Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai has raised 31 objections, endorsed by 34 NGOs, to the Kuala Lumpur Draft Plan 2020.
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KUALA LUMPUR: It may have been late, but it still carries great weight.
In the final moments of the Aug 31 deadline set for City Hall to receive submissions of objections to and suggestions on the Kuala Lumpur Draft Plan 2020, a three-page memorandum was submitted to highlight the views of residents living in the large constituency.
The gist of the document is a call for the rejection of the Kuala Lumpur Draft Plan 2020 in its totality.
It reflects the large number of city folk who feel that a new drafting committee, consisting of all stakeholders, has to be appointed after taking into consideration all views from the public to ensure that the city is properly planned and developed.
"City Hall has to take into account the views of the public, other ministries and departments before developing a city plan," said Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai a day after he submitting the three-page memorandum
The memorandum raised 31 objections that represented the views of 34 non-government organisations, the Cheras DAP division, as well as Tan himself.
At a meeting attended by about 40 members of involved parties, recently held at the Cheras DAP service centre recently, Tan added that the plan was unrealistic in its focus to make Kuala Lumpur a developed city, as there exists many fundamental issues like the quality of life, public transport, the lower per capita income of its citizens compared to developed cities like New York and London and cleanliness of the city not being resolved presently.
"How are we to achieve world class city status in the next 12 years when problems like lack of good infrastructure, care for the environment and other economic and social community-based efforts are simply not addressed today?" he said, adding that the plan came out at a time of wasteful spending by the government and City Hall.
"Many of these organisations, including myself, do not understand the jargon used in the complex plan. It also does not explain what is the present situation and we could not make any reference or comparisons as to how the plan would govern the notion of development in the city," he added.
The salient points of the objections raised in the memorandum were:
l The draft plan does not consider the views of the public in respect of the new proposed zoning of residential and commercial areas and land use in accordance with Section 12A of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1976 and Local Planning Manual under the National Physical Plan (NPP).
l The draft does not adhere to population density projections of 40 to 50 people per 0.00405 sq km as per the NPP and the National Structure Plan. In some areas like Taman Bukit Ria, the plan shows a figure of up to 320 people per 0.00405 sq km.
l The transit zones proposed at the various LRT stations are within a proximity of 200 to 250 metres of densely populated residential areas, which would infringe on resents' privacy and worsen traffic congestion.
l The development of the LRT corridors are not in accordance with plans by the Ministry of Transport which would further degrade the public transport system.
l There were no plausible reasons given on land use classification as the plan designates about 60 per cent of land allocated for development for commercial use, which means that there would be fewer green lungs and less land for community projects.
* The draft does not cater for public access of the handicapped and elderly and the relocation of squatters residing on private land as it only allocates public housing projects for those on government land.
* The draft classifies many temples in Cheras as squatter buildings although some have been in existence for close to a century and there were no guarantees that these buildings would be relocated.
l The draft calls for the reduction of small and mediumsized industries by eight per cent. This would affect the livelihoods of more than 200 small holders in Kg Cheras Baru.
l A Present Land Use Map was not included to make comparison and chart changes.
Tan added that the submission of the memorandum was not an end in itself. The group will discuss the issues at the Public Hearing Committee formed to receive feedback on the draft plan.
Among the NGOs that endorsed the memorandum were Taman Kobena, Taman Billion, Taman Midah, Loke Yew Flats and Taman Shamelin residents' associations, Cheras South Safety Committee, Taman Midah Hawkers Association and Cheras Small and Medium Size Business Association.
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