The Star, Thursday September 27, 2012

Taskforce to tackle flood problems in Kajang

By VIJENTHI NAIR 

vijenthi@thestar.com.my

A special taskforce has been set up to find permanent solution to the floods in Kajang.

Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman said the special taskforce comprising relevant departments and agencies would be endorsed at the council’s fullboard meeting today.

“Starting October, the team will be working on finding an immediate, short term and long term solution to the series of recent floods that has devastated the people in Kajang,” he said at the monthly public complaints monitoring meeting,

To address the problem of damaged roads caused by leaking cement lorries, MPKj is engaging the public to help catch the culprits in action, in exchange for cash reward.

“If the public can capture photographs showing the cement lorry together with its plate number leaking cement on the road and reports it to us, they stand to receive up to RM500 in cash for each successful action taken against the culprit,” he said.

“The cement lorries on the other hand, will be compounded up to a maximum of RM1,000 if found at fault,” he said.

During the meeting, Hasan also instructed the enforcement officers to check on the complaints by the public on parking lots being hogged by business operators by placing cones or items like unused tyres for their convenience.

“Business operators are only allowed to rent one lot outside their premises in the town area for RM150 per month while for the outskirts, we can consider allocating more parking lots for rent for RM100 per month.

“Hogging of parking lots is contributing to a lot of congestion especially in the commercial area, causing the public to double or even triple parking their vehicles leaving a narrow space for other vehicles to move to run errands.

“We know many are hogging the parking spaces illegally.

“We are aware of the worsening situation.

“Enforcement officer will be making their rounds to check on the complaints soon.

“We are also discussing on installing metered parking system to avoid parking space hogging and allow more parking turnover.

“The majority of the business owners will also be happy with the system because it also means more customer traffic,” he said.

At last, some action. I think the media has highlighted this issue so many times.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Thursday September 27, 2012

MPKj using its own funds to strengthen slope in Taman Bukit Kajang Baru

By OH ING YEEN 

ingyeen@thestar.com.my

THE Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has appointed a contractor to strengthen the slope in Jalan 12, Taman Bukit Kajang Baru in Kajang.

Speaking to reporters after the council’s monthly full board meeting, its president Datuk Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman, said: “We have written to the state government and Housing and Local Government Ministry for funds but we cannot wait any longer, hence we will use council funds amounting to RM2.2mil to strengthen the slope.”

The council has appointed a contractor on Sept 21 and works are expected to begin mid-October and completed in two months.

The council has also appointed a contractor to fix the Sungai Langat bridge near the Batu 11 toll plaza.

Long-awaited: The Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has appointed a contractor to strengthen the slope in Jalan 12 Taman Bukit Kajang Baru, Kajang.

MPKj has borrowed RM3mil from the state government to fund the works.

StarMetro had previously reported that landslips occurred in the area in 2000 and 2005.

In 2010, StarMetro reported that the cost to repair the slope had doubled from the RM1.3mil quoted two years ago to RM2.9mil (“Slope repair costs escalate to RM2.9mil”, Oct 10, StarMetro).

On the recent flood at Taman Sungai Segamat that affected 41 houses, Hassan cited the downpour and obstructed water flow in Sungai Segamat as the factors.

“The council will increase the height of the river bank with sand bags.

“The developer will divert the river flow, deepen the retention pond and carry out desilting,” he said, adding that it would take one month to finish the works.

During the meeting, councillor Zulfikar Ali Ariffin hit out at council officers for their lack of urgency in dealing with the recent floods.

“Residents were questioning me about the flood situation and when I called the department heads, they did not answer their phones.

“I did not know about the technical part of the situation. How was I to answer the people’s queries?” he asked.

The Star, Thursday September 20, 2012

Service centre takes a leaf out of pizza delivery’s book

By THO XIN YI 

thoxinyi@thestar.com.my

TAKING a cue from fastfood delivery, the Kajang 1Malaysia Service Centre is introducing Ops Pizza to “deliver” its service.

