Erosion at Puchong pond getting worse

By THO XIN YI


Worse than before: The erosion has almost reached the chain link fence around the pond.

THE soil erosion at the lake edge near Taman Mutiara Puchong has become worse and the residents want action taken immediately.

The problem was highlighted in StarMetro on July 17 last year but nothing has been done to tackle the problem.

“Now, after six months of consistent downpour, the soil has eroded further into the lake. Large crevasses have appeared up to the perimeter fencing,” resident Gerard Lim said.

He is worried that the problem may worsen in the coming months.

“The residents hope that the developer and the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) can respond positively with a permanent measure to rectify the problem and not wait for a bigger problem to happen,” he said.

The developer, when contacted in November, said the land at the side of the pond does not belong to them.

“The chain link fence represents the demarcation line between Mutiara Puchong and the other people’s land.

“We have surrendered the lake edge area (which was landscaped earlier) to the local council. Hence, it does not belong to us and neither does the pond.

“Since the land belongs to another party, technically, we cannot be held responsible for erosion control on their land,” it said in a statement.

However, the developer was keen to address the problem by constructing a couple of sumps at the affected area.

“Whenever it rains, the water will find a natural course to flow. In this particular case, the rain happened to flow from the landscaped area into the pond. Over time, this had created the erosion of the lake edge.

“We can collect the water into a sump and then channel the water through pipes directly into the pond. This will prevent the rainwater from causing further scouring of the slopes of the pond,” the developer’s statement said.

MPSJ councillor Chang Kim Loong told StarMetro recently that he was aware of the issue.

“I have submitted an official letter to the council to highlight the erosion problem, as well as the incident two months ago where fish in the lake died suddenly.

“Some said the fish died because of discharge from a nearby factory, while some said it was due to the change in the water temperature.

“The MPSJ will carry out investigation on these matters.

“I will drop by the MPSJ today to see what can be done to solve these problems,” he said.

A RESIDENTS FEEDBACK
Dear Xin Yi,
Thank you once again for highlighting the issue of soil erosion at the lake edge of Taman Mutiara Puchong in StarMetro on Tuesday 6th January 2009.

It is nonsensical for the developer Malton to claim that the land at the edge of the pond does not belong to them when the developer themselves had dumped many truck loads of earth into the lake to prevent further structural cracking of the corner houses / units which till today left several unsold! I have photo evidence showing the original land area when we moved into our home in 2007 and the present extended land area of 50'ft further into the lake.
By the developer simply putting up the chain link perimeter fencing is not suffice to say that it is the demarcation line between Mutiara Puchong and the land of others! Strangely indeed, how does a developer surrender only the lake edge to the local council MPSJ when the entire Taman Mutiara Puchong has yet to be surrendered to the local council? Yet, residents of Taman Mutiara Puchong have for the past two years been paying the local council MPSJ "Cukai Taksiran"..Assessment Tax.

Obviously, the developer is "washing their hands" of this matter by pushing the responsibility to the local council MPSJ. I sincerely hope that the local council MPSJ would be quick-witted in handling this matter and not be coerced into accepting otherwise.

Best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Gerard Lim





_______________________________
Cr Chang Reply

Hi Xin Yi,
Thanks for highlighting the issue in the media in your StarMetro 6.1.09 issue titled ' Erosion at Puchong pond getting worse'.

The impending issues were deliberated in the Jawatankuasa One Stop Centre (OSC) MPSJ this (8.1.09) afternoon.
The Director of Enginering Dpt. En Adnan Derahman has yesterday (7.1.09) visited the site and is finalising his report to the committee.

The Director of OSC, En Norjafni has forthwith been directed to initiate a meeting to be chaired by Timbalan YDP inviting all the related developers; namely Malton, YTL, Glomac and Interpile as well as all the neighbouring RAs namely, Persatuan Penduduk Tmn Mutiara Puchong, protem committee Lake Edge and Lakeview to attend the discussion and to sort out the imminent problems in no uncertain terms.

As soon as a date and time is fixed, all are invited to attend and be heard. I shall notify you in due course and shall be at the meeting with Cr Ng Sze Han.

