Medan Damansara residents up in arms against project

11/09/2007 The Star

MORE than 20 upset residents gathered to protest against the proposed construction of 21 bungalows at Medan Damansara recently.

The residents said the development – on the terraced hill behind the Victoria Station Restaurant – would affect technical ground safety.

They also said the hill was the sole green lung in Bukit Damansara.

“It is important that we have a green lung. This project will ruin the housing environment and endanger residents as there have been frequent landslides in our area,” said Medan Damansara residents association chairman Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Shukur Abdullah.

The land originally belonged to the Syarikat Perumahan Pegawai Kerajaan Sdn Bhd (SPPK).

“SPPK promised us this place would remain green forever. But, once taken over by private developers, the story changed,” said Ungku Faiz Ungku Abu Bakar, a resident at Medan Damansar for more than 20 years.

The development project apparently did not meet the requirements of Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry as the RM10mil bungalows are on a slope with a 60° slope. .

“We just had a landslide two weeks ago,” said another long-term resident Randhir Singh.

“All of us have been living here for years. We don't want development to ruin our housing areas where there are more than 500 houses in this area,” he said.

Segambut MP Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong was present to show his disagreement with the proposed project.

“As a wakil rakyat, I am against it. I shall bring the residents association to discuss this matter with DBKL,” said Dr Tan.

Dr Tan also said the matter had been brought forward since Sept 13, 2004, and residents have sent another letter last week to DBKL, but this matter was never sought.

The developer claimed the bungalows will be contemporary and would be equipped with individual lifts and a swimming pool.