This article appeared in The New Straits Times, Tuesday, 21 June 2011.
This problem faced in quite prevalent in many "tamans". It can be lorries, houses doing business,etc. The issue again here as in many other problems in in lack of enforcement.
There are so many areas where the local government can actually take action but do not do so. The standard excuses, as usual, no budget and lack of manpower. High time, we cannot accept frivalous excuses anymore. If they cannot do the work, change the people then. What say you?
Until the next time, cheers.
KAJANG: Taman Kajang Baru residents and traders are boiling over cold-room lorries that take up precious parking space and freeze traffic flow in Jalan 11, here.
The complainants said they have had to put up with lorries for over a year now, as numerous complaints to the Kajang Municipal Council have fallen on deaf ears.
Some businesses have closed down and the remaining shop owners along the road are barely making ends meet -- all because of one person -- the owner of a frozen food company whose vehicles have literally taken over the road.
Furious traders and residents said the owner had turned the public road into one big parking lot for his vehicles.
Streets arrived at the road in Sungai Jelok one morning recently, and found about 10 cold-room lorries parked there. All bore the same company name.
It was worse further down the road, which was dominated on both sides by large- and medium-sized vehicles. The vehicles were parked there for workers to load and unload boxes with ease. For passing motorists, however, "ease" was the last thing they were experiencing as the lorries left hardly any space for a car to squeeze between.
Chong Ah Theam, 56, who owns a curtain shop in Jalan 11, said: "Sometimes there are between 20 and 30 cold-room lorries parked in this area. This is a public road. One company cannot be allowed to monopolise the road and parking space, and in the the process, block everyone else from using it.
"Customers cannot find a place to park anywhere near my shop. The huge vehicles also block the view of my shop's signboard, and business has dipped considerably.
"Other business owners here are in a similar predicament.
"These large lorries could also knock down the children who come to the playground. Parents are reluctant to let their kids out of the house to play because a tragedy could occur anytime.
"My neighbour has sold his sundry shop business because of these lorries.
Salem Abdul Kadir, who works at D'Mashur, the new sundry shop, agreed that the lorries were creating chaos for business owners and residents.
"It's worse on weekends. Even more cold-room lorries are parked all over," said Zamri Omar, a Jalan 5 resident also affected by the problem.
"Even taking my car out is a big problem because the lorries are parked at the corners of Jalan 5 and Jalan 11.
"The lorries are more than a mere nuisance, they are a real menace because accidents are happening with disturbing regularity.
"I recently saw an accident involving a car and a motorcycle at the junction of Jalan 5 and Jalan 11, because the motorist's view was blocked by a lorry," he said.
"I have complained about the matter several times to the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) but no action has been taken.
MPKj officers came to investigate and said they would make reports, but to date, nothing has been done to tackle the problem."
Resident Zuraidah Osman said she recently saw a lorry reverse into a car.
"I fear that if nothing is done, more serious accidents will happen. My children can no longer allowed to go to the playground because I am worried about their safety," she said.
The owner of the frozen food company, who wished to be known only as Jes Ten, declined to comment beyond refuting the claims that her many cold-room lorries were causing problems in the neighbourhood.
This problem faced in quite prevalent in many "tamans". It can be lorries, houses doing business,etc. The issue again here as in many other problems in in lack of enforcement.
There are so many areas where the local government can actually take action but do not do so. The standard excuses, as usual, no budget and lack of manpower. High time, we cannot accept frivalous excuses anymore. If they cannot do the work, change the people then. What say you?
Until the next time, cheers.
KAJANG: Taman Kajang Baru residents and traders are boiling over cold-room lorries that take up precious parking space and freeze traffic flow in Jalan 11, here.
The complainants said they have had to put up with lorries for over a year now, as numerous complaints to the Kajang Municipal Council have fallen on deaf ears.
Some businesses have closed down and the remaining shop owners along the road are barely making ends meet -- all because of one person -- the owner of a frozen food company whose vehicles have literally taken over the road.
Furious traders and residents said the owner had turned the public road into one big parking lot for his vehicles.
Streets arrived at the road in Sungai Jelok one morning recently, and found about 10 cold-room lorries parked there. All bore the same company name.
It was worse further down the road, which was dominated on both sides by large- and medium-sized vehicles. The vehicles were parked there for workers to load and unload boxes with ease. For passing motorists, however, "ease" was the last thing they were experiencing as the lorries left hardly any space for a car to squeeze between.
Trader Chong Ah Team (right), resident Zamri Omar (second from right) and other stakeholders in Taman Kajang Baru are pointing their fingers at the owner of a frozen food company, whose vehicles have taken over the road. — Pictures by Syazana Rose Razman
The lorries parked at the corners of the road make it difficult, not to mention hazardous, for motorists to manouevre.
For the convenience of the workers and no one else, a lorry parks right at the doorstep of the frozen food company to unload.
Residents said they often had to use alternative roads to enter and exit the housing area.Chong Ah Theam, 56, who owns a curtain shop in Jalan 11, said: "Sometimes there are between 20 and 30 cold-room lorries parked in this area. This is a public road. One company cannot be allowed to monopolise the road and parking space, and in the the process, block everyone else from using it.
"Customers cannot find a place to park anywhere near my shop. The huge vehicles also block the view of my shop's signboard, and business has dipped considerably.
"Other business owners here are in a similar predicament.
"These large lorries could also knock down the children who come to the playground. Parents are reluctant to let their kids out of the house to play because a tragedy could occur anytime.
"My neighbour has sold his sundry shop business because of these lorries.
Salem Abdul Kadir, who works at D'Mashur, the new sundry shop, agreed that the lorries were creating chaos for business owners and residents.
"It's worse on weekends. Even more cold-room lorries are parked all over," said Zamri Omar, a Jalan 5 resident also affected by the problem.
"Even taking my car out is a big problem because the lorries are parked at the corners of Jalan 5 and Jalan 11.
"The lorries are more than a mere nuisance, they are a real menace because accidents are happening with disturbing regularity.
"I recently saw an accident involving a car and a motorcycle at the junction of Jalan 5 and Jalan 11, because the motorist's view was blocked by a lorry," he said.
"I have complained about the matter several times to the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) but no action has been taken.
MPKj officers came to investigate and said they would make reports, but to date, nothing has been done to tackle the problem."
Resident Zuraidah Osman said she recently saw a lorry reverse into a car.
"I fear that if nothing is done, more serious accidents will happen. My children can no longer allowed to go to the playground because I am worried about their safety," she said.
The owner of the frozen food company, who wished to be known only as Jes Ten, declined to comment beyond refuting the claims that her many cold-room lorries were causing problems in the neighbourhood.
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