I refer to the Malaysiakini article Gated community, or not?

The writer, Sim Kwang Yang, probably stays at the extreme end of Taman Bukit Segar,Cheras, on the periphery between Selangor and Willayah Persekutuan. The area was previously a gazetted forest reserve and gated communities have sprung up in between he housing estates for middle-income and lower-income groups that existed earlier.

The article does not mention that newly-evolved gated communities like condominiums have not been taken over by the local authorities and that the owners have to pay for their own refuse collection, cleaning of drains, street lighting, road maintenance and security.

They are deemed private developments and they have their own management corporations to administer such developments. The management councils of these corporations are owners elected to run the place.

Public housing, on the other hand, are housing developments which have been taken over by City Hall or the local council and are run by the local authorities or City Hall. Hence all roads, lighting and facilities like children’s playgrounds or football fields are deemed for public use. They should never be barricaded or barred from public use by owners who stay within such areas.

The Residents Association (RA) is set up to encourage interaction and promote harmony between members of a community and also to promote friendship between that community and communities in neighbouring housing schemes. On security, they can promote a ‘neighbourhood watch’ by advising their members to be alert and to inform the police authorities should they observe suspicious behaviour amongst strangers in the neighbourhood.

A ‘neighbourhood watch’ does not mean barricading a road and employing security guards to vet visitors or members of the public. That is the work of the police. No where in the developed world have we seen cities being barricaded, road by road ,or section by section as we now see happening in some parts of the country.

Even sadder is the fact that such acts are sometimes done without authority as though there is no government or laws in the country.

Whilst the article mentioned about Rakan Cop, the writer has left out ‘Rukun Tetangga’ and Rela and the community police stations that have been set up in so many places. In Cheras alone, you have the Cheras police station at the Business Park in Taman Cheras, a community police base at Taman Taynton and two community police bases in Taman Connaught, all within two kilometres from Taman Bukit Segar.

Police personnel make their rounds in their patrol cars as well as on motor bikes both during the day and night. At Taman Taynton, Cheras , Rela members also patrol the roads at night.

RAs can serve the community but they should not be seen to cater to any political interest or to any particular community. If the RA organises a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, do they do one for Deepavali and one for Hari Raya as well? If they do not, then they do not function in the spirit of ‘1Malaysia’.

I live in the Cheras area as well and I know that the management council of an apartment complex organises festivities only for the Mid-Autumn Festival and does nothing for the festivals of the other races. This does not augur well for communal harmony.

The government has encouraged participation in organisations like ‘Rukun Tetangga’ and Rela to assist in security control. They have even persuaded employers to excuse those who do ‘Rukun Tetangga’ duty to take a day off. We should support the government’s efforts in this respect.