A meeting held on Tuesday between Bangsar residents and Lembah Pantai MP Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil saw residents raising a range of issues from cleanliness to development concerns.
A resident called Ho said Bangsar had grown so rapidly that it was plagued with numerous issues.
He suggested that the authorities come up with a master plan for the future so residents could keep tabs on what was going on in the area.
The Bangsar market issue was also raised. Some felt that it should stay where it was while others wanted it to be relocated.
Shahrizat proposed that all residents associations got together to decide whether or not they wanted the market.
“We are building a market in Pantai Dalam but I do not see the people in Bangsar going there to do their marketing.
“Residents will have to decide whether they want the market or not and if it has to be relocated, then we need to find a suitable place for its relocation.
“The problem is that 99% of the land in Bangsar is privately owned,” she said.
City Hall deputy director-general (city management) Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz said if residents wanted the market relocated, City Hall would have to find an alternative site.
“We need to identify a suitable area and acquire the land or apply to the land office for land in the area,” he said.
Peggy, a Lorong Maarof resident, asked City Hall to explain the reason for changing the residential status of properties in the area for commercial use.
“Will all houses be turned into commercial lots? We don't want shops in front of us or behind us. We want to live in a residential area not a commercial place,” she said.
Mohd Amin Nordin said City Hall had allowed the temporary change of status for properties in Jalan Maarof.
The decision, he said was made at the Town Planning Committee meeting.
To this Shahrizat said City Hall should not make decisions without consulting the residents.
“Residents bought their homes in Bangsar because they had wanted to live in a residential neighbourhood,” she said.
The issue of entertainment outlets operating without licences was also discussed.
Hawker Management and Small Businesses director Saringat Adnan said two types of licences were issued for entertainment premises – temporary and permanent.
“Temporary licences are valid for a year and City Hall has the right to revoke the licence should the operator breach any condition. We cannot revoke permanent licences as we like because the decision has to come from the licensing sub-committee,” Shahrizat said.
A member of the Bangsar Baru Business Council suggested that City Hall included representatives from the council to give their views before full licences were issued to operators.
City Hall was also asked to explain what it was doing to address the illegal hawkers problem at the business district where hawkers sold nasi lemak and local cakes.
The complainant said business operators paid a large sum for rental but these hawkers were trading without paying a sen in rental.
He said the Bangsar Baru Business Council wanted the area to be free of hawkers as these hawkers were not practising good hygiene and also contributed to traffic congestion.
City Hall was also urged to take stern action against illegal car jockeys who were misusing City Hall parking lots for their own personal gain.
Bangsar Baru Residents Association president Datuk George Joseph said 5,000 cars could be expected in Bangsar with the commercial development project taking place there.
“I hope City Hall, the police and residents associations will review the traffic system,” he said.
On cleanliness, George suggested that City Hall find out why Bangsar was still faced with the problem of crows, rats and stray cats and dogs. “The way rubbish is disposed of and the method of collection should be looked into,” he said.
George also brought up the issue of entertainment outlets operating till the wee hours of the morning and how this trend should be changed.
He said pubs closed early in England and Germany, but wondered why this was not the case in Malaysia.
“There must be consistent enforcement and not selective enforcement to make sure enter-tainment outlets adhere to early closure,” he said.
Bangsar Baru resident Terry Ng questioned the building of the Bangsar Seafood project and the reason why the project would only be operational at the site for a temporary period of time.
He said Lorong Terasek Kanan residents were not consulted about the project when it was approved by City Hall.
Ng said the project directly affected residents and asked City Hall how it would carry out enforcement action against entertainment outlets facing the houses.
“Please convince us why temporary approval was given for such a project. How is such a project that is costing millions deemed temporary?”
Mohd Amin replied that City Hall would make sure that the Bangsar Seafood project would not go beyond the five-year stipulated period to operate at its site in the development order.
He said temporary usage of any area was allowed under the law.
Shahrizat said she would monitor the issues raised and would hold discussions with City Hall and the Federal Territories Ministry. The next meeting will be held in three months.
Source: http://metro.thestar.com.my/news/2004/7/8442694.html
