Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BN BBC) head Shahrir Abdul Samad has called on the local authorities to issue an immediate stop work order on a controversial highway running through a residential area.

The residents of Taman Sri Petaling in Bandar Baru Sri Petaling had invited Shahrir last week to personally inspect the construction site of a six-lane elevated highway which when completed would be very close to their homes.

The site in question is a portion of the KL-Putrajaya highway being constructed on Jalan 2/149 in Sri Petaling.

Residents claim that 200 houses facing the road and its 1000 inhabitants are being affected by the construction. Piling works began in July ( photo, left ).

This morning, Shahrir and five other MPs inspected the construction site to view the piling works and houses which had suffered severe cracks as a result of the construction works.

One of the cracks was at least two-inch wide and 12 feet long.

Independent investigation

Convinced that there was a problem, Shahrir said that a stop work order should be issued immediately to facilitate an investigation by an independent body.

"(By doing so), we can (objectively) evaluate the negative effects from the construction. Reports from the finding will then be discussed later," said Shahrir who is MP of Johor Bharu.

"I believe that if the local authority should have a proactive attitude, they must listen to the views from the residents here because these are people who pay their assessment and land tax. One of the responsibilities as local authorities is to ensure the protection of their rate payers," he said, prompting cheers from the residents.

Asked if the he would bring up the issue with the KL mayor, Shahrir said that the press should first seek a reaction from the mayor.

"I will see him in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting anyway. PAC will be meeting the mayor on the KL structure plan. One specific subject is about this highway, to see how a local authority responds to a project like a highway being built in a residential area," he said.

Buy up the houses

In a related development, it is learnt that about 60 house owners want the government to buy up their houses - that is if the highway project is on - which they claim should be gazetted as highway land, in accordance with regulations set by the Highway Authority of Malaysia (LLM).

Houses are estimated to be worth RM500,000 each, bringing the total value of the properties to RM30 million.

A representative of the residents, Lau Kien Foh, told malaysiakini that the DBKL had in 1996 given the housing developers a development order.

However, the government only announced the construction of the highway in 1997, but the project was shelved during the Asian economic crisis.

Lau said that there was ample time for the local authorities to stop the housing construction as the houses were only completed in 2002.

"The government should have taken the initiative to stop the building of houses when they had the chance. Even before moving in during 2002, some of us have tried in vain to seek confirmation from LLM. The authorities are not doing their part. There was no follow up," lamented Lau, an executive director in a multinational accounting firm.

Living in fear

Many residents are fearful of living in or near houses that have been structurally damaged by the construction. They are also fearful that the highway might cause cars and debris to fall off the elevated highway in the event of accidents and into their homes.

The residents are also irked by how the highway is being constructed while violating guidelines set by the government departments.

The Public Works Department (JKR) require highways to have minimum width reserve of 60 meters. However, the affected road has only 32 meters width reserve. Similarly, buffer zones as required under LLM guidelines, were not followed.

It is learnt that the residents will take legal action against the authorities as a last resort.

The 26km KL-Putrajaya Highway project stretches from Kampung Pandan roundabout to Putrajaya.