The centre’s chief Loh Chew June said the team would meet senior citizens and the physically challenged at their homes or kopitiams to solve their problems.

“Our service centre is located on the second floor, so it might be inconvenient for these groups. We will go to them after they call us to make an appointment,” he said at the launch of the service centre at the MCA building in Jalan Sungai Chua, Kajang.

Regular sessions at kopitiams are also in the pipeline to meet the people directly.

Loh, a fomer Kajang municipal councillor, said he had been operating his service centre since 2003 at various locations, such as Sungai Long, Sungai Chua and the town centre.

At your service: Gan (third from left) launching the Kajang 1Malaysia Service Centre at the MCA building in Jalan Sungai Chua.

He moved into the present office six months ago and renamed the service centre 1Malaysia.

Loh said improving security was one of the key points in their agenda, through the newly launched Kajang 1Malaysia Voluntary Patrol Squad.

About 200 members recruited will be divided into teams to work with police and patrol residential areas at night.

“Self-defence and law workshops will be held for the volunteers,” he said.

Besides urging the state government and the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) to solve the flood problem in Kajang and to improve the road conditions, Loh said he would continue to highlight problems faced by the community.

MCA vice-president Gan Ping Sieu, who officiated at the event, advised the team to serve sincerely and be patient in dealing with the people.

He also condemned the act of vandalising service centres and spoke out against politics of destruction and hatred.

To contact the service centre, call its hotlines 018-255 9888, 018-277 9888 or 018-371 9888.

The Star, Saturday September 15, 2012

Trader and woman killed — a week after his friend’s murder

KAJANG: A businessman and a woman were murdered in a double-storey house in Taman Segar Perdana here.

 

They were believed to have been killed early on Thursday morning, but their death was discovered only after a friend went to the house at about 10pm.

He dropped by at the house after his effort to contact them was unsuccessful.

Crime scene: The house in Taman Segar Perdana where Leong and Vivien were found murdered.

 

Leong Kian Sheong, 37, and Vivien Wong, 20, were found in a pool of blood in the study room on the ground floor of the house. There were slash wounds on several parts of their body.

Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab said investigations revealed that there was more than one suspect involved in the double murder.

He said they might have escaped with the victims' watches, jewellery and cash.

“They also escaped in the two vehicles that belonged to the victims,” he said at the scene.

Police believed that the suspects had thought that no one would be home when they entered.

ACP Abdul Rashid said police seized a machete. “We have not ruled out robbery as the motive,” he said.

Police are also checking to see if the killings were connected to another murder case in Bangi last week. In that incident, the body of a man, believed to have been bludgeoned, was found near his car at a road-shoulder off Jalan Mahkota 1.

Wong Sin Keong, 42, had injuries on the head as a result of a blow with a blunt object, apart from bruises on the face. Wong and Leong were friends.

The bodies of Leong and Vivien have been sent to Serdang hospital for a post-mortem.

The Star Metro, Thursday September 6, 2012

Waters rise too quickly

RESIDENTS and business owners in Taman Sri Serdang spent the whole of yesterday morning cleaning up after a massive flash flood hit the area on Tuesday night.

Soggy mattresses and damaged furniture can be seen dumped outside homes while house and business owners got busy cleaning the mud and debris that had washed into their premises.

Jamek Maju restaurant owner Abdul Karim Abdul Rahman, 71, said it started raining about 5.30pm and by 6pm the water level rose rapidly in shops along Jalan 18/45.

To the rescue: Fire and Rescue officers ferrying students and residents to safety during the flash flood in Taman Sri Serdang

 

“We have had floods in this area before but it was never this bad. We could not salvage our stock in time.

“We had to throw out most of the cooked food and items such as sugar, flour and rice. Three of our refrigerators have also been damaged and we are trying to wash the mud of bottled drinks that are not damaged,” he said.

Hikmat Auto worker Rizal Zakaria said the water rose to waist level and most of the cars and machinery in the car repair shop were damaged.

“Most of us had to wait out the floods on the tables of the restaurant next door. The water didn’t subside until about 1am in the morning,” he said.

