Puchong folks give their views

Story and photo by THO XIN YI

ABOUT 100 Puchong residents and NGO leaders gathered recently to voice their suggestions to the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) in response to the MPSJ 2020 Local Plan Draft that was unveiled earlier this month.

The draft – highlighting the development plans with regard to land usage, landscape and recreation, and environment maintenance, among other things – covers a total of 16,180ha of land under the jurisdiction of the MPSJ.


We will help you understand it: Ismail (standing) explaining the draft to the residents. On his left is Kow while Puchong MCA division chairman Wong Hock Aun is on his right.

Organised by Kinrara assemblyman Dr Kow Cheong Wei, the meeting provided a channel for the enthusiastic residents to talk to MPSJ urban planning department director Ismail Muhamad after he briefly introduced the draft.

The suggestions given by the residents mainly concerned the residents' welfare, such as their religious rights. Many of them called for the provision of temples and burial grounds for non-Muslims.

“To avoid inconvenience to our neighbours who practise other religions, we need a prayer hall to have the funeral wake before the deceased is buried,” said a resident.

The availability of healthcare facilities was also discussed.

“There is no government hospital in Puchong after the Kinrara Armed Forces Hospital moved away. It poses inconvenience to residents here,” Vista Lavender Residents Association president Thinatayallam Ponnusany.

He also voiced his concerns over the lack of motorcycle lanes on the Puchong roads, which had resulted in fatal accidents.

Society of the Chinese Disabled Persons Malaysia president Hong Chuan Lee hoped there would be disabled-friendly facilities in Puchong.

“There should be pavements and car park lots for the disabled and blind. The bus services and LRT stations should be accessible to us, too,” he said.

Other issues raised included the cleaning up of the Klang River that flows through Puchong, traffic jam in certain parts of Puchong and the establishment of police and fire services stations.

A resident also hoped that a library would be built.

“We should let the school kids visit the library rather than have them frequent the cybercafes after school. Whether it is a small one or a mobile one, the library is needed to educate the younger generation,” he said.

The MPSJ 2020 Local Plan Draft is for sale at RM100 at the MPSJ building. It is also available in CDs.

The draft is exhibited now at the lobby of the MPSJ building and residents can give their feedback in writing before Dec 28.

Ismail urged the residents to view the draft and promised that his department would assist them in understanding the plan.

“Call me, or email me, and I will have my officers answer your queries,” he said.

Kow welcomed the Puchong residents to visit his service centre to view the draft and also to submit their letters.

His office is located at C27, Jalan Besar, Desa Kuchai, Batu 8, Jalan Puchong, 47100 Puchong, Selangor (Tel: 03-8010 1393).

KL-Putrajaya Highway Opens

By CHARLES FERNANDEZ

THE much anticipated 26km KL-Putrajaya Highway that offers road users a shorter and more direct route to the federal administrative capital Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and the KL International Airport (KLIA) is now open to road users and is easily accessible from the city centre.

If prior to this, travelling from KL to these destinations used to take more than an hour, the highway has shortened the trips to a mere 20 minutes to Putrajaya and Cyberjaya and 30 minutes to KLIA at Sepang.



The highway will be toll-free for a month until Jan 13.

Road users entering the highway from the Kampung Pandan Interchange will find their travelling time cut to more than half compared with travelling on the existing route, which takes twice as long to reach the same destinations.

According to Konsortium Lapangan Terjaya Sdn Bhd senior manager (corporate communications), Tihana Yon, the expansion of the KL-Putrajaya highway to the existing major highways would in turn stimulate further commercial and residential developments in the southern corridor of the Klang Valley.

Yon said road users could access the highway from five interchanges – Kampung Pandan, Salak South, Kuchai Lama, Bukit Jalil and the Putrajaya Link.

The Kampung Pandan Interchange provides easy access from areas within the Golden Triangle and the main roads such as Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Ampang, Jalan Pahang, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Taman Maluri, Pandan Jaya and Kampung Pandan.

The Salak South Interchange provides road users a direct link from Damansara, Bangsar, Jalan Duta and Jalan Kuching.

The Kuchai Lama Interchange has two entry ramps, the first ramp channels traffic from Kerinchi, Mid Valley Megamall, Bangsar, Bandar Tun Razak, and Taman Connaught while the second ramp allows traffic from Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuchai Lama and Taman Desa.

