Residents protest against ‘Highland Towers II’

The residents claimed that the developers had refused to share documents pertaining to the projects to be assessed by independent parties.

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AMPANG: About 50 residents from Taman Sri Ukay and Taman Hillview staged a peaceful protest today against two proposed high-rise projects sited in some slope areas near their residence.

One project, at Lot 847 near the entrance to Taman Hillview, is slated for three blocks of 40-storey buildings.

Another project is planned for Lot 5, involving five blocks of 17-storey buildings, which is near the ruins of the Highland Towers apartment.

Both projects are to be carried out by two different developers.

Members of the Special Committee Action Committee of Taman Sri Ukay and Taman Hillview staged their protest near the entrance to the residential area at about 10am.

They carried banners saying “No More Tragedies” and “Say No to Highland Towers Part 2.” They later handed over a memorandum to Azura Aziz, an aide to Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin.

Committee spokesperson Lee Joo Khim said that they were worried as the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) appears to be ignoring the safety concerns raised by the residents.

She also said they noticed some discrepancies on the land title for Lot 847, in that the documents submitted by the developer were not endorsed by relevant professionals.

“We have written to MPAJ to verify whether is it the same documents sent to the local council but we have yet to receive a reply,” said Lee.

Who is responsible?

As for Lot 5, she said that the developer had refused to hand in any document related to the proposed condominium project during a meeting on Oct 23.

“The developer refused to give us copies of the studies to be assessed by our experts, despite making a promise on Oct 3 during an official meeting with the MPAJ.

“Instead, the developer just held a briefing session for about three hours on the matter,” she said, adding the company had removed its signboard two days ago after hearing of the protest.

Lee said this was making things difficult for the residents to verify whether the documents showed to them were the same ones sent to MPAJ.

She also questioned MPAJ’s decision to hand over the job to rectify the slope there to the developers when it was the responsibility of the local council to do so.

“So if anything happens, who is going to be responsible?” asked Lee.

She said that she wanted to avoid another tragedy like the Highland Towers incident in 1993, which claimed the lives of some of her friends.

“Obviously, this projects evokes strong emotions. We don’t want to see anymore lives lost,” she said.

State to discuss the matter

Hulu Kelang state assemblyman Saari Sungib, who was also at the site, said that he would take up the matter at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly meeting come Nov 19.

“I need to tell the state that people’s safety is the government’s responsibility. You cannot pass the buck to a private developer.

“I have already informed Selangor executive councillor for local government Ronnie Liu of the matter and he is looking into it,” he said.

Last month, a MPAJ official told FMT that it would cost the local council RM12 million to rectify the slopes and it did not have sufficient funds for it.

Asked why funds were not sought from the state government, the official, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “You have to ask the state government. In areas managed by MPAJ alone, we have about 600 slopes to maintain. We only have funds to manage these slopes.”

But in an immediate response, Saari said that the local council should have brought up the matter (lack of funds) to the state government.

“Did the council make any application [for funds] in the past four years? The problem here is that it is still working in the old way: always saying it has no money, no resources… and just doing nothing.

“Even for these proposed condominium projects, I was only informed recently. I was really embarrassed,” said Saari, who is also a resident at the area.

Another committee member, Hachim Baudjit, said that the land near Highland Towers had four river streams, making the soil soggy at all times.

“On Lot 5, there used to be a pond but somebody dumped earth on it some years back.

“Nevertheless, the water is still there, making the soil wet. It could affect our house structure,” he said.

The crowd dispersed peacefully at about 12am.