Plenty to do: Rizal cleaning up the muddy mess outside the car repair shop.

 

Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) public relations senior assistant director Asfarizal Abdul Rashid said the council had deployed about 50 personnel including Emergency Response Team officers and cleaning contractors to help with the clean-up.

“Our priority is to clean up the main roads and we will be picking up the damaged bulk items thrown out of houses and shops.

“We are also helping with the clean-up of SK Sri Serdang that has been closed for a day,” he said.

The Fire and Rescue Department, Parents-Teachers Association and residents’ association committee members were also at the school to clean up the classrooms.

Soaking wet: The shophouses along Jalan 18/45 were inundated with waist-high waters.

 

Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah said SMK Seri Indah and SJKC Serdang Baru 2 in Serdang Lama were also badly affected by the floods.

“The Fire and Rescue Department had to use boats to ferry afternoon sesion students who were still in school when the floods hit. Many cars were also damaged. MPSJ was cleaning the area in the morning,” he said.

The Star, Metro, Thursday September 6, 2012

Wet night for Kajang

A downpour in the Klang Valley on Tuesday evening caused flash floods and massive traffic jam. Kajang and Serdang were the worst-hit areas with water reaching as high as 1m in some residential areas. Several schools were forced to shut yesterday to facilitate clean-up.

A clean-up operation was carried out in the outskirts of Kajang after flash floods wreaked havoc on Tuesday evening, forcing more than 200 families to move out of their houses as flood waters reached waist-high.

The Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) sent out a damage assessment team to determine the number of houses and businesses that were affected by the floods.

Inundated: A house near Sungai Ramal during the flash floods on Tuesday evening.

 

Council president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman said the immediate measure was to help residents clean their houses of mud and silt.

“We have sent out a team of 30 men equipped with water jets to clean the affected houses and roads. We are also evaluating damage done to these premises to ascertain the losses.

“Tuesday’s downpour started at 3.30pm and lasted for four hours. Within the first two hours, the rain index was above 60mm according to the Drainage and Irrigation Department’s (DID) alert signal. It reached 113mm at 5.43pm which was classified as a disaster alert,” he said.

Hasan said he was informed of the flash floods by the Kajang police operations room.

Tough job: Many spent the morning cleaning their houses of mud and silt.

 

“DID notified me that water had overflowed the banks of Sungai Langat and Sungai Jelok. The situation worsened as the downpour continued until 7.30pm. Drains around the villages of Kampong Jambu, Taman Muhibbah, Sungai Kantan, Taman Sekamat Kampong Tasik Sungai Chuah, Kampong Paya in Sungai Ramal and Taman Impian Setia at Jalan 8 were inundated with water,” he said.

Hasan said the North-South Expressway opposite Country Heights heading towards Universiti Putra Malaysia was closed to traffic for 40 minutes as it was flooded.

“No one in Kajang was evacuated from their houses to the relief centre as flood waters subsided by 10pm and clean-up had begun in the wee hours of the morning,” he said.

He added that reports found that ponds close to the river had also burst their banks.

A check with the Kajang police showed no reports were lodged on injuries caused by the floods.

The Star, Thursday September 6, 2012

Clogged trash screen at pump house caused Serdang floods

SERI KEMBANGAN: Rubbish clogging the trash screen of the Sg Kuyoh pump house here contributed to Tuesday's flash floods at Taman Sri Serdang.

Drainage and Irrigation Department pump operator Zulkafli Osthman, 41, said the pumps were started once heavy rains began.

“They can usually pump stormwater from the drains in a matter of minutes. But rubbish clogged the screen and water could not enter the pump house to be channelled into the river,” he said at the pump house behind SK Sri Serdang yesterday.

He said the trash rake used to clear rubbish stuck on the screen was malfunctioning and contractors had yet to repair it.

Dirty job: Pupils helping fireman Rozli Mohd Sirun clean one of SK Sri Serdang’s classrooms.

