Toll protest: BMC folks want free road

Close cement-mixing plant, say residents

Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro (By Jade Chan, 2 July 2009)

KAMPUNG Segambut Luar residents want the authorities to shut down a cement-mixing plant that has been operating behind their village for the past five years, and hope they would be compensated for the damage to their homes. Resident Adnan Abdul Aziz, 45, said the plant operated round-the- clock throughout the week. “The machines run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which has resulted in us having difficulty sleeping. “We also have to endure the dust pollution that dirties our homes,” said Adnan, who grew up in the village in Kuala Lumpur. “The plant’s poor drainage system has worsened the flood problems in our village. While it used to flood only when there is a downpour, it now floods even when there is a light rain.” Adnan said the village, which had 40 houses, was flooded five times over the past month and the floodwaters went up to as high as 0.6m. “Our houses have cracks and are damaged as a result of the constant cement-mixing activities and floods. “We are also worried about our health due to the pollution and clogged drainage system. One resident even died from dengue three years ago,” he said. “The residents have met the plant supervisor who said he didn’t have the authority to stop the operations. We have complained to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) but no action has been taken.” The residents also claimed that the plant in Jalan Segambut had been conducting its cement-mixing operations for the construction of the Duke Highway.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said he received complaints about the cement-mixing plant a few months ago and upon investigation discovered that the privately-owned land had been sublet. “The landowner had signed a tenancy agreement to a company owned by a datuk, who in turn, sublet the plot of land to a tenant who built the cement-mixing plant,” said Lim, adding that the plot was formerly a mining land that had been converted into a parking space for lorries. “The landowner informed me that he had earlier sent a letter through his lawyer asking the tenant to tear down the plant. When I questioned why he didn’t take court action, he cited the high cost and long duration (of settling the case in court) as his reasons. “The landowner plans to not renew the tenancy agreement once it expires in March next year (March 2010).” Lim said the cement-mixing plant was illegal as it did not have the licence and approval to conduct such operations. He also questioned why the DBKL did not take any action despite issuing a “final reminder” notice dated Sept 18 last year to the landowner to destroy, shift and transfer the cement-mixing machine and related operation structures, equipment and vehicles from the site. “I have written to DBKL deputy director-general Datuk Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz to ask for an explanation as to why the illegal activity is still ongoing despite the 14-day notice that was issued last year, and to request for enforcement action to be taken immediately,” said Lim.

I was admonished in parliament!

The Parliamentary Select Committee has proposed to fine 4 Umno Youth leaders RM1,000 each for obstructing Karpal Singh (DAP – Bukit Gelugor) entering the House because they had on Feb 26 stopped Karpal from entering the House. The committee also proposed to admonish 8 MPs for not responding after they were called up. They are Karpal, Fong Po Kuan (DAP – Batu Gajah), Lim Lip Eng (DAP – Segambut), N. Gobalakrish-nan (PKR – Padang Serai), Fong Kui Lun (DAP – Bukit Bintang), Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur), Kamarud-din Jaafar (PAS – Tumpat) and R. Sivarasa (PKR – Subang). (Refer http://thestar.com.my/)

What does "admonish" mean? Merriam-Webster Online dictionary defines it as “to express warning or disapproval to, especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner”. Kit Siang, a 10-termed MP and Karpal, 7-termed still need to be kindly warned whereas the wrongdoers who obstructed a MP in his duty were given a fine of mere RM1,000 each.
Police has said the Umno Youths involved cannot be charged under Section 124 of the Penal Code for assaulting an MP with the intent to compel or restrain him from exercising his duties which provides for a maximum jail term of 7 years because police cannot interfere with Parliamentary business. Yet Perak assembly speaker, Sivakumar, was dragged out from the State’s Assembly Hall by the same police.
The Committee’s proposal has not only insulted the 8 MPs, it may send out a wrong message to the public that anyone who harasses a MP in Parliament whom he or she dislikes, will only face a fine of maximum RM1,000, no jail term. With the police's refusal to interfer, are we the MPs still safe in Parliament?

Pertanyaan lisan di Dewan Rakyat mengenai kesesakan lalulintas di Jalan Segambut

Tuan Lim Lip Eng [Segambut] minta Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan menyatakan apakah langkah-langkah penyelesaian kesesakan lalu lintas di sepanjang Jalan Segambut dari Mont’ Kiara dan Kepong sebelum ketibaan Rancangan Malaysia Ke-10 pada tahun 2011.

Jawapan daripada Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan:

Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat bagi Segambut, jalan-jalan yang dimaksudkan mempunyai kelebaran jalan yang tidak sekata. Malahan, kelebaran jalan pada satu-satu tempat juga adalah terlalu sempit sehinggakan jika ada sebuah sahaja kereta yang diletakkan ditepi jalan, ia boleh mengakibatkan halangan dan kesesakan lalu-lintas. Begitu juga apabila terdapat kenderaan perkhidmatan untuk mengutip sampah sedang beroperasi, maka kesesakan akan berlaku. Masalah kelebaran jalan tidak sekata ini merupakan antara penyumbang kepada berlakunya kesesakan lalu lintas di jalan-jalan tersebut.

