Selangor gov't to hear objections to PJ1 local plan draft this month

comments     Claudia Theophilus     Published     Updated

The hearing date for more than 5,000 objections lodged against the controversial PJ1 local plan draft proposed by the PJ Municipal Council (MPPJ) has been set for July 22 and 23.

July 26 has also been reserved for the hearing if it becomes necessary, said Mokhtar Dahlan, Selangor exco member in charge of local government, housing and squatters, and environment, who confirmed the dates today.

"Every individual and group of residents will be given ample time and opportunity to express their grievances over the draft plan.

"All complainants will be notified about the hearing dates by the MPPJ. All they have to do is appear before the committee and state their case," he told malaysiakini .

The state-level committee hearing, to be conducted between 9am and 4pm at the MPPJ office, will be chaired by Mokhtar.

The three other members are state town and country planning department director Dr Halimaton Saadiah Hashim, state land and minerals department director Asahar @ Ishak Abong and state legal advisor Mohd Zawawi Salleh.

Asked whether the committee was prepared to hear a large volume of cases, Mokhtar said "all objections will be heard".

"But based on previous experiences of hearing objections against other local plans, not every complainant will turn up for the hearing.

"For example, in the Sepang case, out of some 400 objections, only about 200 residents turned up on the hearing day," he said.

Hearing procedure

Explaining the hearing procedure, he said residents will be called in individually or in groups, depending on the type of objections, to state their case by providing supporting facts or arguments in addition to those already stated in the objection forms.

Then the committee will hear the MPPJ's arguments.

He said those who wish to attend the hearing are "welcome to argue their case".

When asked about the delay in setting the hearing date, Mokhtar said the local council, in this case the MPPJ, was required to register every objection and analyse all to assess if they were relevant in law.

Then, the state-level hearing committee takes over for an independent finding on the objections and arguments raised by both parties, before making recommendations or reaching a conclusion.

The controversial PJ1 draft plan seeks to change the satellite township into a bustling city through infrastructure developments such as interchanges, widening of roads, and commercial and residential projects, all of which will lead to a population explosion and increased traffic flow.

Two-month objection period

At the close of the two-month objection period on May 18, more than 15,000 residents had raised objections in full or in part against the draft plan, the first of four detailed development plans for the Petaling district until 2010.

The 5,000 residents who had submitted a 30-page memorandum to the MPPJ claimed that the draft plan was inconsistent with the structure plan as found in Part IX of the Town Boards Enactment of the Federated Malay States gazetted in 1996, and that it was still in force under Section 59 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976.

Their argument was that the structure plan gazetted with amendments was essentially the objections raised by PJ residents back in 1995 requiring future developments to be limited to outlying areas of PJ.

Another 500 residents from Section 6 had also submitted their objections and counter-proposals to the MPPJ, reiterating their desire for an improved quality of life instead of arbitrary development.

Meanwhile, a case is pending in the Shah Alam High Court after more than 11,000 residents from Section 1 applied for a declaration that the entire PJ1 local plan draft is illegal.



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