Squatters housing project to resume
Leong Kar YenPublished: Apr 8, 2001 8:49 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
updated version
The construction of low-cost flats for squatters at Taman Medan and its surroundings in Petaling Jaya Selatan, which were abandoned four years ago, will resume in July, Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting announced today.updated version The construction of low-cost flats for squatters at Taman Medan and its surroundings in Petaling Jaya Selatan, which were abandoned four years ago, will resume in July, Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting announced today.
"The project will resume and we hope it will be completed sometime next year," he told reporters at the Parliament House lobby this morning. The minister explained that work on the 800 units of low-cost flats in the area was stopped during the regional economic crisis in 1997.
The residents who have been living in the area for the past 17 years, were supposed to have moved into a new block of flats being constructed nearby. However, construction stopped and residents have been eagerly awaiting news on their new homes since.
Early last month, the Petaling Jaya Selatan area was rocked by communal clashes which resulted in six deaths, scores of injuries and hundreds of arrests. Poor and cramped living conditions were cited as one of the worrying factors in the area prompting authorities and others to look into the matter.
Long overdue
Ong described the resumption of the project as a positive development because the people in the area "have waited for it for a long time".
"I have also sent an enforcement team from the ministry to survey the area and following discussions, the developer has guaranteed to continue from where the project was left off," said Ong, adding that his ministry would be monitoring the project closely.
On March 14, the minister visited the Kampung Medan area and informed its residents that an investigation into the halted project would be carried out and a speedy solution will be found. ([#1]More houses for Kampung Medan: Ka Ting[/#], March 14)
The neighbourhood where the clashes occurred - which include Taman Datuk Harun, Kampung Lindungan, Kampung Medan, Taman Medan, Kampung Penaga, Kampung Ghandi and Kampung Muniandy - comprises mainly of long-houses, low-cost flats, terrace house and wooden squatter houses. It is mainly populated by Malays, Indians and as well as Indonesian and Bangladeshi immigrants.
"The project will resume and we hope it will be completed sometime next year," he told reporters at the Parliament House lobby this morning. The minister explained that work on the 800 units of low-cost flats in the area was stopped during the regional economic crisis in 1997.
The residents who have been living in the area for the past 17 years, were supposed to have moved into a new block of flats being constructed nearby. However, construction stopped and residents have been eagerly awaiting news on their new homes since.
Early last month, the Petaling Jaya Selatan area was rocked by communal clashes which resulted in six deaths, scores of injuries and hundreds of arrests. Poor and cramped living conditions were cited as one of the worrying factors in the area prompting authorities and others to look into the matter.
Long overdue
Ong described the resumption of the project as a positive development because the people in the area "have waited for it for a long time".
"I have also sent an enforcement team from the ministry to survey the area and following discussions, the developer has guaranteed to continue from where the project was left off," said Ong, adding that his ministry would be monitoring the project closely.
On March 14, the minister visited the Kampung Medan area and informed its residents that an investigation into the halted project would be carried out and a speedy solution will be found. ([#1]More houses for Kampung Medan: Ka Ting[/#], March 14)
The neighbourhood where the clashes occurred - which include Taman Datuk Harun, Kampung Lindungan, Kampung Medan, Taman Medan, Kampung Penaga, Kampung Ghandi and Kampung Muniandy - comprises mainly of long-houses, low-cost flats, terrace house and wooden squatter houses. It is mainly populated by Malays, Indians and as well as Indonesian and Bangladeshi immigrants.
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