With the latest PJ1 Draft Local Plan (DLP), it looks like residents in Petaling Jaya are once again going to suffer because the local council  MPPJ  is about to bulldoze its latest attempt at reaping profits before the coming general election and change the original residential designation of PJ altogether.

In 1994, PJ residents were given only one month to respond to the Draft Structure Plan (DSP) for the Petaling District. This was scandalous because it had taken the government more than seven years to prepare this DSP.

The former British colonial government had given the people three months under the Town Board Enactment 1937 for response to any urban development. This was during an era when town planning was relatively straightforward and the urban population was a fraction of what it is today.

Now MPPJ initially gave the residents just one month, but recently extended it by another, to respond to the latest DLP which is set to destroy the original residential designation for PJ when it was set aside as a satellite town for the capital city.

Through the years, greed and lack of planning have already destroyed many parts of PJ, including Bukit Gasing, but the latest DLP will once and for all turn PJ into another commercial and industrial disaster like many other Malaysian cities.

And how widely and effectively has MPPJ made this known to the residents affected?

In 1994, the DSP report cost RM45 and when residents went to get bantahan (protest) forms, they were told they had to buy the report before they could have the forms.

Secondly, the report was written in Bahasa Malaysia, employing technical jargon which even the lay-Malays could not understand.

Reports such as these, if the authorities are sincere about gauging public response, should be summarised in the four main languages and distributed gratis to every household concerned.

The insincerity of the government was further revealed in the fact that many questionable projects such as Gasing Heights were approved and proceeded even before the DSP Report of 1994 and before the traffic study for the whole of PJ was completed.

High-profit gambit

If this DLP is not another high-profit gambit, can MPPJ explain why PJ  the most developed residential district in the whole of Malaysia  needs to be re-zoned for development?

The DSP report made it very clear that the whole area was being re-zoned for industrial and commercial development.

By doing so, the authorities have strayed wildly from the original intention of the planners.

When we refer to the 1989 Survey Report for PJ, for example, we see that Bukit Gasing is in fact designated as forest and not recreational area.

The government owes PJ residents a good explanation for this reconversion of Bukit Gasing.

Furthermore, based on the figures in the 1994 DSP, there was no satisfactory housing programme to solve the problem of urban settlers and the homeless. MPPJs record on providing low-cost housing to the needy is pathetic as well.

And everyone can see that even at the present haphazard development in PJ, the infrastructure can hardly cope.

We have been constantly plagued by power blackouts, cuts in water supply, undrinkable water, traffic congestion, flash floods and uncollected rubbish. So how can the infrastructure cope with the redevelopment which is being earmarked?

MPPJ has been trying to assure the people that there will be no compulsory acquisition of their land and properties.

We know that land in PJ is strictly limited. So how else is the government going to redevelop this already developed PJ except through compulsory acquisition? The amendment to the Land Acquisition Act in 1991 now gives the authorities full power to acquire any private land for development.

The likely targets will not be the high-density value properties but rather, the low-density ones. If a bungalow lot is to be taken over to build an apartment block or commercial complex, for example, you can be sure that the terms for acquisition will not be in the favour of the bungalow owner.

Residents expectations

House-buyers and residents of PJ made the decision to live in this designated residential district and it is the responsibility of MPPJ to plan this district in such a way as to make it the most pleasant residential district in the country.

Residents expect an improvement in the quality of life  preservation of forests and green lungs and improved services  and not further deterioration of their living space.

The Damansara School controversy highlighted the crying need for schools to address the needs of the residents in PJ.

Has MPPJ addressed this question of adequate Chinese and Tamil schools for residents of PJ?

If they have not, it is a gross dereliction of responsibility by a local government considering the sizeable proportion of Chinese and Tamils living in PJ.

PJ must not be turned into yet another commercial and industrial monstrosity by irresponsible politicians in league with big developers.

Any further development should be sited beyond the traditional residential district of PJ. And existing depressed areas such as Kampung Cempaka, Damansara Dalam, Kayu Ara should be upgraded with proper facilities.

Finally, this latest plan once again puts the question of an elected local government strongly back on the national agenda.

Dr KUA KIA SOONG is a director of human rights organisation Suaram. He was also the former MP for PJ Utara.