What the people of Kajang want for their town

 

The Malaysian Digest, Friday, 28 February 2014 

Written by Siti Nur Sarah Mohd Khir

To future Kajang DUN,listen to what Kajangites want./Pic from mormonmissionprep.comSINCE early February, Kajang’s popularity has surged, all thanks to former Kajang’s DUN Lee Chin Cheh unexpected resignation. Chin Cheh's shocking move meant that a by-election should be in place to find his replacement.  The PKR’s ex-state assemblyman’s withdrawal was touted to give way to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who unsurprisingly had wasted no time to announce himself as Chin Cheh’s worthy replacement.

The whole political drama gave birth to a whole new reputation for Kajang. For what is synonymous as a Satay haven, this Hulu Langat’s district capital’s status has elevated to a town considered as stepping stone for Anwar in his mission to become the next Selangor’s Mentri Besar.

The by-election which is set to take place on March 23, will see Anwar competing against MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun and former cabinet minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim in the race to become the state assembly member for Kajang.

Bear in mind though, whatever the intent behind the political tactics these individuals are involved in, the future state assemblyman must be accounted for the welfare of the people in Kajang. Ideally, that should be what this appointed assemblyman upholds.

To this soon-to-be-appointed state assemblyman, whoever you may be, do have you any idea of what the Kajang’s community wishlist is?

Firstly, it is of utmost importance to know that there are 38,965 voters in Kajang where 48 per cent of them consist of the Malays. Forty one per cent of the voters are Chinese while the Indians represent 10 per cent of Kajang’s registered voters. The remaining one per cent includes other races. Media reports have previously reported that half of the voters Kajang (50.07 per cent) or 19,666 people is made ​​up of women.

Metro Kajang. Pic:RakyatNews KajangTo anticipate in this coming Kajang by-election, Malaysian Digest took upon the opportunity to survey the needs and wants of people in Kajang.

Our findings indicated that majority of the interviewees agreed on one main issue – the worsening traffic woes there. Most of them blamed the poor town planning for the problem. Road congestion in Kajang is believed to have been caused by the combination of heavy traffic volume and inefficient road system. 

For S. Murugami, 47, he reckoned that inefficient town planning of Kajang had contributed to the traffic congestion in the district. He said there is a lack of good infrastructure and this causes massive traffic jam. For most Kajangites, they choose to use the highways to avoid from being stuck in the traffic jam. But the repercussion is they have to pay a number of tolls. This is impractical especially if it is a short journey. To Murugami, this is costly too for most people. 

"Kajang is surrounded by a lot of toll plazas and we have to accept it because we can’t bring ourselves to battle our way through the heavy traffic ... imagine if you have to spend one and-a-half hour in the traffic from Sungai Chua to UPM Serdang, which is not that far apart!" said Murugami who have been a Kajang native for nearly two decades.

He said the drainage system should also be reviewed by the department responsible for it so the people of Kajang get to escape enduring the flooding.

"In case of flooding, businessman like me will lose a lot of money and I truly hope our future assemblyman will address issues like these," he told the writer.

Another Kajangite Cei San Yap, 30 considered the toll issue as the main problem for her. Often, she felt that she was forced to use the highways to avoid the dreadful traffic jam in Kajang town.

She said the elected representative should champion this plight especially when Kajang is surrounded by five different toll plazas.

The flood that took place in Kajang town back in year 2011."I propose this question to the state assemblyman because middle-class people like us will have to bear the cost of paying the tolls. You see… if you want to head to downtown Kuala Lumpur, we have to use the Kajang Toll and if we want to go to Cheras, we have to pay the Toll Batu-11. For those who want to drive to Semenyih they have to pay the Sungai Ramal toll and Bukit Kajang toll. If you want to go to Balakong, there is Sungai Balak toll ", sighed San Yap while explaining her situation.

Another issue San Yap wished to highlight is the garbage collection schedule which she believed is inconsistent. If this issue is rectified, she can picture Kajang as a clean and presentable town – an image that fits its current popularity.

"I want our place (Kajang) to look like Singapore which is clean, beautiful and has less toll .. If this materialised I feel everyone will be delighted and won’t complain as much," she said.

Kartina Khamsin, 45, when met agreed with that. She also commented on the drainage and garbage collection problem facing Kajangites.

"The drainage system is not good and garbage collection is inconsistent. These create troubles when it's the rainy season," said Kartina.

In December 2011, the town of Kajang was hit by the worst ever flash flood which led to a massive destruction and loss amounted to almost RM2.4 million.

Prior to that, Kajang town faced a similar situation in 1971 and in the 1980s. Years gone by, but the flooding problem remains as one of the biggest concerns whenever rainy season comes.

"This problem stems from the clogging in the drainage system and because people are throwing too much rubbish ... I think relevant authority should be sensitive to such situation and be proactive to tackle it. A dirty environment is not only unpleasant for us but could cost us our money," she explained.

To overcome this problem, Kartina who lives in Kajang for almost 12 years suggested an elevated parking system which can be built to allow people to park their vehicles in a special designated area. At present time, Kajangites have to park all-over Kajang town and the scattering vehicles disrupts traffic flow there. This to Kajangites has proven to be bothersome.

The aging Hospital Kajang."I think the elevated parking system will put all vehicles at one station and people will be able to do their chores by walking to wherever they need to go around the Kajang town," she said.

Another plight by a Kajangite came from Irma Ismail, 27, who wanted the 125 years old Kajang Hospital to be upgraded. She, who had just sought medical treatment at the hospital, said she had to wait for almost two hours to get herself checked.

In fact, she argued that the facilities in Kajang Hospital can be considered ‘old’ and she felt that the location of the hospital is not strategic. Such a location makes it difficult for patients to get a nearby parking. The situation worsened when there’s traffic congestion in Kajang.

"Sometimes, I had to travel further to Hospital Serdang because it is more comfortable there. Kajang Hospital to me looks aging and it is high time for the authority to upgrade it," she said.

National footballer, Safee Sali who is also a native of Kajang shared his concerns. The 28 year-old athlete certainly would like to see changes ​​made to the Kajang Stadium.He felt that the refurbishment of the stadium might contribute to the national sports scene.

Safee SaliTo him, a good sport facility will attract people to visit the stadium and play sports hence promoting a healthy lifestyle among the Kajang community. Indirectly, this too can prevent adolescent from getting involved in any unhealthy activities.

"As someone who knows sports, I'm counting on the development of the stadium for the people of Kajang, hopefully a better stadium will benefit the local residents greatly," he said.

Kajang Stadium had witnessed the greatness of football legends such as the late Supermokh 'Datuk Mokhtar Dahari, 'Spiderman' Datuk R. Arumugam, Soh Chin Aun and Santokh Singh.

But in 2010, the stadium was torn down and converted into a multi-purpose recreation center which is now called the Kajang Square.

Through our investigation, it is clear that Kajangites are experiencing quite a few issues. They all agree that they need no popular assemblyman but who they need is a ‘caretaker’ who is capable and most importantly cares for all their problems, no matter whether they are big or small.