Tuesday, April 01, 2008
DBKL – Dubious Bureaucrats Kill Lives
Posted by: jane_anderson
To The Editor – The Star
Sanctuary Ridge is a luxury residential project given a development order by DBKL in October 2007. The site is on the KL part of Gasing hill.The developers have begun clearing, despite legal action by affected residents.
The current legal action is not the first run in with the law, the development has been in court frequently. In 2004, DBKL repeatedly rejected applications for the same development. Why now, 4 years later, does DBKL feel it is permissible? Fair means or foul? Who is who’s pocket?
In 2004, a great deal of the objections raised by DBKL themselves, related to the steepness of the slope and it’s likely collapse under such development. The upper reaches of the slope are the most precarious, and the Federal Government has banned developments on such slopes with a steepness of more than 20 degrees. The now approved development application, DBKL 0ctober 2007 – is precisely the same type of development that was fought by DBKL itself in 2004. The development application of the area was ultimately rejected by the High Court in these legal proceedings. http://www.ipsofactoj.com/appeal/2004/Part1/app2004(1)-011.htm (Gasing Meridian vs The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur)
In 2007, reacting to news of the relaunch of the development, concerned residents met with the relevant DBKL authorities on numerous occasions. Our KL city hall officials, for whom some of us pay exorbitant rates, are not inclined to help the people at all. Promises were broken, minuted meetings altered entirely – and in an unprecedented instance, DBKL refused the rights of the residents to be heard in a public hearing, necessitating the current legal action.
The first stage of the Sanctuary Ridge developer’s plans will see the leveling of the affected area, beginning with the steep slopes; thereby ‘mitigating’ the danger of the slope. Impartial experts in the field of soil stability agree that this area will remain unstable, and that any development will result in collapse. The surrounding Gasing Heights condominiums, terrace houses in Gasing Indah and Kampung Pantai Dalam, will all be under threat of landslide from hill collapse and the water reservoir of 23 million litres perched at the apex of the development area.
Developers are experts at manipulating the situation. They have conveniently left the reservoir out of their diagrams – so we can measure their integrity by such actions. In another calculated manipulation of the laws put in place to protect the environment – the development falls 50 square meters under the legal size that would require a Full Environmental Impact Report. The Preliminary Environmental Impact Report, commissioned and paid for by the developers, was withheld from the residents (but later obtained from a 3rd party). It is so erroneous and deliberately omitting of pertinent facts, that independent experts in the field say it is worthless. DBKL is either sleeping or on the payroll – even when the errors are pointed out to them, they have done nothing to investigate.
The planned area of 38-acre is old forest/jungle and is essential to the stability of the slope and it’s perimeters. But it is not the loss of trees that is the ultimate concern – it is the threat to lives and property.
On 17th March 2008 , the High Court found grounds for the Joint Action Committee of Bukit Gasing Residents to proceed with their application for hearing their grievances over the proposed development. The intention is to force DBKL to hold a public hearing and let the voices of the residents have their entitled forum for debate.The next scheduled court hearing was set for 28th of April.
In complete and flagrant disregard for the concerns of those taking action against them, the latest missive from the developers posted widely around the area, thanks local residents for their “support”. This is an outrageous and false public relations doctoring of the true sentiments. The furious residents Joint Action Committee is taking further legal action to stop the clearing and to stop all further work until the Public Hearing can be convened.
Mean time, the developers are intent on selling to as many gullible investors as possible. Potential investors should note the performance of the same company directors, under the liquidated company “Gasing Meridian / Gasing Heights Development”. Over a decade or so, 6 condominium towers were constructed. When the original development orders for Sanctuary Ridge (aka Gasing Meridian;Sanctuary Gasing) were refused in the courts in 2003 with costs ordered against them; the company went into liquidation. The company behaved in spectacularly bad fashion to the residents of Fraser, Cameron and Maxwell Towers. Again, and in on going legal action, the residents have had to fight tooth and nail for the developers to honour their commitments to the purchasers. Strata titles are still not out after more than a decade of fighting. Hurdles and caveats were constantly thrown in the path of sorting out the issues. Potential investors should be wary about their safety, investment and playing a part in such wholesale destruction of precious forest.
In a very ‘in your face’ example of the imminent threat, illegal extensions to the Siva Temple on Bukit Gasing PJ Side; have resulted in tangible destruction to the slope. MBPJ authorities are incapable of stopping this illegal structure, which has caused two major landslides at the entrance to Fraser Towers condominium. This terrain is at the same ridge of the hill where the proposed development will border. Independent experts, the same individuals who are used by the DBKL authorities in their surveys – find that all the mitigating work to stop further landslide is in complete NON compliance with procedures.
A disaster will happen if the temple – illegal temple – is not dismantled. Work carries on despite the stop work order – the contractors using tarpaulins to shield the ongoing work. And where are our MBPJ officials?
If the authorities are incapable and clearly unwilling to stop an illegal structure – what chance do Malaysians stand to have even a fair hearing over a dubiously endorsed legal destruction of our green areas, and potential loss of life? The structure is illegal – take it down and protect those lives at risk, especially the residents in Fraser Towers.
PJ residents have voted and elected to office State Assemblymans & Parliamentarians who stood at the last general election on environmental issues. I am relieved to have these people in a position of some influence, and there is a chance that honesty may prevail. The resident’s ultimate aim is to have the area, once and for all protected from development threats.
In a culture of pure greed and corruption, the repercussions can be fatal. I call on all residents in the area and particularly to the Malay community leaders in Kampung Pantai Dalam, to join in the protest to stop the development of Bukit Gasing KL side. Our only chance is to stand united and fight for the survival of the area.
Very Concerned Resident
