River of Life needs a new lease of life

 

From Ong Kian Ming

The latest auditor-general’s (A-G) report for 2024 was released on July 4. One of the items highlighted was the failure of the River of Life (RoL) project to achieve its objectives despite RM3.9 billion in government expenditure from 2010 to 2023.

Last Sunday, I jogged from the start of the RoL walking/jogging/cycling path from Central Market to Mid Valley Megamall and back again to examine the progress of this project.

This is not the first time I’ve highlighted the RoL project. I executed an RoL expedition back in 2015 where I kayaked from the northern section of the project all the way to Putra World Trade Centre and documented the experience via YouTube and through postings on Facebook.

Here are my suggestions for the short, medium, and long term on how to revive the RoL project by giving it a new lease of life.

Short-term suggestions

The A-G’s report stated that the RoL project is approximately 81% complete 14 years after it was launched. But this completion rate does not take into account the lack of connectivity in major stretches of the RoL pathway from Central Market to Mid Valley. For example, at the RoL walk stops at the location of the Riveria City condominium project in Brickfields.

I am not sure how the approval for this project was given back in 2017, but it is built up all the way to the river reserve, thereby cutting off all public access. The developer should have been asked to build an elevated RoL path that goes around this development and around the KL Monorail depot so that there is proper connectivity.

There should also be better signage to show, for example, kilometre markers for the RoL, and to highlight different points of interests along the way as part of showcasing the importance of the Klang River in the development of different parts of Kuala Lumpur as a city. And the signage should be properly maintained.

Wood panelling was used in some parts of the RoL. This looks nice but the growth of tree roots and the warping of wood in Malaysian weather causes damage to the wood panels and can be very dangerous to walkers, joggers, and cyclists. Consideration should be given to convert these wood panels into stronger and longer lasting material.

I almost tripped and had a serious fall which led to my Garmin watch sending an emergency notice to my wife!

Other than better maintenance of the RoL path, there should be better public facilities provided such as public toilets, pocket parks, park benches and parking facilities for some portions of the RoL.

Medium-term suggestions

One of the main objectives of the RoL project is to clean up the Klang River to Level IIB, which means that it is fit for recreational activities like swimming and kayaking.

To achieve this objective, the relevant government agencies, namely Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the environment department, the drainage and irrigation department, as well as the Department of Environment, Department of Drainage and Irrigation, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, should work together with NGOs to raise public awareness, especially among the communities which live near or next to the Klang and Gombak rivers upstream in Selangor and in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

The Global Environment Centre used to carry out such projects, including building community gardens and parks as part of the RoL project under the government transformation programme.

Other NGOs such as Friends of Sungai Klang focus on cleaning and maintaining parts of the riverbank at Mid Valley Megamall and in Taman Melawati. These kinds of initiatives should be continued and enhanced, with measurement of results clearly stated.

For some parts of the RoL which are next to new and existing commercial or residential developments such as in Brickfields and near Mid Valley, part of the quit rent contribution for these properties could be channelled into maintaining existing and creating new facilities for the portions of the RoL.

The properties which enjoy access to the RoL can also be incentivised to 

adopt

 the parts of the RoL which are the closest to their location.

In addition, the relevant stakeholders, that is the government and private sector, should organise regular activities as part of the audit and reporting process for the RoL project.

For example, the federal territories minister and the mayor of DBKL and some of the MPs whose constituencies are located in the RoL vicinity should promise to kayak or swim in the Klang River to show the progress on the clean-up of the river.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, swam in the Seine recently to showcase the efforts to clean up the river as part of preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympic games.

Long-term suggestions

One of the main challenges of the RoL project is long-term management and monetisation.

Parcels of government land, the values of which have been enhanced by the RoL project, can easily be 

sold off

 to private developers at below market cost. This means that the government cannot easily monetise its efforts for the RoL project.

At the same time, if DBKL were to be in charge of managing the RoL project, it would be business as usual and progress would be very slow, as evidenced by the A-G’s report.

One suggestion would be to create an entity that is similar to the Taman Tugu Foundation but to focus on the RoL. Most people will agree that the Taman Tugu Foundation has set very high standards in terms of project maintenance, publicity, and engagement with the public, corporate partners, and other stakeholders.

A RoL foundation can be set up, perhaps with Khazanah Nasional Bhd as the main stakeholder with representatives from DBKL, the federal territories ministry, as well as the private sector, NGOs, and residential areas.

Or the mandate of the Taman Tugu Foundation or even Think City could be expanded to include the RoL project. If nothing is changed with regards to how the project is being managed, then we can expect the problems raised in the A-G’s report to continue under this government.

I continue to support the RoL project because it has the potential to be an iconic project that will change the landscape of downtown Kuala Lumpur and beyond.

We have seen the successful transformation of the river ecosystem in urban areas in cities such as Seoul, Taipei and Singapore. If Kuala Lumpur aspires to be a world-class city, then we need to have our own iconic river transformation project to showcase to the world.

Summary of the 2024 A-G’s report on the RoL project

 

Ong Kian Ming is the Selangor DAP treasurer and a former deputy minister for the then international trade and industry ministry.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.