Residents want original Lintas flyover plan
The residents of Taman Milek Phase 1 have reiterated their objection to the on-going construction of the elevated U-turn along Jalan Lintas here.
They lamented that the ongoing construction of the project is causing noise and pollution, besides safety issue and the potential risk of flash flood that could affect the residents.
They also claimed that the project is not built on the original location indicated in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report which was made known to them.
“In fact, the association do not know whether there is a new EIA done to sanction the current construction location which provided insufficient setback (only about two feet six inches) of the residents” houses and the construction of the project is causing nuisance, noise, pollution and safety issue and the possible risk of flash flood to the residents at large,¡¨ said Nasip Roslan, president of Taman Milek Phase 1 Residents Association, Kota Kinabalu.
In a statement issued yesterday, Nasip noted that since the project commenced in November 2017, the residents had been deeply concerned about the impact on them. Hence, this matter was brought to the attention of the then opposition leaders (who are now in the State Government) and was subsequently raised in the State Assembly in February 2018 and also reported in the newspapers.
“Regretfully, there were no response by the then State Government and the relevant authorities. We subsequently brought this matter to the attention of the incumbent assemblyman for Luyang, Phoong Jin Zhe. Then in early June 2018, Phoong made a statement to say that Azam Jaya Sdn Bhd, the contractor undertaking the construction of the proposed elevated U-turn (flyover) at Jalan Lintas, has come up with a new design to alleviate our safety concerns of the project.
“He especially said that under the new design, there will be a six-metre setback (including the drainage system) from the houses,” Nasip recalled.
Nasip went on to say that the affected residents also disagreed with the previous statement by the current State Infrastructure Development Minister in the State Assembly, that the Public Works Department (PWD) had fulfilled all the conditions provided by the Environment Protection Department (EPD) for the purpose of constructing this project.
“On this, we beg to differ from the views of the honourable minister, as this project is being constructed right behind our houses, where the location of this on-going project is different from the original location as stated in the Environment Impact Assessment,” Nasip contended.
He expressed regret that despite numerous petitions and concerns raised by the residents, the PWD went ahead to approve the project at the location which is not originally stated and approved in the EIA.
“The association wishes to humbly state that the voices of the residents were not properly heard on this matter by the previous State Government and/ or the relevant authorities. We thus hope the present new State Government would do the right thing to immediately review the project and revert back to its original location. Failing which, we would have no choice but to seek legal recourse to safeguard our interest and wellbeing,” Nasip concluded.