No more Green Green Grass of Home.....

How sad....and bare






Bye Bye green foliage of ss22A/6 and ss22A/8......

Clearing of the Belukar annexed to Road 8

I am posting some photos i took of the belukar that has been stripped!! oh gone are the nice foliage. Some of the neighbours at road 8 say it is quite breezy now and some say "wah! kinda feel naked!!" They can see across to the other side of the ravine. From the back of my house, i can see the roof of Patrick Teoh's Steamboat restaurant!

Whatever the remarks, more of this foliage will be going. The developers started clearing on last thursday and by Saturday, they have cleared quite a considerable portion between the houses and the ravine (that joins to Sg Kayu Ara).

The Developer did hold a taklimat with the residents last Friday 4/9/09, but only a few number of residents turned up. I believe these are the residents who will be more directly affected. The situation presently is less tense as in the morning on the same day, a group of us residents had paid a visit to MBPJ demanding to get confirmation from MBPJ that the conditions which were asked by the residents from the developer on this development are to be met. The most notable condition is the green lung portion which ensures that no traffic will come into and through Road 8 from SS22/43. The Ingress and Egress for the new residential area has been planned by the developer to be from SS22/43. We neighbours wanted to make sure of this and therefore insisted on a small green lung portion just after the end of Road 8. This green lung has yet to be gazetted and hence the anxiety when the developer started to clear the land.

At the MBPJ meeting, we were giving the assurance that this green lung will be gazetted and that they have decided some time back that the application of this gazette will be made to the State Land Office. They will also confirm this in writing. On this assurance, some of the residents felt less anxious.

On the whole, this project will probably created some nuisance for the next 2 years or so. The plot of land annex to the development land ie the land closer to the sewerage system has been rented out to the developers to house their Kongsi, site office, and to house their equipment. Road 6 people will be affected too. We did say to the developer that their kongsi for their workers have to be facing ss22/43 not towards our houses. The noise pollution will also come about.

On top of this, we will also have to consider insisting from the developer to ensure that their workers to do not prowl into our area. They have said they will build a permanent wall structure which delineates their land. Nonetheless for the land that they rented, they will only hoard. This is where we must try to insist that they have their security guards too and to ensure that their workers themselves do not come into our area.

All this, will be considered by the Security Committee of SS22A and they will come out with plans to counter any possible breaches of security.

Images from the Backyard of Road 8 houses

I thought i'd show you how the backyard of the neighbours of Road 8. The greenery creates a real green lung of fresh air. My neighbour would know all species of birds that congregate here. I have even seen eagles and stocks here. Sadly, most of them are going.....

Letter by Developers pertaining to Development at the Belukar of SS22A/6 and /8

Tarikh: 20hb Ogos 2009.


Tuan/Puan,

MESYUARAT PERJUMPAAN BERSAMA PENDUDUK-PENDUDUK
SEKITAR TAPAK PROJEK (TAKLlMAT), MENGENAI PEMBINAAN
YANG DICADANGKAN.
CADANGAN PEMBANGUNAN 3 UNIT RUMAH 8ESEBUAH & 14 UNIT
RUMAH BERKEMBAR 3 TINGKAT DI ATAS LOT 13515 & 13516, JALAN
8822/43, PJU 6A, KG. KAYU ARA, MUKIM SG. BULUH, SELANGOR
UNTUK TETUAN RELIANCE SITE SDN. BHD.



Dengan segala hormatnya, kami ingin menjemput tuanlpuan untuk menghadiri majlis
taklimat berkenaan projek di atas pada tarikh dan tempat yang berikut :-
Tarikh: 04hb September 2009.
Masa : 2.00 petang.
Tapak: Di tepi (belok kiri) Restoran Pantai Seafood.
Jalan Cempaka, Kg. Sg. Kayu Ara,
47400 Petaling Jaya. .
Kehadiran tuan/puan adalah sangat di hargai.
Sekian dan terima kasih. _


Yang benar,

RELIANCE SITE SDN. BHD.
s.k. Jabatan Kawalan Bangunan, MBPJ.
u.p. Puan Hamidah.




