Poor upkeep of facilities Kajang badly needs more parks and fields

This letter was written by Dr Tan Eng Bee and appeared in The Star on Wednesday, 13 July 2011. I think he has written well and probably the matters brought up are also in the minds of many Kajang residents.

Until the next time, cheers.

Letters to The Star - Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Poor upkeep of facilities Kajang badly needs more parks and fields

I WAS born, bred and educated in Kajang, a town not too far away from commercial Kuala Lumpur, our capital Putrajaya, and only 30 minutes from KLIA.

Kajang is an interesting town as it has among the highest concentration of private and public colleges and universities in and around the town.

It is growing in terms of student population.

Strategically located in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and KLIA, Kajang has played a significant role as a residential and meeting place for businessmen, students and visitors.

Surely the authorities ought to be paying special attention to ensure proper amenities and infrastructure for Kajang to improve the movement of people, goods and services in an orderly and speedy manner.

But in the midst of massive residential development taking place, public amenities are sadly missing.

The upkeep of the town and infrastructure can be further improved with more parks, playgrounds and fields.

The few we have right now are simply inadequate to meet the needs of the residents.

Stadium Kajang which had its wall torn down not too long ago has more often been occupied by tent stalls selling food and drinks, clothing and domestic goods.

This defeats its intended purpose as a recreation place for people to exercise or just to take their evening walk around the tracks.

In fact, Kajang has not created more parks and fields for its inhabitants except existing ones which are too small to cater to the needs of the population.

It is time for MPKj to consider designating more space as parks and playing fields while more residential areas are being developed to cater for the growing population moving into Kajang.

Kajang is too concrete and it is time to shed that image for more trees to be planted and the creation of parks and playground.

One of the most jammed places is Jalan Besar as buses and taxis stop to pick and drop passengers.

I cannot understand how the main bus station could be located along this busy road where thousands of cars literally plied to and fro from Jalan Besar throughout the day.

With the pending MRT running from Sg Buloh to Kajang, and which, will run through Jalan Besar according to the masterplan, I am afraid congestion will escalate further. Relocation of this bus station in the heart of the town should be considered and a viable place elsewhere should be looked into without delay.

Jalan Bukit is another congested area as the train station is situated along a busy route, thus creating a massive movement of people.

Traffic police should be deployed to disperse the traffic.

Another concern is the cutting down of trees indiscriminately in many residential areas when a mere trimming of the branches should be the order of the day.

Trees provide shade; give us a touch of greenery and a cooling effect on the environment.

Impose strict rules pertaining to the cutting down of trees without valid reasons.

On the other hand, do consider whether the two existing wet markets, one in Kajang town and the other in Sungei Chua are able to meet the needs of the people as in most days these two markets are filled with people and there are obviously limited parking space for cars.

I strongly believe Kajang can be transformed into a ‘Garden of Eden’ as ratepayers are contributing millions annually to MPKj’s coffers and this money ought to be spent wisely on improving the infrastructure and the housekeeping of the entire town.

DR TAN ENG BEE
Kajang