BE MORE CAREFUL! Bee Yin takes MRT Corp to task over latest mishap at The Curve, Ikea area

We call upon Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) to take immediate actions to reduce the unnecessary nuisance to the residents and road users along the construction sites of the MRT line.

Water pipe burst caused by the MRT construction in Persiaran Suria, Mutiara Damansara, has wreaked traffic havoc around The Curve, Ikano and Ikea shopping centers yesterday afternoon.

Not only so, water valve was forced to close to stop the water flow causing water shortages to many areas in Petaling Jaya including Section 11 to 14, Section 19 to 21, FTZ, SS1 to SS9, Sg Penchala, Kg Kayu Ara, UM, Pinggirin, PJU 7, SS22 and SS25.

The MRT Project Works Package Contractor for this area, Mudajaya Corporation Bhd, must take full responsibility for such inconvenience caused. MRT Corp must investigate and take proper actions to ensure that such an incident will not happen again.

97 cases of damage

This incident is yet another utility disruption caused by MRT construction. The Star reported that up to Sept 27 2013 there were 97 reported cases of utility damage across the various MRT project sites - Syabas 51 cases, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) 27 cases, Telekom Malaysia (TM) 11 cases and others.

We are indeed very concerned with how MRT Corp is handling the MRT construction projects as utility disruption does not only affect the lives of the residents but also the commercial activities around the project sites.

While we understand that slight inconvenience is unavoidable, we hope that MRT Corp will not take people’s tolerance for granted and immediately take action to improve their projects and contractors management.

We also hope that Syabas, TNB and TM will update their utility maps around the construction sites to ensure that the contractors have full information on the location of their pipes and lines to minimize unscheduled disruptions caused by outdated utility maps. In addition, we urge MRT Corp to increase their engagement with the public to give better explanation about the project to the stakeholders and to obtain feedback from them.

Since it is almost 3 years from now before the first phase completion, MRT Corp and all the related parties should all come together to find a plausible solution to minimize the inconvenience caused by the MRT construction.

Yeo Bee Yin is the assemblywoman for Damansara Utama