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The Star Metro
By YIP YOKE TENG
THE simple act of submitting building and technical plans would have saved the Sivan Temple on Bukit Gasing from a slew of negative publicity over the past one year, but the temple’s trustees had to be reminded, once again, to do that.
Selangor health, plantation workers and caring government committee chairman Dr Xavier Jeyakumar told the trustees, headed by Datin Sri Indrani, wife of MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, that they ought to submit all the necessary plans to the Petaling Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) engineering department if they intended to carry on with the proposed extension to the temple.
The trustees, who brought along their lawyers and technical consultants, had been invited to attend the MBPJ’s Sustainable Development committee meeting involving councillors, officials and Public Works Institute (Ikram) representatives held on Monday.
“The state has made certain regulations as far as hillslope development is concerned, and we want everyone to abide by them” DR XAVIER JAYAKUMAR
“Bukit Gasing is a very sensitive area. The state’s concern is safety, and we look forward to working with the people but we have to make sure that everything that is built is built properly,” said Xavier, who is also a member of the state committee on non-Muslim religious affairs.
“The state has made certain regulations as far as hillslope development is concerned, and we want everyone to abide by them. We don’t want any mishap.
“Recently, we have been having a lot of landslides and two children even lost their lives yesterday (Nov 30) in Ulu Yam Perdana,” he added.
He said upon receiving the plans submitted by the trustees, the council’s engineering department would work with the Ikram to ensure that the drawings were adhered to if they were approved.
He said the temple’s representatives responded positively during the meeting and pledged to be open with their future progress.
“They have also appointed a technical consultant who will work closely with our technical team, so we will be able to get a better report and a clearer picture of the situation at the site,” he said.
Xavier emphasised that the only reason the stop-work order was issued was that no building plan was ever submitted.
“You cannot have a structure built like that without any plan given to the state. The stop-work order will not be lifted until we have clarified all the technical requirements that were discussed. All remedial work has to start from then, too,” he said.
It was reported that the trustees of the temple, which was originally a shrine, had aspired to turn it into the country’s second largest Indian temple that would include a three-storey complex housing prayer and community halls, living quarters and function rooms.
“There would also be 36 meditation huts encircling the temple and a large statue of a dragon.
The temple complex was originally supposed to be 1,400 sq m in size but now it is estimated to measure 5,700sq m, which is designed to accommodate 8,000 people.
The construction of such a massive structure perched on the top of a hill long identified as landslide-prone worried residents, and a stop-work order was issued when the authorities found out that the work was being carried out without permission.
Meanwhile, it was also discovered that the land on which the temple was built on belonged to the state.
Councillor A. Thiruvenggadam said the issue of land status that would place the matter into a complex situation entailing land degazettement was not discussed during the meeting.
“Safety comes first. The state wants to put across very clearly to the temple committee that the stop-work order will not be lifted unless and until they can convince the people that all safety regulations have been adhered to,” he said.
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/12/3/central/2691612&sec=central
Derek Fernandez |
KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of Federal Hill are prepared to go to court if City Hall permits the commercial development of the land around Travers police station near their homes.
The police station stands on a 1.15 hectare plot. A nine-storey block of police quarters and a three-storey police station are planned — as well as three high-rise blocks of commercial office space.
Their lawyer, Derek Fernandez, said: “It is impossible for institutional land, which is meant solely for government purposes, to be converted for commercial use. We will await the outcome of the hearing.”
Resident Lam Choon Kit said: “We have no other alternative than to go to court to resolve this problem.”
The residents made their stand after a two-hour hearing before the public hearing committee chaired by Datin Paduka Dr Halimaton Saadiah Hashim, principal fellow of the University Kebangsaan Malaysia Institute of Environment and Development. About 20 residents attended.
Fernandez presented the residents’ case in objecting to the proposed development of Lot 55 Jalan Travers by developer Primamuda Holdings.
The proposed new police quarters and police station will occupy about 0.4ha and Fernandez said the remaining land should be preserved for public purposes as a green lung, green buffer or recreational area.
Fernandez said the proposed development is inconsistent with national planning and urbanisation policy. In addition, City Hall had failed to incorporate Policy CF3 of Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 to “ensure that all government land is used for government or public facility purposes”.
He said the mayor Datuk Ab. Hakim Borhan should have rejected the proposal without a hearing, which was scheduled but was postponed several times since residents began pursuing the matter in 2007 at the preliminary objection stage.
The residents were instead asked to make their objections when the Kuala Lumpur Local Draft Plan were displayed from May 15 to June 30.
Fernandez questioned how the Commissioner of Lands could allow Primamuda’s application for land conversion, when the Commissioner is not the landowner and as the development violates the CF3 Policy.
He said the whole exercise was improper because City Hall had also failed to comply with the Town and Country Planning Act which states that there is a duty for consultation with the public.
Among the residents who spoke up was Theo De Wit, a Dutchman living here under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme. He said he moved from Bukit Damansara to Federal Hill when he saw trees being cut down to make way for development.
“Unfortunately, a few months after settling here, I was told of the proposed development, which I feel will only cause traffic congestion. I was sold by the keywords — that Malaysia is a good place to live, retire and invest., and I enjoy living here very much. I hope the government will stay true to what the MM2H programme promised,” he said.
Charles Tan said there is simply no room for road expansion at Jalan Travers and Jalan Mahameru to accommodate increased traffic volume.
“We want to keep it a green area. We collected 7,000 signatures against the development. A Sultan has spoken out against it to City Hall, as well as the Hilton Hotel and Le Meriden.” The two hotels are situated across the road, at the nearby KL Sentral development..
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/Streets/Wednesday/Stories/2417939/Article/index_html
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