Regards,
Cr Chang Kim Loong AMN
Ahli Majlis MPSJ/ JKP Zon 9
_________________________________________
Taman Mutiara Residents Association Reply

Dear Cr Chang & Xin Yi,

Thank you for highlighting and bring up the soil erosion issue to the press and the relevant authorities to act before a catastrophe occurs; otherwise the Developer would be very famous for the wrong reason, and the owners of the affected houses (should the houses collapse into the eroded lake edge) would have their properties "gone with the water" and the whole Taman house value "gone down the drain".

From a layman's view, the cause was that there was no sheet piling done at the lake edge. The last soil collapse reached the last corner house whose entire garden and fence disappeared, which prompted the Developer's immediate action to re-fill hundreds of lorry loads of soil to maintain the lake edge to its present distance from the lake, as confirmed by Gerard's statement.

Rain water supposedly flows into drain holes at road curbs drags with them sand and mud, clogging the holes. Heavy downpour has been causing flood in this stretch next to the lake caused by the clogged holes. Flood water over flows to the lake edge and that's how the soil has been eroded so fast. The Residents' Association has proposed to the Developer rep to install pipes connecting rain water at the curb edge directly into the lake, but was turned a deaf ear probably due to cost factor and the common "contractually not obligated" statement. Instead, the Developer has dug a trench within and along the perimeter fencing and channel the collected rain water out to the same eroded spot, which is not a solution. In fact it would accelerate the soil erosion even faster.

Mutiara Puchong experienced not less than 6 times serious flooding. One of the causes was most of the sumps in front of each adjoining house was clogged by sand which impeded water flow to the monsoon drain just outside the entrance of the Taman. Rain water has to flow into holes at the road curb through underground drains to the bigger drain at the north near the TNB high tension area. This is an ex-tin-mine land and the amount of sand being flushed into the holes is massive. MPSJ has to maintain a routine schedule to clear the sump to avoid flooding recurrence.

Taman Mutiara Puchong RA look forward to the meeting with MPSJ, the 3 Developers and RA Committees, and we will bring along photos to support our findings and hope to find a solution to the erosion problem before a calamity happens.

Thank you again for your unrelented efforts to help house buyers in championing their cause, which if they fight alone would never be successful.

With regards,
Steven Poh
Chairman
TMP RA

Fogging Exercise In TMP 6.11.2008

Recently in TMP the fogging exercise was completed to keep the mosquito population at bay temporarily as one of the many measures to maintain the healthy living concept in TMP, do take note that the fogging exercise was initiated and paid for by the RA through the collection of the monthly service fees.
Hence to all contributors, this is only but one of the many costs involved in maintaining TMP. I can also predict not in the distant future that we are required to also do some maintenance work on the perimeter wall fencing i.e. painting the grille and wall itself plus other repairs.
Another recently approved initiative is to have 7 road humps erected in designated areas after careful surveys done of the entire TMP area. This is to discourage the many drivers in TMP whom allegedly speeding very dangerously without any concern that they may one day knock into a child crossing the road to the park or maybe cycling along the roads in TMP.
The RA has opted to go ahead and be proactive in getting things done as MPSJ reply to the RA that they were unable to erect the road humps due to the fact that the said roads handover are yet to be completed (mind you this has been the same reason more than a year ago when the RA first applied to have these road hunps erected for the safety and well being of the residents).
Imagine the duration of time it takes to get things done or for the authority to compel the developer to act in a social responsible manner? Imagine if an accident was to happen in TMP, then what will the reaction be? You tell me?
Imagine if the RA was not formed then what will happen, if the well being was left to the authority and the developer? Hmmmmmmm.............. from all the ding dong they are involved in until today probably status quo.
The next project the RA will like to embark on as planned will be to construct the second entry lane, this is more complicated and the RA is currently pushing hard to get the approval from MPSJ. We have not heard any reply yet from MPSJ as this particular issue requires the regazetting of the said area to be used to carry out the said proposed dual entry lane. Very complicating but the ball is rolling and currently on the MPSJ side of it. The RA is prepared to fork out the amount for the said construction as this is for the benfit of all the residents in TMP but alas still the same old dilemma of waiting for a favourable reply (this proposal was submitted more than a year ago as well).
Stay tuned.........

