Stop the food-court mania!

Will USJ police station be further delayed? Residents are up in arms as they learned precious land reserved for a full-sized police station has been leased "5 years + 5 years" to build a food-court that will operate till 3.00am everyday.
Posted on 05.14pm Sep 26, 2004

By usjXpress team
Email: edteam@usj.com.my

Subang Jaya, September 26:

Promoters of foodcourt projects are eyeing depleting prime land around USJ, no matter they are designated open spaces for the residents or part of the police station's reserved land.

On the other hand, ratepayers are fighting a losing game as the local council - MPSJ - seems to be nodding its head only to parties that are in obvious position of power.

So far, there have been two protests against two foodcourt projects in USJ within a spate of three months.

On both counts, MPSJ has been seen favouring the food-court promoters while the wakil rakyat keep mum on the progress of their job to relay the residents' protest to the local council.

'DATUK' WELL-CONNECTED

A third protest is looming large as residents have now found out that a well-connected Chinese businessman is developing a large part of land reserved for the USJ8 police station into a food court without MPSJ's approval.



According to parties familiar with the project, the police's reserved land has been leased to a private party who, in turn, has sub-leased it to Pack Connexion Sdn. Bhd. which intends to turn it into a food court.

Dubbed Laman Selera Subang (Subang Food Garden), the food court will comprise 107 food stalls.

Sources told usjXpress that, for a start, there will be 35 stalls catering for halal food, and another 72 stalls serving non-halal food.

Operating hours will be from 5pm to 3am everyday.

However, a usjXpress survey indicates that construction of the food court has started even without an official approval from the local council, MPSJ.

When usjXpress visited the site on September 25, workers and vehicles carrying building materials were using Jalan USJ 8/2E, a residential road, to access the worksite (see picture below).



The only description that sheds light on the project being a food court is a piece of cloth-banner hanged on hoardings erected next to the Pondok Polis along Persiaran Kewajipan. (see picture below)



It does not list information about the project owner or the contractor, except three phone numbers apparently used for the booking of foodstalls.

Project noticeboard, mandatory of all the erection of new holdings, cannot be found.

COMMUNITY SAFETY THREATENED

Meanwhile, several community leaders, who were alerted on the project, have been exchanging information among themselves via USJ-Subang Jaya Forum and the NWatch Forum.

What shocked USJ ratepayers most is that the land, situated adjacent to the USJ8 residential area and sandwiched between the teeny-sized Pondok Polis and two schools, has been leased to a 'Datuk' for a period of 5 + 5 years.





USJ residents have interpreted it as there won't be a full-sized police station to cater for the booming township in the next 10 years!

Due to the increased crime rates in the area, USJ residents have been looking forward to the setting up of a full-sized police station which is said to be provided for under the 9th Malaysia Plan (2006 - 2010).

Currently, the USJ8 Pondok Polis, which comes under the Shah Alam police district and parented to the Batu Tiga police station, is tasked to keep the safety of residents stretching from USJ to Putra Heights and Alam Megah, which is made up of Shah Alam Seksyen 26, 27 and 28.

The Subang Jaya police station falls under the Petaling Jaya Police District and it does not cover USJ except USJ1, or the former Subang Mewah areas.

The staff force at Pondok Polis USJ8 has been spread very thin as it is supported by only 38 officers, excluding 7 who are currently on suspension.

In contrast, the total population under the Pondok Polis' jurisdiction comes close to 268,000, where USJ comprises 160,000 Putra Heights 8,000 and Alam Megah 100,000.

"That gives us a police to population ration of 1:7,026!" says a worried resident from USJ18.

TEST THE YBs

According to an MPSJ insider, the municipal council has pre-approved the building of the USJ8 food court, subject to final approval of drawings.

However, when contacted by USJ residents, Subang Jaya state assmblyman Lee Hwa Beng pleaded ignorance of the project.

Instead, he has asked his constituents to file a written complaint to MPSJ so that "he could follow up on the case".

Lee has been an MPSJ councillor since July 1997.

Subsequent to this, cyber-activists among the residents' groups have started an SMS campaign to jolt their wakil rakyat into action.

"If you feel that we are right to object, start by sending the following SMS to our MP and ADUN to register our strong objection to the building of the Food Court," says an online message.

It carries the following directive to the YBs: "We strongly object to Food Court in place of Balai Polis USJ8."

Residents in USJ and Putera Heights, which now come under three different constituencies are dogwatching their wakil rakyat over the foodcourt issues.

They all advocated that all designated open space must be left for recreational purposes in the neighbourhood.

They also cited hygene and public health as the other reasons for their protests.

In mid July, residents in USJ11 have ganged up together to protest against a developer's application to MPSJ to start a food court using a piece of open space in their neighbourhood.

Their ADUN, Lee Hwa Beng, has promised to use his influence and power to stop the project.

In late July, it was the turn for residents in USJ16 to protest against another food court project using a piece of open space too close to the residents' house along Jalan USJ 16/2D.





Affected residents are multi-racial, as can been seen in USJ16

ADUN for the area, Dr Kow Cheong Wei, has promised to carry the voices of the residents into MPSJ meetings.



To date, nothing concrete has happened pertaining to the two projects.

It was learned that both the food court projects in USJ 11 and USJ16 were being pursued by a Klang-based businessman, Low Seong Teng.

Low has a business address registered at No. 7A, Jalan USJ 10/1E, 47620 Subang Jaya.

During the July Full Board Meeting, MPSJ presidents Hakim Borhan has announced that its hands are tight and businessman Low's two applications look set to be approved despite the residents' objection.

TEXTING YOUR YBs

Residents objecting ot the USJ8 food court project have been circulating the handphone numbers of the various wakil rakyat, so that they are alerted of the residents' aspiration and put a stop to the unwelcomed project that is bulldozing its way at the worksite.

You may do your part by texting the following YB's to get them to work for you:

Residents living in USJ23 to USJ27, including the whole of Putra Heights:
MP for Kota Raja - YB S Vigneswaran a/l M. Sanasee
- Mobile Phone: +6019-3832281

ADUN for Sri Muda - YB Amzah bin Umar
- Mobile Phone: +6019-2151405

For residents living in other areas send your SMS message to the following:

Residents living in USJ1 to USJ15:
MP for Kelana Jaya - YB Loh Seng Kok
- Mobile Phone: +6012-2231121

ADUN for Subang Jaya - YB Dato' Lee Hwa Beng
- Mobile Phone: +6012-2203600

Residents living in USJ16 to USJ22:
MP for Puchong - YB Lau Yeng Peng
- Mobile Phone: +6012-2778808

ADUN for Kinrara - YB Dr Kow Cheong Wei
- Mobile Phone: +6012-2972198

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