Masalah kelebaran jalan yang tidak sekata ini ditambah lagi dengan kapasiti lalu lintas yang sangat tinggi membuatkan jalan tersebut tidak dapat menampung aliran trafik. Keadaan ini mengakibatkan kesesakan lalulintas.

Antara langkah-langkah penyelesaian yang boleh diambil ialah dengan menaiktaraf jalan tersebut namun ianya akan menelan kos yang tinggi. Bajet untuk melaksanakan kerja-kerja meningkatkan jalan tersebut tidak diperuntukkan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Ke-9.
Oleh yang demikian, proses menaik taraf jalan tersebut masih belum dapat dilaksanakan. Walaubagaimanapun, DBKL akan melaksanakan beberapa langkah awal berkaitan pengurusan lalu lintas di jalan-jalan tersebut seperti mengkaji pemasaan (timing) dan juga masa kitaran (cycle time) lampu-lampu isyarat di persimpangan-persimpangan yang ada serta menambah pemasangan papan-papan tanda lalu lintas agar dapat mengurangkan masalah kesesakan lalu lintas di jalan-jalan ini.

Synopsis (my version): Basically, the government is telling motorists at Jalan Segambut to be patient while suffering the horrible traffic jam until the year 2011 only when the 9^th Malaysian Plan kicks off.

Missing link is the cause of Mont Kiara’s daily crawl

Frustrating wait: An aerial view showing the unused ramp on the right of the main road.

Stalemate: The ramp remains closed because of the land dispute.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/ (Monday June 22, 2009, by LIM CHIA YING, photos courtesy of Sprint)

SIX years after it was completed and ready for use, the RM10mil ramp that leads to the Penchala Link near the Mont Kiara interchange has still not been opened. The ramp, measuring just 530m long, was completed in time to coincide with the opening of the Penchala Link in 2003 without obstructing traffic going into the NKVE and Mont Kiara. However, there has not been any progress since a land dispute occurred at the time and the ramp remains closed. Because of this, traffic crawls are experienced by motorists daily especially in the evenings as they are all forced to converge at the common temporary entrance route to Mont Kiara, NKVE and the turn-off to the Penchala Link. The temporary two-lane access route is dangerous and narrow, as the road splits to fork out into different directions. Even motorists coming from the free-flow roads of the Kerinchi Link and the DUKE Highway are inevitably caught in the crawl. The dispute began soon after a third party managed to get a court injunction that stopped the opening of the ramp. The landowner had claimed ownership to a piece of land through which the ramp was accessed.

The case was brought to court but further details are unknown. The traffic congestion has irked many motorists who said the ramp should just be opened once and for all as road users are made to suffer while the dispute continues. K.K. Oon said he did not know why the ramp was still not open after so many years. “If the ramp is open, cars going to the Penchala Link would not add to the jam at the Mont Kiara turn-off,” personal trainer Oon, 45, said. He said the situation was made worse by the set of traffic lights which was a contributory factor to the jam. “In the evenings, the traffic crawl will start from 5pm and continue until 7pm,” he said. Komathee Veerappan, 31, who had previously worked as a research analyst in Plaza Mont Kiara, said her husband was always caught in the morning and evening crawl whenever sending and picking her up from work. “After sending me, he is unable to make any detours and just has to go with the main flow in order to get to his workplace in Putrajaya. If the ramp was opened, it would have saved everyone’s time. “I just think the government should do something so that people’s lives are made easier or it will defeat the purpose of the ramp,” Komathee from Sentul said. Nandah Kumar, who owns two office units in Mont Kiara, said the tenant turnover was high and he attributed this to the congestion. “I’ve had three tenants over the last four years and the only excuse they give me was the jams. “The ramp should just be opened first and the dispute be settled later,” the 58-year-old said. Expatriate resident Jose Pereira, 65, who lives at the Bayu Condominium in Mont Kiara, said as a regular user of the Kerinchi link, he had much difficulty just trying to drive home during the evening peak hours. Other expatriates also expressed their disappointment over the issue and said the unopened ramp was an eyesore.

When contacted, Sprint (Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd) communication manager Bhavani Krishna Iyer said the highway concessionaire emphatised with the public’s plight but they could only leave it to the authorities to open the ramp. “We are unable to do much on our part, although the people have come to us with their complaints,” she said. She said the government had given the land to Sprint to develop the ramp after the first owner/developer had handed it over to the government as one of the development conditions.

When contacted, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said based on his findings, the ramp was almost 99% complete but there was a pending court decision that made it impossible to do anything. “I don’t know if Sprint has carried out proper research beforebuilding this ramp, because if it has evidence on the ownership issue, it could have easily struck out the claim in court. “For now, we can only keep waiting until the court finally makes its decision,” Lim said.