Govt Change, Local Administration... It's "Deja Vu"

Reading this report in the Metro HOTEL PLAN GIVE PJ FOLKS THE BLUES! gave me the creeps! I am also a resident in the vicinity, and always, I have looked at the development of the area at the junction of Jalan Utara and Jalan Semangat with incredulity. As described by the President of Section 12 Rajasoorian, the area is really over developed. Imagine having commercial complexes like Armada Hotel, Jaya 33, the new Jaya to be built, Hussein Onn Eye Hospital, Intan Square, Crystal Crown Hotel, Ehsan Ria Condos, a new Commercial complex under construction, crowding the schools (Bukit Bintang, Sri Petaling, Abdul Samad, Alam Shah Primary) all situated in Section 12. I do not believe even for a moment that a proper traffic study has been conducted. Will MBPJ confirm that an independent consultant be appointed to verify the TIA report submitted by the developer. I also agree that having 2 hotels (3, if you include Armada) in an area occupied by 4 schools is not a good idea.

But what struck a note in my mind is the comment by the President of the RA I quote.. " