I have never run away from my responsibilities, says Kok
KUALA LUMPUR: Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has hit out at criticism by former Seputeh MCA candidate Chan Quin Er that Kok was unwilling to help Taman Desa residents on the issue of over development in the area.
Kok said she had found out that City Hall had approved the development of 18 tower blocks totalling 5,744 apartment units in Taman Desa, Danau Desa and Bukit Desa.
“We approached City Hall and found that it had already approved the development in 2017,” she told reporters yesterday at the site of “The Address”, a condominium under construction, which suffered a partial collapse at about 3.30pm on Friday.
“I brought the matter up in Parliament several times in attempts to get answers from then Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.”
Kok said she has never ignored her election promises despite claims to the contrary being made by Chan.
She said Chan had alleged the residents in the area were disappointed with her because after she became a minister, she had forsaken her responsibilities.
Kok, who is also Primary Industries minister, pointed out that she had no say in the project’s approval.
She said it was done in 2017 before Pakatan Harapan took over the country’s administration and that she was never in favour of the excessive development taking place in the area.
“We started a signature campaign in
2017 once we got wind of the projects but they had already been approved. To say that I have run away from my responsibilities is not true.
“I don’t like to attack young people, but I want to advise Chan to be more responsible and check before making statements. Don’t simply put the blame on me just because one accident happened.”
Kok added the Federal Territories Ministry and Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan were relooking many projects around Kuala Lumpur that had been approved earlier.
Chan had demanded that Kok, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad and Nor Hisham explain why protests over the development in the area kept falling on deaf ears.
She had also asked whether safety regulations in the construction of the condominium had been adhered to.