 

“I can't do anything until the rake is fixed. In the meantime, the local council must address the source of rubbish getting into drains,” said Zulkafli.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, who visited SK Sri Serdang, said Sri Serdang was a natural low-lying area and was prone to flooding.

Meanwhile, overcast skies yesterday put a dampener on the clean-up work of Taman Sri Serdang residents.

The flash floods inundated more than 200 houses and 30 business premises with waist-high water, and residents were worried that more rain could bring more misery.

Rubbish clogging the trash screen at the Sg Kuyoh pump house.

 

Noor Mohamad Shakil Hameed, 35, said before this, floods went no higher than his knee.

“I raised the porch of my house to be one of the highest in the neighbourhood, but the water still made its way into my house,” he said.

SK Sri Serdang acting headmistress Norizan Ab Jabar, 56, said its pupils had the day off because the canteen, bookstore, sick room, art room and 20 teachers' cars were affected by the flood.

The school's afternoon supervisor Siti Hawa Husin, 55, said some pupils who did not know the school was closed ended up helping the teachers and firemen clean up the place.

The Star, Thursday September 6, 2012

Country Heights folk blame nearby projects for floods

KAJANG: Residents of Country Heights here are blaming poor drainage in surrounding developments for the flood that affected some houses in the area.

Floodwaters in the gated community rose to nearly 1.5m on Tuesday evening, affecting some houses along the lower-lying area.

Resident A.P. Sivam expressed disappointment that the developers and relevant authorities did not look into the drainage of nearby areas.

“It will take me at least a week to clean up the house and repair damaged interior fittings. Knowing that we have to pay for this when the flood was not caused by faults in this area is irritating,” the 59-year-old businessman said at his house.

Sivam experienced a flood in 2009, the year after he moved in, but said it was not as bad as Tuesday's.

Another resident, U. Krishnan, said water had not entered his house, but damaged his garden and swimming pool.

“The flood started at about 5pm and water only began to recede at 9pm. Some of my neighbours' cars had to be towed after being submerged,” he said.

Krishnan, 56, noted that although Country Heights had more affluent residents than other parts of Kajang, they were also flood victims who had incurred losses.

“Our developer told us if the problem lies with drainage in the area, repair work will be started immediately,” he said.

The Drainage and Irrigation Department website stated that rainfall readings for Kajang yesterday was at 115mm, which is more than half of the 184mm cumulative reading for last month.

At press time, the department was not available for comment.

Meanwhile in nearby Kampung Paya, about 60 houses near the Sungai Ramal river were affected.

The village mosque imam Dr Ahmad Zainudin Abdullah said the river began to overflow at about 5pm and had reached up to 1.2m in some places by 9pm.

“Many residents could not salvage their furniture, clothes, electrical items or cars,” he said.

Plantation workers not moving out despite eviction notice from developer (Bangi Estate)

The Star, Wednesday September 5, 2012

Plantation workers not moving out despite eviction notice from developer

DESPITE being threatened with demolition of their homes and forceful eviction, a group of former plantation workers of Bangi Estate has decided to stay put and fight their cause.

About 300 acres of the former 800-acre estate has been sold and the developer Trans Loyal Develop­ment Sdn Bhd (TLDSB) has been trying in vain to evict the remaining 25 families from the estate quarters.

When the management converted the estate from rubber to planting oil palm in 2000, the services of the rubber tappers were terminated with some workers having moved out after receiving compensation ranging from RM10,000 to RM20,000, depending on their years of service.

However, those who have refused to accept the compensation which they feel is insignificant, are demanding that the developer build homes for them in the former estate.

Staying put: Some of the remaining families in Bangi Estate looking at homes which were demolished by a group of people brought in by the developers, to forcefully evict the former plantation workers.

 

The developer had attempted to demolish the homes five times, but the families stood their ground each time.

However, some of the unoccupied quarters have been partially demolished.

Bangi Estate resident committee chairman Krishnan Chendermaie said it was unethical for the developer to attempt to demolish their homes despite knowing there were families still occupying them.

“We know the land has been sold and they have the right but it is improper to charge at us without paying us the compensation.

