Residents fed up with problems at apartment block
15/04/2008 The Star

CONSTANT break-ins, motorcycle thefts, streetlamps that don't work, no communal dustbins and lack of parking lots – these are among the things that Puncak Desa Apartment residents in Kepong have to put up with daily.

Yvonne: ‘There are no communal bins for us to throw our rubbish.’

Resident Yvonne Tham, 25, said such problems had been daily occurrences since she moved in with her family two years ago.

“There is no street lighting so the area is dark, which is probably why break-ins and motorcycle thefts are so rampant.

“There are no communal bins for us to throw our rubbish.

Residents here just dump their rubbish in any corner because they have no choice,” she said in a press conference organised by Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw on Sunday .

As for the lack of parking lots, she explained that it was due to inconsiderate KTM Komuter passengers who get on at the Kepong Sentral KTM station located just next to the apartments.

“KTM has prepared a parking lot them, but because they don't want to pay the RM2 parking fee, they park in the residents' parking lots just in front of the apartment.

Yvonne added that the apartment’s fuse boxes were not covered and placed near the ground.

“It's so dangerous as there are live wires, and the boxes are placed low enough for a child to just stick his finger in,” she said.

She added that the residents had tried talking to the developer – Mega Mall Development Sdn Bhd - but to no avail.

“We have tried to meet the manager five or six times, but each time the clerk will say that 'boss is not around'.

“We pay a maintenance fee of RM65 every month, but what is the management doing about all these problems?” she asked.

And if such problems aren't bad enough, Yvonne's father, P.G. Tham, 61, said they also had to deal with the smoke and din coming from the mamak shop just one floor below their apartment unit.

“I have to close my windows every time they cook or the smoke will enter my apartment.

“There is hardly any ventilation in the house. It's bad for my youngest son who has asthma,” he said, adding that it would help if the mamak shop would install exhaust fans to direct the smoke downwards.

“We have complained to the Selayang Municipal Council, and officers came to check but nothing has been done,” he added.

Another resident, who only wanted to be identified as Paul, said his house had been broken in within the first three weeks of moving in.

“I was out with my family during the day, and I found my house ransacked when we got home. And just two weeks ago, burglars tried breaking in again through my balcony door but they did not manage to come in,” he said.

Dr Tan said he had received a written complaint from the residents and would forward copies to the developer, the police, Selayang Municipal Council and the Transport Ministry.