Cross Country: Uproar over hillslope project
10/09/2007 NST By Nisha Sabanayagam

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of Medan Damansara are in an uproar over an upcoming housing development in an area with a history of minor landslides.

The latest landslide was two weeks ago in Jalan Kasah after heavy rain.

During a news conference yesterday, a spokesman for the residents’ association said trees planted on the steep slope 30 years ago to prevent landslides would now be chopped to make way for 21 three- to five-storey mansions worth RM10 million each.

"The land is already soft. I don’t think it can sustain another major development," said 56-year-old Moses Devanayagam, who has lived in the area since 1983.

About 550 families live in Medan Damansara, many for more than 30 years.

The area was one of the first government housing developments in the early 1970s.

"When we first moved in, the area was owned by Syarikat Perumahan Pegawai Kerajaan (SPPK) which assured us that the woods would remain a green lung," said Medan Damansara Residents Association president Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Shukor Abdullah. He was one of the first to move into the area in 1973.

"I don’t understand why they want to build on slopes with a gradient of 60 to 70 degrees," he said.

According to the law, slopes will a gradient of more than 30 degrees are not to be developed.

The residents said a six-metre-high wall was to be built to protect the five streets under the development, cutting off the view of the greenery that was making the neighbourhood a pleasant place to live in.

Association secretary Randhir Singh wondered whether the procedures had been followed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall for approving the project.

He said only selected residents were informed of the development about two weeks ago.

"This is not right. Legally, all residents are supposed to be informed. Instead, the information was given to only one or two residents."

The association has sent a written appeal to Datuk Bandar Datuk Abdul Hakim Borhan, asking him to inspect the slopes.

"We do not want another Highland Towers in Medan Damansara," said Randhir.