People are often sacrificed and forced into seemingly eternal hardship when the Government offices are collectively incompetent and unchecked. The saga faced by residents of Taman Sri Petaling here in Kuala Lumpur best exemplify the woe betide the grass roots.
No, we do not consider that is bad faith. The Government is collectively accountable for it, although individual culprit may not be easily identified and surcharged.
As for the specific agency, an inquiry should be conducted to determine which agency is accountable -- Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia (LLM) or Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL)?
Obviously, for the case of Taman Sri Petaling, the Government is facing tough choices of remedy options: Re-route the highway, or Compulsory acquisition and fully compensate affected terraced houses.
The Government (and thus, the people) is inevitably paying more as a result of poor execution of project -- land acquisition prior to the construction of the highway and the housing estate in this case, due to lacklustre culture in the Government administration.
It is an interesting question why was the local authority still granting approval to the housing development along the proposed highway. Didn't the local authority know that the highway was being planned and deferred?
It is also interesting to note that many letters from the Residents' Representative to the Government agency are still not answered. The Government officers choose to ignore letters from the public, and are they suppose to do so?
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Excerpt of notes from the minutes of meeting between Sri Petaling Residents' Reps and Minister of Works:
KL-PUTRAJAYA HIGHWAY – Meeting with Sri Petaling Residents’ Representatives
Minutes of Meeting
The chronology of events and historical development in Taman Sri Petaling and the KL-Putrajaya Highway
* YB Datuk Seri read through some documents to explain the sequence of events leading to the current issues faced by the residents. YB Datuk Seri also pointed out that the social and environmental issues raised by the residents were first highlighted by the government way back in 1998, and the government was ready to acquire land as advised by the consultant to avoid issues faced today. However, due to the financial crisis, the government had to shelve the project and did not proceed with the land acquisition.
* According to YB Datuk Seri, the local authority and the developer were well aware of the land targeted for highway development, and they should not proceed with the housing development. YB Datuk Seri is of the view that his ministry should not be blamed for failure to acquire the land for highway development. YB Datuk Seri is not sure who is the culprit but believes that the local authority and developer should also share the blames. It is not fair that his ministry is being seen as the “bad guy” and the rest are seen as “good guys”. YB Datuk Seri admitted that the residents are the victims in these circumstances.
The Proposed Solution
* There are options to realign the highway such as via KL-Seremban highway or Besraya highway. However, this was rejected by YB Datuk Seri and his senior officers, claiming that it is “too late” to realign and they have acquired the necessary lands for the current alignment.
* The next option is to do the right thing to correct the mistake and if it involves acquiring the houses, then so be it. We also offered assistance and took up the challenge to discuss with the residents on the rationales of such acquisition action. We expressed our view that the residents will respond rationally and believed an amicable solution can be achieved. YB Datuk Seri replied that this will set precedence that will eventually subject the government to costly land acquisition when highway development is planned. He also voiced concern that this may invite investigation by Anti-Corruption Agency as they may suspect some wrong doings. We replied that we are ready to work on the details with the government and also agree to the principle that no-one should “take advantage” or “benefited” out of this arrangement. We are confident that a detailed arrangement can be achieved to address his concerns.
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