Flooding In TMP 6 between Phase 1 and 3

Pictures taken 2nd June 2008 (Monday 3.00 PM - 4.00 PM)
Above pictures showing the junction road between TMP 6 Phase 1 and Phase 3 flooding with water rising approximately up to 4 inches and at some places especially the backlane of TMP higher due to uneven gradient. Such flooding is common and I believe in this blog we have posted pictures and videoclips of previous floods during Raya October'07 and a couple other occasions. The RA have submitted many complaints before previously to the then adun of Kinrara Dr.Kow Cheong Wei and also to MPSJ. The developer has also been informed of this on numerous occasions. Though the flood water receeded quickly this time around it is still not acceptable that the said water level can still rise and that the drain sump can still backflow and be filled to the brim during heavy downpour. This is unusual amd abnormal to say the least. To all residents please forward your complaints individually as I believe residents in Phase 3A are also concerned and it is to my knowledge that the road right in front of the guardhouse will also be flooded during heavy downpour, unfortunately I do not have photos (need someone to send to me) to show of these other places affected by flooding within the same TMP compound. Please forward your complaints via online to MPSJ in their online complaint portal called "RESPONZ". Please sign in as a member and state clearly your complaints providing nature of complaints and location of the said complaint. Clearly provide your contact details for MPSJ to verify. If you are able to provide photograph evidence and post online and link in to your complaint then it will be better, only if you can do so.


More Vclips
Backlane Vclip 1
Backlane Vclip 2

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.

Flood VClip 3

Flood VClip 2

GREAT HARI RAYA FLOOD IN TMP - V1

Well, well and well......love to utter these words and I believe this is the perfect time to say "I Told You So Malton Bhd". Please click this link to see why? (Pics taken after the flood 14.10.2007)

This is a perfect and classic example of a developer like Malton Bhd not paying heed to the numerous complaints of its residents and this is the end result. This is headline stuff, imagine paying for a RM 380,000 plus home and having to deal with flooding after more than 1 year living in Taman Mutiara Puchong.

This incident was avoidable and definitely could have been prevented by Malton Bhd as the Resident Association have on numerous occasion highlighted the flooding of the backlane drainage as well as the drainage sump filled with sand and not to mention the gradient of the said drains is not optimum for enhancing drainage water flow out of TMP. (Please refer to pevious post as well as photo chronicle and do pay special attention to the dates of the posts, many months ago).

This is a very serious affair and we will make sure all home owners and Malaysians as well as propective home buyers will be informed of the incident as to how to avoid being in the position like residents in TMP as well how better the respective government agencies should govern developers that do not practice proper corporate social responsibility.

This is something we can all learn from and this is a slap in the face to Malton Bhd, as a main board listed company in Malaysia apparently ranked 32nd in the list of top developers in the country to have such an incident in one of its development portfolio. It a shame and it is unacceptable. Believe me this is one of the many issues unresolved and we the RA and all the residents are now even more united and vigilant after this. We will not waver our rights nor will we compromise from now on but instead "DEMAND" that Malton Bhd act now on every single justifiable complaint we have submitted to date and we will not stop in our efforts to lobby all governmental agencies and regulatory body until Taman Mutiara Puchong is the way it was suppose to have been built and delivered to all home owners.

Please advice all your friends and family members to be careful and to do the necessary research before purchasing from any developers. Spread the word let it be known that not all developers are the same and not all can be trusted and depended upon when push comes to shove and when promises made are not honoured.

More Pictures available in Picasa Web Album.

Termites Infestation - Another Victim In TMP (3rd Case)

