photo courtesy of Malaysiakini
Ronnie earns wrath of Subang residents
Yip Ai Tsin Jun 24, 09 6:42pm
Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu earned the wrath of the Subang Jaya Residents Association after he told the MPSJ draft local plan public hearing on Monday that “a small part” of the Subang Ria park could be developed into a commercial area.
AS Gill, chairman, of Subang Jaya Residents Association was disappointed and shocked that the DAP exceutive councillor could even suggest more development in an already over developed area without even looking at the local and federal laws. “This is abuse of process. Residents’ views are not taken into consideration by the Pakatan exco member. Statements are being made with total disregard for competency, accountability, transparency and due process of the law. “Did he consider all the legal requirements before making the statement? Is he a loose cannon in the Pakatan government who just shoots and balks at everyone to keep them quiet,” said Gill.
Committee member, Balachandran Naicker, added that the residents had already objected to Sime UEP’s proposal to develop the 29.39 hectare park for commercial purposes in July 15, 2007 at a public hearing. He said that the developer had decided to withdraw the application for development in 2007 after the objections.”Residents are surprised that the proposal is being entertained at all,” he said. Balachandran appealed to the state government to step in and rectify the matter.” Residents had believed that the park would remain a park in perpetuity as promised by the developer when they bought their property,” he said.
‘Park should be gazetted’
The residents had met at Subang Jaya state assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh’s office. Yeoh reiterated at the meeting that the park should be gazetted as a green lung and any development must be purely for recreational purpose as stated in the land title. Yeoh assured the residents that Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim will call for a consultation session with the residents soon.
Since the developer had refused to handover the park to the MPSJ, Liu had suggested that a small part of the area be developed to defray the cost of acquiring the park. Liu had reportedly said that it would be “crazy” for the state government to acquire the park as it is estimated to be worth more than RM 100 million. Liu could not be contacted for comment.
Sime UEP has also not given a clear overview of the proposed development plan. “There were some levels of deception in the way the numbers and figures were presented,” said Gill. Sime UEP still owns the park although it was supposed to be handed over to the local council after the completion of the SS12 and Wangsa Baiduri areas in 1988.
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This is not the first time that I’ve experienced MCA and The Star working hand in glove with the aim of merely scoring political points. The Star was present at my press conference yesterday. Yet, knowing full well the details of the situation and my responses along with the responses of the residents, they went ahead to exclusively publish the statement by the local MCA leader which was aimed at taking swipes at DAP. Of course, this MCA leader would look extremely foolish if my statements at yesterday’s press conference were also published alongside hers, therefore they decided to simply feature her and ignore everything else.
That statement by Mdm Ong clearly exhibited that she does not understand the difference between MCA and DAP, or simply feigns ignorance. That statement by Ronnie Liu is a statement by Ronnie Liu. I do not agree with it, many of the other DAP assemblymen do not agree with it too. We can freely express our personal opinions in DAP and we do not have to toe the party line blindly on every matter. I, as the state assemblyman for Subang Jaya will not budge from demanding what’s right and just for Subang Jaya and her people. My stand on the Subang Ria park is unchanged, pre-election & post-election.
I have many questions to ask of MCA here in Subang Jaya. It was during the watch of the BN state government that the land title for the Subang Ria park fell into the hands of the developer. Mdm Ong, you owe us, the people of Subang Jaya an explanation and an apology.
I challenge The Star to publish my posting here in its entirety in tomorrow’s edition.