Was MBPJ trying to pull a 'fast one' on residents?

by Terence Fernandez and

Azril Annuar, fz.com

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  The MBPJ notice for a town hall that had supposedly not reached all of Section 12 residents.

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PETALING JAYA (Sept 10): Is the Petaling Jaya City Hall (MBPJ) trying to hoodwink residents to push through the Universiti Malaya Medical Metropolis (UMHM)?

 

That is the impression Section 12 residents are getting following a temper-filled town hall meeting on Saturday, which saw around 100 residents staging a walkout.

 

Resident and former MBPJ councillor Mak Khuin Weng said MBPJ did not put up notices in the media and only 11 houses received notice for the meeting.

 

"They quoted Section 12A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 in the letter inviting the residents to come for the meeting. However, only 11 houses received the notifications and when we found out, that's when we decided to go for the meeting," Mak toldfz.com.

 

He said even councillor Lee Suet Sen who chaired the meeting admitted it was a mistake to quote Section 12A as MBPJ did not advertise in any newspapers.

 

"It was also premature to call UM and the developers to make a presentation or have a dialogue with us as it pre-empts the procedures and process," said Mak.

 

He also questioned the point of having the freedom of information if the residents there are not furnished with any information.

 

Councillor Derek Fernandez agreed, saying he "will get to the bottom of this" during today's One Stop Centre (OSC) meeting.

 

"I was not able to attend the previous OSC and the dialogue because I was in hospital. However, I will find out whether or not the proper procedures were observed.

 

"First of all, I want to find out if it was a statutory meeting. And if it was a statutory meeting, under what power was it called? It is okay to deliver notifications to houses but they should have also advertised in two newspapers for a few days so anyone who wished to object would be made aware," said Fernandez.

 

As only 11 houses received the notification, it was clear that MBPJ's announcement was "insufficient", he said.

 

Agreeing that MBPJ's actions over the meeting could leave the impression that the authority was trying to "pull a fast one", Fernandez said he would have put a stop to the meeting if the proper procedures were not observed.

 

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had expressed support for the project but it was shelved – possibly due to the general election.

 

Ironically, the OSC had on Dec 7, 2011 rejected the proposed development for contravening basic planning laws as the residential area had not been re-zoned.

 

Rezoning required

 

Another resident, V Mahalingam pointed out that Section 12 has already been gazetted as a residential zone under the current Petaling Jaya Local Plan (RTPJ1), which is due to be rezoned in 2020.

 

"They are trying to build a commercial area there. We already have a lot of traffic congestion here and the moment the construction begins, it will affect all of Petaling Jaya. I believe that the law stipulates if you want to re-zone Section 12, you need to get the consent of all the residents in Petaling Jaya," he said.

 

Mahalingam added that Jalan Universiti also affects the Federal Highway, Jalan Gasing, SS2, Section 13 and Section 19 among others.

 

Section 12 Resident Association committee member A Rajasoorian echoed Mahalingam's sentiments saying MBPJ must come up with a draft plan and justify their objectives in re-zoning the area.

 

"For instance, the objective could be to provide more jobs for the locals. It must follow a structured plan."

 

'Many stayed back'

 

In a tweet tofz.com, UMHM said "many residents and media stayed back for meaningful dialogues too. We presented 50 slides".

 

At the meeting, UM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Ghauth Jasmon and UM Holdings Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk David Chua tried to present their case, but the question was, why were they there in the first place when the re-zoning of that neighbourhood to commercial was yet to be discussed?

 

Ghaut has said that the RM1.25 billion Economic Transformation Project (ETP) is vital for UM to be financially independent. The project on five hectares of land will include staff quarters, an extension of the hospital wards, a hotel and retail outlets.

 

At least 30 bungalows along Jalan 12/5 are expected to make way for the project. Many of these bungalows were staff quarters, and their occupants have since been evicted.