“All we are asking for is a simple three-room house here or at a location nearby in recognition for the years of service given to the estate,” added Krishnan.

He said a notice was sent in June by a law firm acting for the developer, asking the families to make preparations to vacate the estate quarters by July 31.

“Fearing that we may be evicted forcefully, we lodged a police report against the developer at the Kajang district police station,” said Krishnan.

Committee member and former plantation worker M. Rajan said the remaining families decided to fight their cause because the Kajang district office and the developer had promised to build 44 houses and a temple during a meeting with them in 2007.

“We knew there was something amiss and we were not going to get what was promised to us because the project changed hands three times in five years and we had to have meetings each time with the new developers to present our case,” added Rajan.

He said the families have rejected a compensation of RM18,000 offered by the latest developer during a meeting with them on June 27.

Chintamany Chidambaram, 68, who has worked as a rubber-tapper for 35 years, said the families are now living in fear.

“We are constantly being threatened with eviction notice and demolition. This is the price we have to pay for toiling in the estate for all these years,” added Chintamany.

Echoing her sentiments, Lalitha M., 54, who is now employed as a casual worker said Bangi Estate has been her home for the past 40 years and shudder to think what would happen to her family if they were forced out of the estate.

When contacted, project manager Tew Sem Tiong declined to comment on the issue.

The Star, Wednesday September 5, 2012

Serdang, Kajang hit by floods

KUALA LUMPUR: Flash floods inundated houses and submerged cars in the Kajang and Serdang districts in Selangor, which were described by residents as one of the worst that they have experienced so far.

Floods were reported in Kajang Heights, Country Heights, Sungai Ramal Dalam, Taman Sri Serdang, Serdang Jaya and Seri Kembangan at about 5pm.

Motorists were also trapped in massive jams in several areas in the city since 6.30pm yesterday, especially at the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban PLUS highway in Sungai Besi.

PLUS said in a Twitter message that the route between Kajang and Serdang at KM303 of the highway was flooded due to heavy rain.

Moving to higher ground: Residents of Taman Sri Serdang fleeing the flooded areas.

 

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Mohamad Sani Harul said they received reports of floods in Taman Sri Serdang, Sungai Chua and Jed Hill housing area in Kajang at around 6pm yesterday.

“We dispatched several boats to help evacuate about 600 students and teachers from two schools in Taman Sri Serdang who were trapped there after the afternoon session ended,” he said.

Civil Defence Department operations control centre officer Mohd Hazli Hanifah Mohd Hanafi said the floodwaters at Taman Sri Serdang was at waist level at 10pm before it subsided.

Another officer said a six-man team was sent to Country Heights with one rescue boat as they received information that 20 houses were submerged.

Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah said the flood was due to Sungai Kuyoh overflowing.

In Taman Sri Serdang, residents returning home from work said they had to abandon their vehicles when floodwaters rose to 1.5m.

Lorry driver V. Ratnakumar, 49, said he was stuck for about four hours as the roads leading to his house were flooded.

“I was on my way home when my son called to tell me that the neighbourhood was flooded,” he said.

Universiti Putra Malaysia employee Siti Hajar Mohd Saad, 23, said she wanted to go out at 4.30pm when floodwaters rose around her car.

“I had no choice but to switch off my car engine,” she said, adding that this was the first time she had experienced floods this bad in her neighbourhood.

Taman Sri Serdang Rukun Tetangga chairman Khalid Lambak claimed it was the worst flood he had seen in the area in the past 30 years, adding that about 130 vehicles were submerged in the flood.

As at midnight, there has been no reports of casualties or missing persons lodged.

Merdeka Carnival 31 August 2012 at Holy Family Kajang

The Holy Family Church Kajang held it's Merdeka Carnival on 31 August 2012. As usual, they were many activities planned through out the day.

The turnout was very good and there were a number of non Catholics who came for the food and fun too. The Carnival statted with the mass at 9 am and the official opening was done after the mass.

There were lots of food and drinks for the whole day.