This is the letter given by the Developer to only a few residents in SS22A/8. This may be the forum to inform us that the development will start soon. The funny thing is that there is a pending suit brought by the neighbours of Road 8 against MBPJ and the developer on grounds that the decision to approve the plan for development did not accord the Section 17 of the Town and County Planning Act 1972. This provision allows for the residents of the affected areas - normally 200m from the place of development to put up their objection to the plans.

When the plan was first brought up, it was a development for 48 townhouses. The neighbours at Road 8 objected and thereafter, the developers came back with another plan for 2 1/2 stories semi-d 16 units and 3 units of bungalow. However, there was no "majlis bantahan" held by MBPJ which they ought to, as it did for the submission of the first plan.

For the submission of the second plan, MBPJ approved it without offering it to the residents of Road 8 to object to the details or to put forward their conditions. And after many failed attempt to reconcile, MBPJ still has not taken any step to put in writing the conditions put forward by the residents, the action was taken to court.

That was almost 2 years ago. Today, some of us residents saw clearing of the land being done and we now know, this development is really going to be carried out regardless of the court case and whatever decision the court will make. Again, where is MBPJ on this matter. WE are lodging a complaint to a particular person in MBPJ whom i hope is the right person for the job and will do it with integrity.

All the residents here want, amongst other smaller conditions, is that no addition traffic burden is caused by the Developers breaking through a road from SS22/43.

wish us luck!.

Vote for 1Malaysia Song

Sending all the ss22A residents a link to select 1Malaysia song. Best do it, or the most horrible grunchy music gets selected. My recommendation for you to listen:

(i) Siti Nurhaliza/Aubrey Suwito's - Satu Malaysia
(ii) Audi Mok/Faizal Tahir - Malaysia Satu
(Siti Nurhaliza must have diva-ed her way to get that title before the rest did!!)
(iii) Ashroff Shariff's - Kami Anak Malaysia (not Sudirman's version)

Enjoy some of the others. Do select one.happy merdeka day.

http://www.1malaysia.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3334&Itemid=122

Beware of Bag Snatchers Even while You are driving.

Just the other night, one of our neighbour's daughter came home about 10.30pm. She hadn't realised that she was being followed by a motorist with a pillion rider. She passed our guardhouse and the barrier opened for her because she had the residents' car sticker but the motorcyclist rode quickly through the barrier by the side of her car. Within a few minutes, they managed to steal her handbag.

How? When she got home, she did see the motorbike coming towards so she didnt alight from her car but when they rode pass her, she thought the coast was clear and she got down from her car. Little did she know, that these thugs would ride back to her and break her car window (passenger side) and grab her handbag. By the time, the guards were alerted, the motorbike had zoomed out the barrier gate.

We ought to realise that when we see a motorcyclist, and as alert as we can be, we must anticipate them coming a second round. I was followed once(before the barrier gates were up) and when i got home, i realised a motorbike behind me. I drove on and believe it or not, he actually followed me for 3 rounds in the neighbourhood before they gave up on me.

Now, our security guards did take down the registration number of the motorbike but what they could not do in time was to locate where the motorbike had gone to. To this, i would suggest that they must buff up their response time. So it be told to the security company. However, we the residents ESPECIALLY ladies if we are coming home and driving alone, must also be alert for motorbikes, wherever we are and make sure that if they are tailing us within our neighborhood:

(i) drive to the guardhouse and wait there. tell the guards what is happening
(ii) or ask the patrolling guard to accompany you back to your house.
(iii)if he is still there, get the security guard to chase him off or get the security guard to call the police. or you may call the police yourself.
03-7726 2222 (the damansara utama police station)- they are quite prompt.

Take care.

Is this your Neighbour (Part 3)

The belukar of Roads 6 and 8 maybe a welcoming sight to its residents before the trees were cleared. The trees did prevent undergrowth and creepers which now poses as security treat because they cover view and creates a good hiding place for thugs to come into our residential area from the main road (ss22/43).

