Lam Thye: Re-examine facilities at low-cost dwellings
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall must re-examine the provision of facilities for people in low-cost areas to prevent unfortunate incidents.
Former City Council Advisory Board member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the death of S. Sathiswaran, 15, after being struck by a chair thrown from an upper floor of the Seri Pantai People’s Housing Project (PPR), was needless and could have been avoided.
“If residents are civic-minded, know their responsibilities and respect one another, this would not have happened.
“But, there is a need for City Hall to see whether it can provide places for residents to dump their rubbish without having to go to the ground floor of the building.”
It was speculated that the chair had been thrown by someone aiming to dispose of it without leaving his unit.
Lee said there could be reasons why it was difficult for residents to throw rubbish downstairs, such as faulty elevators, so DBKL should look into placing rubbish dumps at every few floors.
“These people are also the rakyat. We have to provide them with better facilities.
“There could also be a need to install closed-circuit television cameras for the authorities to monitor the area to deter crimes,” he said.
Lee stressed the importance of educating residents about littering.
City Hall on Tuesday said it would install netting at either the lower or upper floors of PPR to stop passers-by from being hit by objects.
This, Lee said, would not do much as bigger items would come crashing down on the netting and it may even be an invitation for people to throw more things.
Non-governmental association Friends of Kota Damansara chairman Jeffrey Phang said the problem should not be recognised as a selfcontaining problem but one riddled with numerous factors.
When elevators were faulty, he said, people were reluctant to take the stairs to throw their rubbish away, resorting to chucking it out their window.
“Joint management boards and management committees in PPR flats are weak. Local councils should take the leadership role by budgeting for community capacity-building programmes.
“The Commissioner of Buildings should also be beefed up and ensure JMBs function well,” said Phang, who has seven years of dealing with PPR issues.