The Bukit Jalil Interchange built over the Kesas Highway provides a lifeline as it assists in the easing of congestion in the city centre and the surrounding areas to Sungei Besi, Kajang, the KL-Seremban Highway, Sri Petaling and Bangi.

And from the opposite direction, road users would find the traffic in Klang, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Sunway, Gombak, Ampang and Cheras leading to KL, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and KLIA much breezier.

The Putrajaya Link however integrates with the North South Expressway Central Link (ELITE Highway) and enables road users to reach KLIA within 10 minutes.

The highway is installed with several safety features and the advanced traffic monitoring systems such as emergency telephone, CCTV and electronic messaging which are routed to the highway’s Control Centre (CC).

“This enables CC to assist patrol vehicles in attending to emergencies on the highway,’’ added Yon.

In addition, she said, the KL-Putrajaya Highway provides a link between the MRR1 and MRR2 and other highways such as Besraya, KL-Seremban, NPE and Kesas, thus relieving traffic congestion along these routes

Housebuyers to enjoy 24 months' warranty....

By CHIN MUI YOON and NG SI HOOI
muiyoon@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Developers will now have to repair any defect in houses detected within two years of handing over vacant possession to housebuyers. Previously, the warranty period was 18 months.

This is one of the benefits that consumers will enjoy with the enforcement of the amendments to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 from Dec 1.

Any defect, shrinkage or other faults in the building have to be repaired by developers at their own cost within 30 days of having received a written notice from buyers.

Such faults include defective workmanship or materials, or if the building has not been constructed in accordance with the plans and description as specified.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the changes to the Act, which came into effect from Dec 1, were made to protect housebuyers from irresponsible developers.

“There are black sheep but we cannot let this happen, even if the number is not that big.

“The amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act, which is the principal or parent Act, was done on April 12 this year. The regulations gazetted on Dec 1 bring all provisions into conformity under the Act.

“It includes new features such as the introduction of two new Schedule I and Schedule J catering for the Build-then-Sell (10:90) concept.

“The scheduling is vastly different for the current conventional way of selling houses.

“There is also no 5% retention fee so the onus is on developers to be responsible in building and delivering a quality property to buyers in order to collect payment.”

Ong said the Build-then-Sell concept remains optional to developers instead of mandatory.

This parallel system will be observed for a period of time.

As it is, he said, only companies that are financially sound are able to adopt the new concept.

On the extended warranty period for defects, Ong said the increase to 24 months was a period acceptable to both housebuyers and developers after the ministry’s technical team had evaluated feedback from both parties.

Significant changes include a requirement for developers to deliver vacant possession to buyers that must be supported by a Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) certified by registered architects that a building is safe and fit for occupation.

Previously, when developers handed over vacant possession of a property, the keys were given to buyers for inspection.

But buyers could not move in until the Certificate of Fitness (CF) was issued by the local authorities, which could be several months later.

Also for strata titles (applicable under Schedule H for apartments, condominiums, flats and townhouses), a crucial change is the mandatory enforcement of the Fifth Schedule in the sale and purchase (S&P) agreement on what buyers can expect to pay besides the cost of their individual unit, including service charges

Related Story

POT HOLES DILEMMA

A picture is always worth a thousand words, the same pothole after numerous repair is again a "Pothole"......with the current wet weather and the traffic at this busy junction it will get worse if proper roadworks and maintenance is not carried out SOONEST POSSIBLE!

As it is now traffic buildup is a common sight as vehicles using this junction have to carefully manouvre around the pothole hence queue buildup. Potholes are evident throughout the service road leading into Taman Mutiara Puchong and I think the plight mainly the discomfort caused to the residents using this road is bordering on frustration.

It will be a great way to usher in the new year 2008 for all residents in this area if the local council could arrange for the said service roads to be resurfaced all the way thus providing comfort and the most importantly helping all vehicles to avoid futher wear and tear to the shock absorbers, tyre alignments and dented rims. Imagine paying our council rates and having to fork out additional expenditure to remedy something that is of no fault of our own.

I sincerely hope the relevant authority will act accordingly and efficiently to remedy the unsafe condition of the service roads ridden with potholes for the betterment of the community.