There is a dilapitated house by the side of the last house on Road 8 as seen in the photo. This house is a drug addict haunt as it has been left vacated for too long. Most of the part of the house are in ruins.

Now, this is definitely neighbours that we dont want. The land however, has been sold to a developer, who is in process of making this property and the adjacent property they bought into a 16 semid-d unit and 2 bungalow residential area. Just behind Road 8 and next to it.

What becomes more a headache for the people in Road 8 or even Road 6 is the traffic flow that will come when this new residential area opens. We, the residents of Road 6 and Road 8 do not want an access from the main road through to Road 6 or Road 8 to accommodate for ingress and egress into this residential area.

Should this happen the residents from this new area will come in and out via Roads 6 and 8. The width of our road cannot possibly accommodate for this influx of traffic flow. Each households have at least 2 cars parked outside of their house and this narrows the road.

In addition, allowing traffic to come through from the main road (ss22/43) will definitely pose a security problem for our residential area. We will have to increase our security measures and system throughout to accommodate for this change of traffic too.

We are also concerned if all the roads in SS22A can accommodate for the new development. Firstly, Road 1 is often congested with the school traffic plus the trucks coming in and out of the TOLs (temporary occupation with license). Then Road 4 is also a main thoroughfare for transporting picking up school kids. Road 2 is also congested with people parking their cars while waiting for school dismissal. If the residents of the new development are allowed to use our roads as entry point into their new development, we may have a mini traffic jam at the end of road 1.

Presently, the residents on Roads 6 and 8 have gathered to object this development and only agreeing to the developmental plans if there will be a small section of green lung as a barricade to a through road to Road 8 from ss22/43 (slip road therefrom).

It is with greatest hope that this matter which has gone to court will succeed and that the green lung we so hope for will be gazetted by the state authority. The developer has to apply for this gazette but before it is done, the developer must get its plans approved by MBPJ where it is utmostly hoped that money has not been used to buy favour.

All the best to us!! anyhow, we neighbours other than neighbours of Road 6 & 8 ought to stand together and be firm that we do not want more traffic into our area.

Is this your Neighbour? (Part 2)

After the TOLs area, comes a more shocking sight. To demarcate the land in SS22A, there is a big monsoon drain that runs tributary to the Sungai Kayu Ara on the West side of SS22A (ie behind Road 1).

Across the monsoon drain, there is an illegal settlement of squatters!. This squatters are situated inner side of Jalan Jenjarum which if you are coming in from SS23 you will see the Damansara Village Steamboat Restaurant supposedly to be owned by Patrick Teoh, the famous radio dj in the 70s -80s.

More shocking if you look into the monsoon drain. There are bushes, so it was difficult for me to capture a photo to show the rubbish strewn along the drain which comes from these squatters.

When the neighbourhood group met with the ADUN for this area, Elizabeth Wong, she said she will look into this matter. Apparently, squatters issue is a delicate issue amongst PKR's policies. For whatever reasons, we submitted that we feel these squatters have to be gotten rid off as they pose security threat to our area. These squatters house the very thieves that come into our area. All they have to do is jump over that measly monsoon drain which stinks but is not imposing enough nor wide or deep enough for these thieves to come across. Thereafter all they have to do is climb over a flimsy fence and there they are, at the end of Road 1 (on the TOLs section).

We have spoken to the TOLs to get their cooperation for barbed wires to put up on the fences as well. Hitherto, we are still waiting for their response.

Is this your Neighbour? (Part 1)

SS22A is an enclave community if you want to see it that way. Nice little high end kampung with close to 300 houses. Demographically, it is nestled in between Kampung Kayu Ara on the West and South West, SS23 on the South and SS22 of Damansara Jaya on the North and East.

Unfortunately, some of us(ss22A residents) have the misfortune to have nestled closer to somewhat a neighbour we dont particularly fancy.

