Selangor Times May 20-22, 2011 / Issue 25

commnty

May 20 — 22, 2011

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issue 25

TI-M headdisputesChristianstate claim

Wesak Day: a time forgiving

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15

may 13:recollections &reconciliation

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12 & 13

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Facelift for old ats

By

William Tan

Petaling Jaya:

Dilapidat-ed low-cost ats throughout Sel-angor may get a new lease o lie i a pilot programme to rehabilitatesuch homes is successul.he ambitious and irst-o-its-kind project is being carried out bythe Petaling Jaya City Council(MBPJ) in collaboration with Veri-tas Design Group, a private company, and Rumah Air Panas, acommunity-based charity.Te single block at the amanMaju Jaya apartments here, whichhouses 59 amilies, will be the frstto undergo the transormation, which includes renovations and re-urbishments while keeping the physical aspects intact."All works are based on the deci-sions made by the residents," saidsocial activist Wong Hay Cheong. Wong, who mooted the idea, pointed out that many o the resi-dents were orced to move into theats when squatter settlements weredemolished, but the buildings andacilities were hardly adequate.“he entry o Veritas DesignGroup, which has contributedRM100,000 and the skills [o theirarchitects], means that is going tochange,” said Wong.As many as 50,000 amilies wererelocated to low-cost ats between2000 and 2008 under ormer Men-teri Besar Dr Khir oyo's ZeroSquatter policy which has been crit-icised or creating high-rise ghettos. Wong said the private frm is car-rying out the project as part o itsCorporate Social Responsibility(CSR) programme, having spent thelast two years laying the groundworkor the project.Te company has been liaising with the amilies regularly to geteedback on their needs and helpthem decide on practical solutions.Teir architects, using the latesttechnologies and techniques, willremodel the building on a tightbudget, which is estimated to be lessthan RM500,000.“It is very challenging; almosteverything needs to be redone. Te wiring is horrible, the roo is leaking,and the septic tank emits an awulstench,” said Veritas Design Grouparchitect Iskandar Razak.Iskandar added that it was verydiicult to obtain commitmentsrom various parties at the start o the project, with unding still a seri-ous issue.Te success o the project rests onsponsorships or the various compo-nents, such as the supply o metal parts, and the company hopes toobtain what they need rom theirbusiness contacts.“Despite it all, this is a very important project or us as we believethat a city should not be inhabitedby the wealthy only, but by everystrata o society. In a way, we are re- juvenating the city,” said Iskandar.I the pilot is successul, the com-

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• STory on page 10

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May 20 — 22, 2011

News

Kg Kerandang squatterstold to withdraw TOL claim

By

Brenda Ch'ng

SHAH ALAM:

Te state govern-ment is advising the 375 illegalsquatters o Kampung Kerandang to withdraw their claim or theland’s emporary OccupationalLicence (OL).“We ound out that only sixamilies are actually living on theland, and we will help them keeptheir houses.“However, those who are trying to take advantage o the situation will not be entertained,” said anSri Khalid Ibrahim.Te Menteri Besar said the 12acres o land which the six amilieslive on will not been tampered with. his includes their housesand madrasa that were donated bythe Selangor Zakat Board (LZS).However, the state government will be writing to LZS to explainhow the madrasa was built withoutapproval.he government will also beseeking clarication rom the Im- plementation Coordination Unito the Prime Minister's Depart-ment on how the illegal accessroads were built.An explanation will also besought rom enaga National Ber-had on how electrical cables werebuilt in the village without staterecognition.Khalid said the OL, which wasissued in 2001, expired in 2004 and was never renewed.In 2007, the land was convertedinto a Malay reserve to replace landin Kuala Langat that was taken overand developed.Te land replacement was notdone or the benet o the villagersin Kuala Langat, but to ensure thatthe number o Malay reserves ismet in accordance with the Na-tional Land Code. When declared as a Malay re-serve, the land attracted 700 indi- pany hopes that larger agencies will startgetting involved and help carry out theinitiative across the state.On their part, MBPJ has alreadyendorsed the project and allocatedabout RM100,000 or it, he added.“We were really excited when weheard about the project as it was a to-tally new concept to us. We chose theaman Maju Jaya [apartments] as the pilot project out o our list o criticallow-cost houses,” said Latheea Koya.Te MBPJ councillor, who is among those championing the initiative, saidthe location was still considered to be within the bounds o the city centre andnear MBPJ ofces.She welcomed public-private initia-tives as both the residents and companies would strive to meet their expectations.“Tis project will give the residentsa sense o ownership and awarenessbecause o their participation in the process. Tis is especially important asthey will be responsible or the mainte-nance o any new works,” she said.She added that the project is ex- pected to be completed within sixmonths, and a statewide initiative islikely to be carried out within a year.Meanwhile, residents are looking orward to the renovation basedon artist impressions o theiruture homes.“We have been ghting orthese basic improvements or 20 years. I cried when I was told we will nally be getting them,” saidMohamed Sahib, the commu-nity’s residential head.Mohamed said the residentsully understand they will beresponsible or the maintenanceo the new acilities.He added that the residents will set up a Joint ManagementBody (JMB) to help them ixtheir own problems in the uture. With the establishment o the JMB, residents will not needto solely rely on the developersas they will be legally empow-ered to seek help rom localgovernments like the MBPJ.

• From page one

MBPJ allocatesRM100,000 forrefurbishment project

viduals, who demanded or theirrights to a piece o the land.Te 700 applicants were enter-tained by the district ofce, wherethey were asked to submit theirnames and were subsequentlycharged an application ee o RM10.hereater, a surveyor wasbrought in to divide the landamong the 700 applicants.Te land in Kuala Kubu Baru, which encroaches on the Bukitarek orest reserve, was then usedas protable cash crop land.

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KL Chan

COMMUNITY EDITOR

Neville Spykerman

WRITERS

Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Gan Pei Ling,Basil Foo, Alvin Yap, Gho Chee Yuan, Brenda Ch’ng

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Nick Choo, James Ang

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MogFriday Saturday Sundayafeoongh

Selangor WeaTHer

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Ssht f th T mju tts, ctstd with  tist issi fth w d ivd ccdti.rts d bs f th ublic c ut idvs wh Dtuk Si aw Ibhi fcitdth stt f th juvti jct  ail 15.

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Council to address religious practices by non-Muslims

SHAH ALAM:

A community council was heldby the state recently to discuss issues related toreligious practices by the non-Muslim communitythat require the state’s attention.“hree o the seven organisations involved inthe council are rom Buddhism,” said an Sri Kha-lid Ibrahim in a statement on uesday.he Menteri Besar said the council will meet sixtimes a year.his was to be an increase in the requency o meetings, which previously were only held twice a year.He said the community council was held inrecognition o the diversity o belies that exists inMalaysia and the religious reedoms guaranteed bythe Federal Constitution.“Wesak Day, which represents enlightenment o sel and our human relationship with others, is particularly important to understand the realitieso our multiracial society,” said Khalid.He added that each year, despite the state gov-ernment’s inancial limitations, an amount o morethan RM1 million was distributed to nearly 200Buddhist places o worship.“I hope the Selangor Buddhist community willstrengthen its resolve to enhance human dignity,respect diversity, uphold justice and ight injustice,”said Khalid.