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The Star Publications Monday November 9, 2009

Fuad (Kuala Lumpur Mayor) apologises to Jinjang residents for miscommunication

By BAVANI M

KUALA LUMPUR mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail has apologised to Jinjang Utara Longhouse Sector D residents for the fiasco that took place last week at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) headquarters. “I am sorry. This is a miscommunication with my officers and it should never have happened and could have been avoided. But we made a mistake and we are truly sorry for it,’’ said Ahmad Fuad.

Angry lot: File pic shows PERMAS president Tan Jo Hann tearing up the DBKL letter at the DBKL headquarters after officers failed to turn up for the meeting.

The mayor was responding to the incident last week where 12 residents from the longhouse were kept waiting for two hours despite being told to come at 11am for a meeting with the officers.

After waiting for so long, the residents, who had taken time off from work to attend the meeting, lost their temper and staged a walkout. They had requested a meeting with the DBKL to discuss their living conditions as their 16-year-old transit homes were falling apart. Fuad also said he would go down and meet the residents next week to see for himself their living condition.

In 2002, about 200 families from Sector D were given notices to move to another longhouse about 500m away. They were informed that low- cost units were being built for them to rent and buy. Developer Mega Legacy was supposed to build low-cost units at RM42,000 each in 2006, but nothing has materialised.

“We will give an ultimatum to the developer to submit the development plans for the units and if they fail to do so we will terminate their contract. We cannot be helping developers who fail to deliver,’’ Fuad said.

For now, Fuad said the developer must carry out rectification work on the units which were falling apart. “I realise that something must be done and quick as safety is also a concern. The developers must take responsibility for this.

“If they fail to do so we will take back the land. We regret that enforcement was not done sooner.

This issue is long overdue and I will personally look into the matter,’’ he said.

The Jinjang Utara Longhouse was built to house squatters relocated from various areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. There some 2,000 residents living in the longhouse. Out of that number, 276 residents are from Sector D.