Flat Full Of woes for 300 families
Malay Mail 20/9/2004

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 300 families renting flats at the Cochrane 2 Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) in Jalan Peel are dejected with the state of their homes.

They have had to live without basic facilities telephone lines and drying areas for clothes, and have to endure problems like low water
pressure, leaking pipes and malfunctioning streetlights after moving in several months ago.

A resident, M. Muthugumar, 37, said nothing has been done despite numerous complaints to the authorities.

He said it was difficult without fixed telephone lines or public phones.

"When my son was scalded recently, I could not call an ambulance as there are no telephone lines here.

"Imagine if the child was alone at home. The authorities shouldn't wait for something bad to happen to convince them that we need telephone lines," said the Malaysia Airlines employee.

Hotel employee Tina Tayalam, 43, said it was difficult to dry their laundry, especially on rainy days.

"There is no landing to dry our laundry. We have to hang our clothes in the corridor or on the windows. Sometimes, the clothes drop and get dirty," he said.

Father-of-three K. Subramaniam, 39, said residents have to live in fear as the streetlights in the area are not working.

"We are worried as there have been many robberies lately.

"Having working streetlights can deter such cases," said Subramaniam.

Another resident, Ismail Syaikh Hussain, 45, who has been renting a unit for three months, said the low water pressure has brought a host of problems.

"It has been going on for some months now and I am upset that no action has been taken to solve the problem."

Letchumi Supaya, 44, a Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) management service staff, said road bumps should be erected in the area for the residents' safety.

She said she was worried for the safety of the children, who have to cross the roads leading to the playground.