At the end of Road 1, we have some TOLs (Temporary Operating Licence) holders where their residence plus place of business is situated. It creates quite an uncomfortable feel for the residents nearing the end of the road. Road 8 residents are also exposed to their operation by virtue of their backyard.

As neighbours, they may have left us alone and not really socialising with us. They do however, have vehicles carrying our their operation and they have 5tonne and above vehicles which are not a happy sight in our roads. On top of this, their suppliers or buyers vehicles come in to get their wares.

I have asked the TOLs operators about the number of vehicles that come in daily into the TOLs, they have told me that under normal circumstances, there are 70 vehicles (including motorbikes and vehicles of employees).

That is quite a lot of traffic flow when coupled up with the school vehicles ie vehicles of parents taking their children home from school.

The owner for the lots next to No.97 Road 1 ie the semi-d house on the road said that they have the title to their property and is known as No. 99 of Road 1.

In this caption, i wanted to show that although they may create heavy traffic flow, they do actually carry out some responsibility as good neighbours. Here, they are seen to carry out fogging, which they do quite periodically to ensure that mosquitoes level is kept at bay. In fact, they have even given me the registration numbers of all the vehicles that come and go into the TOLs area. Well, i havent done anything to do this. Perhaps i will propose something for the security committee.

Get to Know your Security Guard (Part VII)

This is the 6th guard. His name is Shambu, another nepalese. This guy sits in the guardhouse most of the time to monitor the entry of cars into our area. He will write down the registration number of cars that do not have our ss22A stickers and those which has not come into our area before. (i hope he checks if these cars leave our area).

This is done during the daytime. Only during nighttime, cars are stopped and queried.

The 7th guard is a supervisor and probably camera shy. He is Zaibidin. A Malaysian. This is the guard in dark sunglasses most of the time (hhmm not sure why he is hiding behind those shades). With after5 shadow mostly too.

But careful about this one, i have caught him snoozing even though being a supervisor. Again, tell me if this one is spotted snoozing by you. In the meantime, we have recommended for him to be removed. Let us hope we get a replacement soonest.

The Infamous Belukar of Roads 6 and Road 8

1 not so friendly neighbour said that our infamous belukar looks like Guantanamo Bay with all the barb wires fringing the area. Was it such a horrible sight? Have a look at the video i recorded.

Was it necessary since there is a fence? We thought it was else we had sleepless nite. You see before this belukar was not just overgrown scrubs. It had trees, i think most of it, the same rosewood trees that line Road 1. But it was chopped off by this person supposedly the owner of the land. (another blog topic).

The overgrown shrubs are easy hiding place for thieves and they had made a path into the area. The fence was of no use. They either crawled under or climbed over. They were pretty good in identifying the patrol time of the guards so they knew when to come in or exit undetected.

After the spate of buglary, 6 in 2 months - the last 4 houses of road 6 and even the 1st house of road 4....yes that giant looking like impenetrable house, the neighbours agreed that the barbed wires will deter the thieves from coming in.

But almost as soon as we had the barbed wires up, we had the 4th night guard as well. It has since then been more secure. At least we got to contain certain area for security sake.

This video is specifically for a buddy of SS22A who is away in Germany and is probably missing the scenery in our neighbourhood.

Get to Know your Security Guard (Part V) and their Shifts.

This is the 5th Guard. Finally i got a hold of his photo. His name is Prem and , a nepalese. Speaks little BM but can comprehend what we tell him. Newest guard. Tall though, surprisingly :-).

There are 7 guards altogether. 3 in the daytime shift and 4 at night.

9am-12pm, 2pm - 5pm described as non- peak hours in the daytime. The automatic barrier at Guardhouse A on Road 1 will be closed and entrance will be monitored by the guard. The barrier gate at Guardhouse B at Road 4 is partially closed and entrance is monitored by the second guard. The third guard on shift will patrol our area.

The other hours of the daytime will be considered peak hours ie school dismissal time. During Peak hours the barrier gates are not closed. But entrance into our area is still monitored by the guards at the guardhouses checkpoint.

