A DAP leader has lamented that the authorities ignored objections to a mammoth development plan from 'poorer' sections of Petaling Jaya, a satellite township southwest of Kuala Lumpur.

The party's national publicity secretary Ronnie Liu said the village of Section 17A, previously known as Kampung Baru Damansara, will be turned into clusters of low-rise apartment blocks despite objections from local residents.

Bold plan

Liu said villagers had presented Mokhtar Dahlan, the Selangor exco for local government, housing and squatters, and environment, with their objections at the last public hearing.

"They told him in no uncertain terms that they didn't want the area to be developed into a low-rise residential and commercial centre," he said.

The local plan, gazetted by the Selangor government o­n March 13, is a bold development project designed to give PJ a total physical make-over, turning a quiet satellite township into a bustling metropolis over the next 10 years.

"They (the residents) want the area to be maintained as a kampung . They also want the SJK(C) Damansara to be re-opened."

Liu said the villagers had also offered to help beautify the village if the state could provide some funds.

"But the gazetted plan remains totally unchanged - no mention of beautification plans whatsoever, no effort shown to re-open the school. And absolutely no respect at all for the views and aspirations of the villagers," he said.

The controversial closure of SJK(C) Damansara two years sparked an outcry from local residents and a huge section of the Chinese community.

Public briefings

The ramshackle village of about 150 houses - home to some 2,000 people - is flanked by spanking new neighbourhoods that boast pricey homes and condominiums, multi-million ringgit shopping complexes and commercial high-rises.

Last May, Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) held a series of public briefings to obtain feedback o­n the draft local plan and came under fire after failing to provide satisfactory explanation to posers from affected residents.

Liu noted that the briefings were done in haste to the point of disregarding some of the complainants for the public hearing.

"The next thing we knew, the local plan had been gazetted without a second hearing as promised (earlier)," said Liu, who is chairperson of the Shadow MPPJ committee - a local council watchdog group.

Describing the PJ1 local plan as "a masterplan short of mastery", he said it was "full of generalised statements without concrete plans and proposals".

No explanation

Liu said a disgruntled group of residents from Sungei Way, who have been asked to make way for a housing project, were also disappointed with the final plan especially after being promised land titles by top MCA leaders.

"The gazetted plan has proven otherwise as the area has been earmarked as a light industrial zone. Sad to say, none of the bigwigs have any explanation to the affected people till today."

He listed traffic congestion, increase in population density, pollution and the loss of serenity of PJ as among the flaws of the local plan.

"There are no concrete proposals to such problems. There is shortage of parking space, the premiums for renewal of land leases are sky-high and there is no proper relocation plan for evicted squatters or plans for new schools."

He added that the MPPJ must always remember that its fundamental role is to be a service provider and not a developer.

Although several residents groups and opposition parties protested against the development plan at the draft stage, o­nly o­ne group - from a relatively well-off section of PJ - is satisfied with the final plan.