Three years on, the residents of Putra Heights and Subang Alam are still awaiting assurances that the proposed light rail transit (LRT) track alignment near their residential areas is safe.

The Putra Heights residents’ LRT Task Force Committee took their woes to Parliament today following the continued silence from the Selangor state government and Syarikat Prasarana Berhad, claimed that an independent geologist has advised against the construction of the track in the area.

NONE A copy of the report with the findings of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) geologist Tajul Anuar Jamaluddin stated that the uneven slopes and former quarry around the proposed sites for the eleventh and twelfth stations to the extensions to the Kelana Jaya line LRT extension posed a risk to its users.

“We want to know, in black and white, whether it is safe for the people... we are not against development,” said the task force’ chairperson Prem Kaur.

According to Prem, geologist Tajul, who is experienced in disaster risk management, had stated that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and the geological report, among others, were incomplete.

“We fear a repetition of other disaster-stricken projects in the past such as the Bukit Antarabangsa and Pantai Remis landslides, MRR2 (Middle Ring Road 2) flyover cracks, and the collapse of the Highland Towers, Taman Hillview and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium roof - which all got government approvals,” she said.

NONE “The lives of residents are at stake and no amount of money can give it back when it’s gone,” added Mohd Rafy Mohd Izam, who is the representative of the Subang Alam Residents’ Association.

Parliamentarians Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) and Khalid Samad (PAS-Shah Alam), who received the memorandum and report from the residents’ representatives, also urged the state government to verify the complaints made on the extension.

“The company might say that the objections to the line are from a minority group of people but what is being pointed out is the safety of the people,” said Khalid.

‘Do it right from the onset’

“There are TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s) pillions there, those are stable, but the LRT pillars are certainly not due to the vibration of the trains’ movements,” he said.

azlan “These are not concerns raised because of inconvenience... all we want them to do is to do it right from the onset,” he said.

Siti Mariah added that Prasarana had already begun preliminary work at the site although they have yet to respond to the residents’ queries.

According to a Komunitikini report in March, the State Economic Council (MTES), in one of its earlier meetings, had vetoed the route extension, with 50 percent of the council members agreeing to the original route, and 46 percent against.