At night, the both barriers close at 745pm. There will be 2 guards at the Guardhouse A and 1 guard at Guardhouse B. One of the guard from Guardhouse A will assist the 4th guard in the patrolling of the area after 12am. And at 2am-6pm, the 4th guard will concentrate his duty only at Road 6 and Road 8 plus end of Road 1 area.

Just yesterday night, a house alarm rang at about 3.30am. This 4th guard sprung to action immediately getting on his bike and riding to survey.

At 7am, the barriers open but guardhouses are to be manned by 1 guard. If you do not see a guard at the guardhouses, please let me know. My email address is karenlohkh@yahoo.com

Get to Know your Security Guard (Part IV)

This is Liwon. He is one of the 2 supervisors for the guards. A familiar face and always very attentive. One of the longer standing guards and i think(let me confirm this later) has been around as our guard for close to 2 years. Takes his work very seriously. He was the one guard who would alight from his bike and walk around the fringes of the belukar during his night shift. Now with the extra guard, the 2 of them make a good team ensuring the road 6 and road 8 are safer.

Get To Know the Security Guard (Part III)

This is Anandurai, another local guard who is the night shift guard only. He is responsible for the patrolling along Road 6 and Road 8 from 2am to 6am in the morning. This is the time frame that many attempted break-ins or break-ins happened prior to the extra guard shift. Thank goodness for him!

Get to Know the Security Guard (Part II)

This is Zainal Abidin, (no not the famous malaysia footballer but our guard). This one of the local guards during the morning shift.

Get to Know The Security Guard (Part I)

This is my first part of posting photo of our security guards for easier identification of our guards. Sure, we can identify them from the uniform they wear ie the Blue shirt with a yellow vest and the company logo- Wahad Securities, but if you have yet to see how they look up close, this postings will help.

This is the morning shift security guard and his name is Mohan Ole. He is a Nepalese. My apologies for not being able to supply bio-datas. When i get it, i will edit this post. All i kind say now, is he is not very tall huh? (nasty me).

For those who do not know the schedule of the guards shift. The morning shift starts from 745am to 745pm. The night shift guards take the next 12 hours.

Updates on Break-ins

Firstly, i must say, i never expected to hear from readers that i havent been blogging. Mere rantings of mine but at least it keeps some residents who are away from our neighbourhood in touch with what is going on around. Thanks to those reminding me to do my rantings more frequently. :-)

As we recall, the spate of break-ins at Road 6 and Road 8 houses, brought about plenty of worries. I for one, took to waking up at 4am every morning. I would switched on the lights in my house to make known that the people in the house are awake....ie DONT COME STEAL MY STUFF AGAIN!! Other neighbours also observed some night duties from inside their homes. We stayed vigilant! 6 break-ins in 2 1/2 months (from March to June). We were furious!

There were police dialogues to which Community Policing was brought up and the police sent patrolling cars which pretty much did not create an impact by coming in during daytime when the thugs were coming in at night.

But one incident lead me to call the police and they reacted very ....i say it again very promptly (within 5minutes). Our own security guards saw 2 men going into the belukar that flanks road 6 and road 8 about 130am and i got up upon hearing the rev of the guards motorbike approaching the belukar. My house is the 2nd houses away from the belukar. So i went out to ask the guard who was pacing up and down making sure, no one would have come through. But i decided to call the police and asked for police patrol to show their presence thus warding off those 2 men if they were still hiding in the belukar.

To my surprise, not only did the police come promptly, 2 patrol cars came. I didnt know whether that was efficient use of their patrolling schedules but their presence, surely would have been intimidating. There they were, 5 police officers, tall and well- build making their presence known. Unfortunately, i wouldnt have said it was any heroic attempt because they didnt go into the belukar to hunt down those 2 thugs (who are probably drug addicts too).

Also by then, the residents along Road 6 and Road 8 had collected funds to put up barbed wires at the fringe of the belukar along the fence.

