Taman Sri Petaling residents who claim their homes are structurally affected by the Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya highway construction works were thrown a lifeline today.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Shahrir Samad said today that KL Mayor Ruslin Hasan (left) has promised to send consultants to inspect their homes and will issue a 'stop work' order if he is satisfied that the works pose a danger to the residents.

"The mayor has the prerogative to stop the works if he is convinced that the works cause harm to people in the surrounding areas. He can't stop the project but he can stop construction," Shahrir told reporters after chairing a meeting with KL City Hall and the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council in Parliament Building this morning.

He said the results of the inspection by City Hall consultants is expected to be known next week.

Yesterday, Ruslin paid a surprise visit to the houses affected by the highway's construction works.

Last week, Works Minister Samy Vellu reiterated that the government would go ahead with the project despite strong objections from the residents.

The minister took a strong stance saying that the residents could 'take whatever action' against the ministry if they felt the latter was at fault.

Shahrir said the PAC has no plans to meet up with the minister but would instead get the relevant government agencies to solve the problem together.

'Be more humane'

He said the government should be more humanistic when dealing with issues concerning residents and the environment and not only focus on problems of contractors and their projects.

"We hope that the highway department will inspect the construction site as well," he said, adding that the PAC may initiate other actions later to assist the residents.

"For the time being, we are assisting them to highlight their problem. We don't want to see a situation where people cannot find ways to complain (about their plight)," he said.

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

On another matter, Shahrir revealed that the auditor-general will brief the PAC on its 2004 audit report next month.

He said while the PAC would be discussing the AG's report in detail, other members of Parliament should also be briefed on the document's contents.

"We hope this will help MPs to have more detailed information on the issues highlighted in the report," he said.