Jalan Jati residents worried about safety of their houses!

January 19, 2017

Jalan Jati residents worried about safety of their houses!

Jalan Jati Sri Damansara residents are a worried lot these days.

Their fears stem from MRT Corp’s sudden request to allow its sub-contractors to carry out safety monitoring to their houses.

Geonamics has been commissioned to carry out building settlement monitoring on selected houses.

Many of the Jalan Jati houses are located merely a stone’s throw away from the site where a MRT station is being constructed.

Persatuan Penduduk Jalan Jati Sri Damansara Kuala Lumpur chairman Albert Chai said “we are not against the construction of the MRT station”.

“We just want them (MRT Corp) to be more transparent in their work. We have no problem co-operating with MRT Corp to install building settlement markers in the selected houses.

“All we want is transparency and to extend us a copy of their monitoring reports. Is that really too much to ask?

“You come and bore our houses but you don’t want to be transparent with your findings? Why? Is there anything to hide from us?” Chai asked.

He said: “We want to know how and why those houses are selected for monitoring. We want to know how the monitoring is to be conducted because it involved workers entering our houses.

“This means there is also the security concern and having someone at home when the workers come. Have you considered the inconvenience of those who have to go to work and when there is no one at home?”

Speaking at a dialogue with Geonamics at the association’s premise on Monday night (Jan 16, 2017), Chai said “the sudden need to carry out such monitoring has jolted us”.

“Surely there must be a criteria and reason for such monitoring. It is easy for you to say it is normal, that our houses are safe and that there is no risk of collapse due to the MRT station’s construction work.

“If that is all true, then why can’t MRT Corp be transparent and extend us their monitoring report? Why must the reports on the status of the houses be secret or confidential?” Chai asked.

Syed Razak (left) and Chai (centre) listening attentively to a briefing conducted by Geonamics

Gerakan Deputy Speaker Syed Abdul Razak Alsagoff, who is also the party’s nominee to contest N.37 Bukit Lanjan in the coming 14^th General Election (GE14), was also invited to the dialogue by Chai.

Syed Razak said he was present as an observer so as to understand the plight of the residents.

“When or if the need arises, I will extend my assistance to the residents,” he added.