Even then, there were still some attempted break in along Road 8 and the thugs were coming in from the squatters area. All they have to do is just jump across the Monsoon drain. One of the neighbour woke up when his alarm went off and when he came downstairs, he could hear people talking at the back of his house. Together with our guard and his immediate neighbour(my vote as the most helpful neighbour), they surveyed the back of his house the early hours of the morning. Of course by then, the thugs would have left.

Alarms would ring nitghtly and strayed dogs were barked constantly towards the belukar. So the residents discussed and decided that a 4th guard patrolling along Road 6 and Road 8 was a necessity. Else no one would sleep!

Now, there there is a 4th guard for the night shift. He patrols only along road 6 and road 8 from 2am to 6am everyday.

With this, there is less worry and more sleep.........

Parents' Day Celebration

DJROA has organised a Parents' Day celebration (supposedly Mothers' and Fathers' Day celebration altogether) on 20th June 2009 730pm at the DJROA Community Center, 1A Jalan ss 22/26, Damansara Jaya.

It is a potluck do, so you may bring food suitable for all. Programs for the nite include Karaoke, Line Dancing, Carom, Mahjong and games.

For further information you may call the Community Center @ 03-77299098 or Joyce Wong @ 016 3553111.

Thanks.

Multiracial neighbours

Today, as i read Anas Zubedy's uniquely conscientious efforts to recolour May 13th (as he calls it),  I somehow, thought about the forms to fill in for setting up Rukun Tetangga(which is now under purview of the Unity Department).  One of the requirements was to list out the percentage of the different races that resides in our area.  

Hence, this photo caption.  Here is a Malay (Indian Muslim i believe) and a Chinese-run coffee shop as its neighbour.  This is good, i said to myself. There is multiracial integration.

Nonetheless, within our residential, it is not so. In SS22A,  we only have a handful of Malay families and Indian families.  We are predominantly Chinese.  It is funny how residential areas progressed to set a disparity in the racial distribution of the community.  And it will become a pattern for intended house buyers for this area too.  One Malay family may say that there too many Chinese living in this area and hence may not consider this most welcoming.

I fear this is some form of polarisation.  When i was growing up, my parents  had a Singhalese neighbour who married a chinese wife. He had 16 children who in turn married other races as well.  There was fun in that family, big and like a melting pot of everything, they were still Malaysians. It was nice to have different race neighbours.  We can learn much about their cultures, beliefs and practices. It is always good to be able to learn their good values and adopt it in our lives.  

But why then, is our area predominantly a chinese area?  Did See Hoy Chan(/Paramount garden) group only targetted at Chinese buyers when they were developing this area? Was this development more appealing to Chinese? if so, why? 

As Anas Zubedy, launches his book "Have a Meaningful Malaysia" to unite Malaysians,  I cant help thinking that we should also find a way to make more races of Malaysia to stay or live together in a community. 

Here's  hoping for unity of community without disparity.

DJROA Activities for the Month of May 2009

A short note to inform that DJROA will be organising the following:

•  17 May, Sunday 7pm @ HEALTH TALK ON LIVER at DJROA Centre

FOC for DJROA Members. Non-Members = RM5

-----------------------------------------------------------

• 22-24 May @ 3D/2N PANGKOR ISLAND TRIP

DJROA Member=RM270 per pax (3-4 paxs to a room) or RM320 per pax (Twin Sharing)

*Non-DJROA Member Add RM20 per pax

Package includes:

- Air-conditioned bus ride to and from Lumut

- Ferry to and from Pangkor

- 2 Nights stay at Sea View Hotel

- 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches and 2 Dinners at hotel (inclusive of 1 BBQ dinner)

- 1 Lunch at Sitiawan

Full payment must be made upon booking and non-refundable to cancel. Priority to       

         DJROA members and on a first come first served basis.

 

For Registration, pls call Joyce Wong at 016-655311 or DJROA Centre 03-77299098

        (9am-12noon)