reps from LLM, IKRAM, DBKL, Contractors, Sri Petaling residents.
Among the issues discussed are :
- 3 out of the 4 houses with serious cracks have been resolved. Owners have agreed to the proposed compensation. The last one has also agreed to the proposed repair, pending the suitable time to carry out the work.
- The rest of the outstanding houses has been urged to resolve asap and set a new timeline by end June 2007.
- Proposals will be distributed to residents via the residents’ association representatives.
- Residents also brought up issues such as air pollution, noise pollution, and construction work.
Click here for more pictures on the meetings held
Meeting with the Minister of Works
Posted by sripetaling.net in Events & Meetings, News & Developments, Residents Actions on October 19th, 2005
Resident representatives meeting with the Minister of Works
On 17 October, 2005, I received a SMS from YB Teresa Kok that Works Minister, YB Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has requested her to convey a notice for meeting with the residents’ representatives to be held on 19 October at 4pm. Subsequently, I received calls and fax from the authorities informing the meeting with the Minister. The conditions were that the representatives are limited to three and no media should be invited.
Our action committee had an emergency meeting and nominated three representatives as follows:
- Lau Kien Foh – Overall representative
- Au Lai Koong – Represent Zon N
- Sallehudin – Represent Zon L
We also agreed on the strategy and action steps. We decided to take the opportunity to show all the documentation evidence and convince the Minister on our positions.
On 19 October 2005, our team arrived at the ministry half an hour before the meeting and soon joined by YB Teresa. We were invited into the meeting room around 4pm. In the meeting room, there were about 20 senior officers from the authorities. We took the opportunity to introduce ourselves and also get to know them. About 10 mins later, the Minister walked into the meeting room and shook hands with us.
Minister blames residents for causing cracks in their own homes instead!
Posted by sripetaling.net in Citizen Suffers, News & Developments, Press Coverage on October 1st, 2005
Cracks begin to appear to the adjacent houses affected by the continuous piling and construction works. In a desperate attempt shed responsibility, the Minister of Works without any investigation puts the blame on the residents for causing the cracks in their own homes
Cracks in the homes …
Subsequently, the residents have agreed to appoint an independent body to investigate the cause of cracks. IKRAM was commissioned to conduct the study. The study results conclusively determined that the cause of cracks in the homes is due to the water table balance. This effect of caisson digging have pumped out the water from the ground which has destabilize the soil and cause the nearby homes to sink and crack!
Illustration on cause of crack in homes
Response to issues raised during press conference by Minister of Works, Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu
Posted by sripetaling.net in Press Coverage, Residents Actions on September 25th, 2005
The Works Minister made the following statements during their press conference to respond to the issues that was raised by us but we believe he was fed with wrong information to start with.
Subsequently, the residents held a press conference on 24 Sept 2005 to respond to the statements made by the Works Minister. Here are the details of our response.
Point 1: “The purpose of the highway is to ease the traffic at KL-Seremban highway. It is important to proceed as the traffic volume at KL-Seremban highway has increased significantly.”
Residents Response:
The residents support development projects by the Government. We believe the Government has done proper due diligence and viability studies before approving this highway project. However, we do not believe that it is the Government’s intention to plan for certain sections of the highway (in this case the stretch along Jalan 2/149 at Sri Petaling) to cause the residents to live in fear for the rest of their life. This is definitely not consistent with the “Caring Government” as advocated.
In additions, we do not believe that the Government would approve the setback of 2.3m which is clearly breaching its own guidelines; the Government would also not allow project to be carried out without prior consultation/ briefing with the affected residents
Point 2: “Construction work started about 30% and spent about RM400mil. If changes to the engineering construction design, it will cause delay and additional costs.”
Residents Response:
We believe our Government is far sighted. We understand that this is supposed to be a “Protocol Highway” that will be another national icon for Malaysian. Surely, we would not allow mistake/error by the authorities to make us a laughing stock for the world. There are alternatives to resolve the mistake and timely resolution will cause the Government less as compared to ignoring the mistake made.
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Random Pictures
Highway Key Facts
26KM stretches from Kampung Pandan to Putrajaya
consession signed on 22 Oct 1997
adequate land was available then
resident wrote letter to LLM to advice them to ensure adequate buffer zone since there is land (1997)
project was shelved due to economic crisis
DBKL approved housing project when they should have reserved the land for highway
houses built and sold to unsuspecting buyers
land was 'lost' in the process due to authorities blunder
project is bulldozed through despite protest for safety
project is in breach of their own guidelinesIsn't it ironic?
LLM, DBKL, DOE say they are not aware about the sheer proximity of the highway to the homes!
A resident has written to the authorities way back in 1997 to realign the Right Of Way of the highway to utilize the undeveloped Zone N. [click here to see the letter and how it fell on deaf ears of the authorities]
The developer of Zone N (Petaling Garden Berhad) managed to obtain approval to build houses along a path of designated federal highway. How can that be?