Get Off Our Turf, state-backed company Konsortium Jaringan Selangor Sdn Bhd told

Thursday, 31 January 2008

Get Off Our Turf, state-backed company Konsortium Jaringan Selangor Sdn Bhd told

USJ 5 Residents Association president KC Tan presenting Lee with their Press Briefing Notes on the issue.

Subang Jaya residents want their green space back and telecommunication towers erected far away from homes.

THE message from Subang Jaya residents was loud and clear – Move the towers elsewhere!

The united stand was made by around 100 concerned residents straight to state-backed company Konsortium Jaringan Selangor Sdn Bhd during a briefing session last night at the Subang Jaya Municipal Council.

“We want the company to relocate their telecommunication towers elsewhere in the Municipality and not in front of our houses or in the small space we call a park in USJ5/3A,” USJ 5 Residents Association president KC Tan said.

“Would you buy a house next to a telecommunication tower.” he asked the panel, which was chaired by MPSJ deputy president Mohamad Yusoff Ghazali.

Present at the briefing were Konsortium Jaringan Selangor Sdn Bhd senior project manager Ahmad Latif Abu, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission deputy director (central region) Mohd Fadhillah Mohd Nor and other officials sitting on stage, who were not introduced.

A resident making his point loud and clear about the towers

Earlier, Subang Jaya State Assemblyman Dato' Lee Hwa Beng and Kelana Jaya MP Loh Seng Kok both assured residents that their objections were noted and would be brought to Selangor State Executive Councillor Dato' Abdul Fatah Hj. Iskandar who is the Chairman Standing Committee, Infrastructure and Public Amenities and also Selangor State Executive Councillor for Multimedia, Environment and Village Development Dato’ Ch’ng Toh Eng.

Residents who stood up to make their point were very direct. One resident said the towers should be built near sewage treatment ponds and traffic junctions, where people did not reside nearby. They even suggested that some of the towers be built on MPSJ's building.

Resident Datin Rosalind Lee said as it is the land at USJ 5/3 was too small for anything.

“We use the place for our morning chi-qong. Give us back the green lung,” she said.

No one in the crowd denied the fact that the towers were needed to have better services but everyone wanted it moved away from houses.

Another resident who declined to be named said there was without a doubt that long term exposure to the radiation emitted by the towers would cause cancer.

“What are your safety standards? From the safety point of view, it's not acceptable to all of us,” the resident, who is a former radar and microwave radiation expert when he was with the government service, said.

Before closing the session, Mohamad Yusoff assured residents that the council would review the whole matter and if necessary, look for suitable places away from residential areas to locate the towers.

One of the telco's present from Maxis said, “We hear what residents have said. We have the responsibility to heed the government's call to provide better telecommunication services.”

“We do carry out tests and have done it together with the Malaysian Nuclear Agency. We will take the comments made today and consult MCMC on this,” he said, adding that two of the five towers were for Maxis.