There were games for the children and children at heart. These include the giant  slide, mechanical horse, horse ride, water dunk and other games. There were also carnival games which offered prizes.

 

There were also perfomances the whole day with lots of singing (solo, group and bands). Performances by the various migrants and language group were also staged. There were also line dances performed.

There was also a special appearance by Francesca Peters who wowed the more matured crowds with her hits and even performed a number of songs with Father George Harrison and a group of children. She later took photos with her fans.

 

There were also coloring contests for the children and various games such as futsal, captain ball and telematch held. The turn out and response was very encouraging to see so many young people taking part.

The carnival was supposed to finish at 6.30 pm but due to the games and the crowds, it was delayed to dusk. Overall, it was a fun day for many people and I must salute those who worked so hard to make this a success.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Saturday September 1, 2012

Development projects in Kajang to go ahead, says council

THE development projects in the Kajang municipality will go on with or without Syabas’ approval, says Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abdul Rahman.

He was replying to councillor Lee Kee Hiong’s question about stalled development projects because Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) claimed that it does not have the capacity to provide treated water.

The approval from certain bodies, such as Syabas, is needed for issuing planning approvals for development projects.

However, Hasan told pressmen after the council full board meeting that there were no stalled projects.

“We do not need approval from Syabas. If needed, this matter will be taken to the state level,” he said.

On a separate issue, he said the council was looking for a new dump site for construction and bulk waste.

“Some claim that the site in Dengkil is too far and this could be one of the factors for illegal dumping,” he said, adding that 39 lorries were impounded for illegal dumping recently.

Councillor Tan Boon Wah pointed out that a resident was recently denied entry to the council’s monthly public complaints monitoring meeting.

Councillor S.T. Chandra Mohan said under Section 23 of the Local Governemnt Act, the public is allowed to attend the full board meeting as an observer.

However, the status of the public complaints monitoring meeting is undetermined as to whether it falls under the same category of a full board meeting or a committee meeting, in which the public cannot attend.

MPKj is the only council with such a meeting; it is held specifically to monitor public complaints.

This issue was discussed for around 30 minutes and Hasan said this will be decided at another meeting.

Councillor Lee Learn Eng suggested for a multi-storey car park to be built as there was insufficient parking areas for the public at Menara MPKj.

The Star, Saturday September 1, 2012

MPKj urges public to give evidence of litterbugs caught in the act

IN A bid to encourage the public to come forward with evidence of litterbugs caught in the act, the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has increased its reward from RM200 to RM500 for successful cases.

At the council’s monthly full board meeting, council president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abdul Rahman said the council decided to increase the reward due to the lack of response.

“Hopefully, the reward will encourage more people to come forward with evidence of indiscriminate dumping.

“The reward will be given if the culprits are successfully charged,” he said.

In another development, councillor P. Narayanan suggested that summonses be issued to contractors who under-perform, causing the area to be a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes.

“Usually it is the residents who are issued with a fine. However, in many cases, the source of breeding is outside their premises.

“There has been 11 deaths in Selangor due to dengue outbreaks, including three in Kajang,” he said.

In reply, MPKj Town and Health Services Department director Arshad Salleh said, “It is not right to put the blame solely on the contractor if the public dumps rubbish indiscriminately, such as throwing rubbish out from the car.

“There must be a joint effort,” he said.

Councillor Mohammad Ali Khair Abdul Ghafar suggested for the council to come up with a guideline for gated and guarded (companies) to not ask for identity cards from council officers in office vehicles.

“When our officers need to enter (the residential area), they were asked for identification cards or official letter.

“Even when we went in the council car, they stopped us.

“It is not just the foreign workers but our Malaysian security guards too,” he said.

Fellow councillor Steven Chan said the guards have a right to ask non-residents to identify themselves when accessing gated areas but do not if the area is just guarded.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Hasan said, “Maybe council officers who are (on official duty) in council vehicles need not register at the guard post.

“However, others need to do so as there are many imposters. What is the point of having a guard if they do not need to check those who enter the area?”