Dead Fishes In Lake (6th X) 9th December'07

It is becoming more of a cliche now and to date this is the 6th recorded incident at the same lake. Sighhhh!!! No one seem to care, especially the authorities with jurisdiction over this kind of issues (environmental issues).
Toxicology test has been done as Jabatan Alam Sekitar crew came and gone (to date report of the said test is still unknown). So what do we do now folks of Taman Mutiara Puchong? Any suggestions as we are absolutely flabbergasted to date.......at the status quo after numerous reports we have submitted to the relevant authorities through proper channels as encouraged by our own PM for residents/citizen of Malaysia to help improve our living environment.
Just a note to the readers here, we have taken our very own initiatives to have the said water in the lake tested by a willing 3rd party with such facilities (sponsor) from a water treatment company. We should get the result in 7 working days and hopefully the water sample taken will shed some light and possibly give us all some long awaited answers previously not forthcoming from the relevant parties. What is there to hide? How can our environment play second fiddle in this case as it is our very own environment thats gives us resources and thus ability to survive. Are we all not responsible citizens?
If you have any suggestions please put in your 2 cents worth, as we are always all ears. Help us help you to prevent further incidents of such nature and let us be the example of responsible citizen to assist in making our environment cleaner and healthier for all other Malaysians.

Community Meet 8.12.2007 (Summary)

Dear Fellow Residents,

It was indeed a truly productive meet, primarily because the Pro-Tem RA had the opportunity to highlight all the relevant and important information,issues and events leading up to the community meet.

Speakers for the day:

1.Steven Poh (Chairman) - highlighted the objectives of the RA and impending issues the RA will table with the developer/local council and other relevant authorities to improve living environment in Taman Mutiara Puchong for all residents. Community service activities e.g. recyling, adopt a tree, adopt an orphanage and old folks home was also suggested.
2.Michael Yeoh (Asst Sec) - summary of events and providing relevant information to all residents pertaining the team work and spirit needed to improve the community such as more residents to volunteer especially the younger generation to be part of the community and encouraging more residents from various ethnic group to join the RA for a more diversified representation.
3.Carol (Treasurer) - announced the costing to all residents pertaining the estimated expenditure to manage and maintain all amenities within Taman Mutiara Puchong.
4.Lim LS (Vice-Chairman) - presented the RA proposal to raise funds for the setup of our very own management office and the budget required as well as highlighting the need to increase current monthly maintenance fees payable (currently RM 50) to a more realistic figure to increase the quality of the security and the upkeep of the common areas. Additional funds derived will be put to good use to organize various community activities e.g. line dancing, tai-chi,dog obedience and many more possible activities that is open as long as we have enough participants to form a group of more than 15-30 individuals to make the said activity work.

The said meeting was carried out with translation to Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia by committee members (YS Chan and Encik Razali).

At least now we have more than 70+ residents fully aware of the issues at hand and the ramification of the imminent hand over come January 18th 2008.

Committee members will go on a petition drive secheduled (9th December 2007)to meet the residents that did not attend the community meet and to update relevant information and to obtain support via signatures as well as to recruit more members to the RA in order to be more efficient in carrying out the many activities planned for year 2008.

The RA of Taman Mutiara Puchong sincerely appreciate the attendance off all caring and responsible residents. Please be in the loop and contact us if you have any suggestions or would like to volunteer your time to assist in any way possible as the saying goes "the more the merrier".

Pesta Tanglung Accounts

TMP RA COMMUNITY MEET 8.12.2007 - 4.00 PM

Dear Fellow Residents,

Please be advised that the Pro-Tem RA is organising a community meet this coming Saturday 8th December 2007 @ 4.00 PM to be sitiuated at the usual meeting place near the gazebo in front of the show house.
We have distributed flyers to all residences and have even sent out email reminders to attend as hand over is imminent and due on the 18th January 2008 (less than 2 months to go).
We as residents ourselves will update all the outstanding issues that we have with the said developer and we will take down all petition via signatures for all the items we will be tabling for unaninous support and hence to be acted upon.
Please bear in mind that upon hand over the said developer will wash their hands clean of all issues and we as residents will have to fork out from our own pockets to resolve anything and everything within our taman including repairing the boomgate, enhancing the perimeter wall, treating the termites infestation evident in our taman and drainage gradient causing water ponding (breeding of mosquitoes/dengue) and lastly second entry lane as well as properly designated visitor parking bays to enhance traffic flow and convenience for all in TMP.
Your attendance is compulsory if you truly value your investment in Taman Mutiara Puchong and lastly your support is as important to help achieve common objectives we as residents have, value and peace of mind for what we had invested in.

RA Reply To Lee/Malton Dated 28.11.07

It was decided after a unanimous vote from all committee members at the 9th RA meeting held today 1st December 2007 that the letters are to be posted for all to view for the benefit of all readers cum residents.



