Flats get facelift to welcome DPM

The construction activity going on in Ampangan is reminiscent of a by-election campaign

SEREMBAN: There is so much construction and renovation being carried out around the UDA Flats in Ampangan—and with so much urgency—that it looks as if there is a by-election in the area next week.

But it is too late in the current parliament’s term for by-elections. So why the repainting, the reroofing, the resurfacing of roads and the upgrading of public toilets and drains?

There is a simple explanation. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will be in town this Saturday and he will be talking about the Barisan Nasional government’s care and concern for flat dwellers and other ordinary folk.

The visit will include a walkabout around the flats and the nearby wet market and Pasar Tani.

Dr Mohamad Rafie Abdul Malik of the PKR supreme council estimated the cost of the works at “easily around a few hundred thousand ringgit”.

“I’m not questioning the upgrading and instant development, which will benefit the residents here,” he said. “But why wait for Muhyiddin’s visit to do this upgrading?”

He said the flat residents had been complaining for years about leaking roofs, faded paintwork and other damage to their buildings, roads and drains.

“Nothing was done until Muhyiddin decided to visit.”

Rafie, who is deputy chief of Seremban PKR, said he would like to invite Muhyiddin to Kampung Ismail and Kampung Jiboi, not far from the UDA flats, in the hope that the visit would spur development there.

“Parts of Kampung Ismail and Kampung Jiboi face serious flooding during heavy rain,” he said. “The water level gets higher than my waist. Recently, members of Seremban PKR had to help the residents clean their houses.

“The drainage system is bad. Thick grass grows in the ditches, and rubbish clogs them. In fact, the drains and even the nearby river are too narrow for the kind of heavy rain we have been getting in recent years.

“I don’t mind organising a visit programme for Muhyiddin if that is the only way to get the flooding problem in these two kampungs solved once and for all.”

During Muhyiddin’s visit, Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan is expected to announce that a two-storey block of shops will be constructed to replace the current single-storey block.

The Ampangan state assembly seat is currently occupied by Rashid Latiff of PKR.