HEAL SUBANG JAYA.....

So quickly time has passed us by, we are now entering the second half of 2009. June has truly been an eventful month. Who would have thought that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson would leave us forever in June this year? How did one individual in America touch and impact so many lives across nations in a span of 50 years? I was in Subang Parade at noon when I saw a huge crowd gathering outside a music store, just watching a “soundless” Michael Jackson video clip. Even without the music, the crowd stayed on and was completely mesmerised by his dance moves. What a tragic loss but what is even more tragic is the fact that very often we only truly appreciate a person when he/she is no longer around! Tribute would mean a whole lot more if it is given before a funeral. May we all learn from this to appreciate our loved ones daily.
I could go on and on about Michael Jackson since we’re on the subject of an eventful month. Another hot topic is the Subang Ria Park. Some brief background:
Proprietor/Landowner : Sime UEP Properties Bhd
Express conditions: Tanah ini hendaklah digunakan semata-mata untuk taman rekreasi dan bangunan yang berkaitan dengannya.
Size of land: 29.39 Ha.
Sometime last year, the developer showed their new lower-density proposed development to me and they said, in exchange for a portion of the park to be developed, the developer would surrender the rest of the park back to the State Government [important to note that it was only a proposal and not a formal application]. I told the developer that I was not the decision maker and that they should rightfully consult the Jawatankuasa Penduduk Zon 1, Subang Jaya (JKP) because in accordance with Local Agenda 21, the residents have to be consulted. At the presentation and consultation session with JKP, the residents unanimously rejected the proposal and reinstated their wishes to see the park gazetted as a green lung. Since then, I have raised this at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly but received no reply.
After the draft local plan hearing at MPSJ, YB Ronnie Liu made a remark to The Star as reported on 23 June 2009:
“If we can convince the private company that owns the park land to keep most of it as a public amenity, we won’t say no to having a small part of it developed,” he said.
“It will be crazy for the state government to acquire it as the land cost for the 29.14ha park is estimated to be more than RM100mil.”
Together with some committee members of JKP and Subang Jaya Residents’ Association, I called for a press conference in my office to reiterate my stand that the park must be gazetted as a green lung and any development pertaining to the park must be purely recreational.
Malaysiakini carried my statement on 24 June 2009:
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.
We are awaiting the meeting between our Menteri Besar and the residents. I hope this article will once more clear all doubts about my stand on overdevelopment. I am not against development, I am against unsustainable development. I personally think Subang Jaya residents need space to breathe; we need more trees and parks. Don’t deprive us of that. Enough is enough!
As Michael Jackson would sing:
Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race...
You And For Me
Make A Better Place
You And For Me
heal the wordl we live in
You And For Me
save it for our children