Below is the email received from a fellow resident pertaining termites infestation which solidify the evidence to date that Antz Sdn Bhd appointed by Malton Bhd our "Beloved" developer has again failed its customers in Taman Mutiara Puchong in providing a level of service that is of acceptable quality as far as a main board listed developer company is concern.
Please refer to the previous posts pertaining the termite menace which all residents should pay special attention to.
To date recorded actual termite cases are No: 79 (Michael Yeoh), No:85 (Steven Poh) and now No: 99 (Andy Collier)...........who will be next??? YOU??? Incidentally all from TMP 6, reason you may ask well we have termite colonies as our neighbours and is it our fault to get these infestations because we renovated our houses? Like I did mention before 9 out of 10 Malaysian home owners will renovate their houses hence why did Antz Sdn Bhd have such a clause in their terms and conditions? Pretty obvious right who the terms and conditions is protecting!!! Imagine getting a certificate of warranty for 5 years and with such a clause for Malaysian home owners, pure "BULLS**T"........absolutely moronic, might as well not give such a warranty in the first place and yes we know this is another ploy to ensure that Malton's marketing arm represented by Interpile Sdn Bhd has a sizzle when they pitch us the benefit and value add when they were selling us the property back then (not to mention "Gated & Guarded" concept) of high security with perimeter fencing with nicely printed A&P materials depicting a housing community which we will be happy living in...........mind you at that point in time we only had a concept and the intangible idea of what it will be like.
To date however reality wise it is not the same as what has been pitched to us and the idea sold at that point in time as compared to the the perimeter fencing we end up having, the single lane entry and exit, the current lack of quality in the boomgate, the poor cctv equipment available and last but not least termite protection that do not actually work.
I believe a lot of residents are telling themselves "Haiyaaaa what to do, the developer so big we already sign deed of mutual covenant.........so what can we do???" Well I do once have the same mentality but alas I have changed since then as I truly believe any misrepresentation as long as justifiable with reasonable grounds is a battle already won, even if Malton Bhd is big or small it makes no difference because "The bigger they are the harder they fall".
Logic and commense sense by the common people will prevail, laws are made and amended through change of governments and globalisation, in the case of Taman Mutiara Puchong we the residents have the power to force Malton Bhd to put their money where their mouth is. Who printed the A&P materials with those pictures in it? Who approved it if they were to say that marketing is a separate entity? Who contracted the subcontractors? I do not have to go that far in proving my point.....just look at the advertising signages they put up in front of Tesco hypermarket and tell me what do you see in the pictures depicting?
Now all the new buntings by the road side leading into TMP promoting free "Viva" cars if you were to purchase a unit of Phase 3B in Taman Mutiara Puchong as a gimmick to attract buyers as a "CARROT".....I wonder if there are so many bunnies out there today, when after all these issues highlighted by residents whom have paid $$$ to buy such a property and have prompted Malton Bhd to help solve to date and some outstanding for more than 8 months are yet to be entertained. FYI to date the perimeter fencing for phase 3A and 3B is still unresolved due to Malton's project team's failure to factor in soil settlement issues, landfill until today is still ongoing and projected target date for completion has been rescheduled 3 times already to date. FYI there are residents already residing in Phase 3A and without a perimeter fence so another breach of contract or misrepresentation?
I believe some credit must be given to the current management team in the maitenance office for resolving issues within their powers to solve, which coincidentally are the ones that is quite trivial eg. notice board (which incidentally was mention in the house rule book provided by Malton), repainting the back boards of the basketball court, to repair lighting in the park, repair lighting at the guardhouse, acquiring new boomgate pole cleaning the common areas, unclogging drain sump etc. Kudos to the individual/s whom are doing their best to assist us residents.
I will continue with another post soon enough to further justify the injustification by Malton in not keeping to their end of the bargain....so stay tuned......cheers!

Note:
I love my home in TMP so if you think I am a crazy blogger for fame sake well think again but honestly I am just a home buyer whom have invested hard earned $$$ and expected more from a developer previously associated with reputable real estate development like Li Villa and Bukit Rimau and currently "The Pavillion". So why the poor quality and finishing we residents in Taman Mutiara Puchong have to endure? Why Malton Bhd is not doing anything about it? Are they too big to be concerned or too well connected to bother about issues brought up by the "RAKYAT". Well.........what do you have to say as fellow residents?

Previous post on termites: Silent Menace (posted in August 2007)

Dear house owners,

Please be aware of the threat of Termites within our community, unfortunately yesterday (1oth October 2007) I have had to call in a pest controller to spray the whole house. Luckily I noticed the Termites fairly quickly and it has been confined to the ground floor but still they have managed to damaged my laminated floor and were starting to move up to the second level. Although we have been issued a certificate from Malton's pest controller for the original treatment (I think a 5 year warranty), the terms and conditions state that the warranty is void if renovations have been carried out. According to the pest controller, the Termites entered the house at the main drainage pipe at the front where there was a gap between the pipe and foundations (funny as I have had no renovations done there - again I question the quality of Maltons appointed vendors). I tend to take this up with Malton as I am pretty sick of their poor workmanship (Water leaks, electrical problems, a gate that took 10 months to fix & now Termites within a year) I come home every night and wonder what will go wrong next!!!. Attached are a few pictures for your reference so please beware. (Pictures to be posted as I have requested from Andy in Jpeg format).

Regards Andy Collier No.99 TMP 6