The Star, Saturday February 11, 2012

Clean up vacant houses, MPKj urged

THE Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has been urged to clean up the unsightly compound of a few vacant houses in Taman Suria Jaya, Cheras.

Serdang MCA Public and Services Complaints Bureau chairman Allan Liew said such units posed safety and health risks to the residents nearby.

He said burglars could sneak into neighbouring houses through the roof of the vacant lots.

Unsightly: Liew (right) is urging MPKj to clean up the vacant houses. With him is Mohd Noordin.

 

“The MPKj should search the records and contact the house owners. If the units are not sold, the council should then take the responsibility to maintain the place,” he said.

Taman Suria Jaya Muslim Residents Association chairman Mohd Noordin Mohd Idrus said one of the houses in Jalan Bunga Mawar 9 had always been vacant since he moved in 18 years ago.

The house owner owed MPKj about RM1,900 of assessment.

“We do not know who owns the house. The residents also sealed the entrance of the house with wooden planks to prevent drug addicts from entering the premises,” Mohd Noordin said.

He said there were three or four dengue cases in the residential area last year and the MPKj was notified of the vacant lots.

Serdang MCA deputy chairman Datuk Hoh Hee Lee said the councils had the right to clean up the units and then bill the cost to the house owners.

MPKj councillor Steven Chan said the council was tracing the owners of the vacant units.

“If they do not clean up and settle the compound, the council will clear the mess on their behalf and charge them,” he said.