You be the judge and do post in your comments as we would like your views on this matter. We will continue to struggle and fight for the rights of all residents as we are residents ourselves too.
Hence it is ridiculous to have to put up with baseless accusations etc. All residents in Taman Mutiara Puchong do have a personal interests, and that is to see that all matters pertaining to the end parcel are to be handed over in prime,usable condition and at a quality level acceptable for a housing development where price of the houses are ranging from RM 360,000 - 600,000++.
We want what is promised and what has been paid for, I believe this is a logical and reasonable concept and demands made to date has been for what is due.

Below is the reply by the RA Chairman to Lee/Malton letter reply to RA.
http://voices-tmp.blogspot.com/2007/12/leemalton-reply-to-ra-letter-201107.html

Dear TMP residents,

1. Security lax
a. Perimeter fence design flaw – ladder-like, too low, passable by thin person
b. No perimeter fence at phase 3 – Malton promised it would be built up by July, postponed to Aug, and then end Nov… perpetual. This is the kind of promise by Malton Bhd? So many intrusion records held by the appointed security firm. Is our demand not valid? It’s futile to put a guard to monitor at phase 3 as the gap is too wide (960ft).
c. Barb wires at base of fence along TNB high tension area – incidents and signs of intrusion coupled with 3 flights of cement ladders proved the need for barb wires is not uncalled for. Alternatively, add spikes to the existing fence to curb trespassing.
d. Malfunctioned boom gate motor at entry made guards helpless to perform their duties to check visitors. Does it take 2 months to repair a motor? Do we have to wait longer at the expense of security? Isn’t it rational to replace it with a new motor after such a long period of repair? Is Malton practising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?

2. Termite infestation
a. We are not asking Malton to fund the extermination of termite colonies behind TMP 6. It is a logical call by Malton to Antz Sign Sdn Bhd to exterminate the termite colonies knowing that they are living next to TMP houses. Infestation is visible even above ground on wooden supports to young trees, and many trees in front of our houses have died by termite attack. As a developer appointing Antz Sign Sdn Bhd to provide the service, it is logically to demand from them to exterminate the colonies even at boundaries, unless it is cronies’ business connection. This is again a matter of CSR Malton prefers to keep within the boundaries as compared to YTL Lake Edge, they send guards to patrol even our perimeter boundary, put up barb wires and wire mesh fencing even beyond TNB high tension area, beautify the service road with beautiful palm trees and twin light lamp poles. All these are beyond their boundaries. They practise good CSR.
With the above in mind and their refusal to treat knowingly termites infestation with up to 5 residences now recorded termites infestation and bearing own costs of minimum RM 1,500 - 2,500++ each, and they dare accuse the RA with baseless claims that our actions is the cause of the property price diminishing......can you believe that.

3. Drain with uneven gradient
a. Malton’s so-called solution is to lay a flat layer of cement to the uneven gradient of the drain instead of relaying with PVC type to ensure smooth flow and proper gradient. Water ponding is still observed. It is not a well done job. Please check it yourself that you will pay for the work if the drain is behind your own house. Water ponding breeds mosquitoes(dengue) and rats.
We have a confirmed report from a resident in TMP8 of her husband admitted for dengue case as at 30th November 2007 @ Sunway Medical. Whether it is due to all the water ponding in the taman is yet to be determined as we have no proof but what do you think? Something that could have been avoided again obviously.........

We have more in store on defects and short-comings. If Malton chooses to retaliate instead of resolving the problems at large, that leaves the residents no choice but seek alternatives to help solve these outstanding issues, which may mar the image of Malton further as more worms are poured out from the can in public.

We need to stay united to fight for our rights and to get back at what has been promised and spelt out in S & P. Your mandate for the elected Residents’ Association Committee is paramount to make our community a secured living place with all defects / short-comings rectified. Please spread this news to your neighbours to be aware of the goings on in this community and support the Residents’ Association fully to champion our cause.



Pro-Tem RA TMP
Steven Poh
Chairman

Lee/Malton Reply To The RA Letter 20.11.07 - A Week Later

Dear fellow readers and residents please put forth your comments pertaining the reply of the developer to the RA's justifiable requests to rectify matters for the benefit of all residents in Taman Mutiara Puchong.

Letter To Malton 20th November 2007

Dear fellow residents please kindly take the time to read the contents of the said letter to familiarize yourself with the many issues brought to the attention of the developer.
Please click on letter to enlarge for proper reading or download to print.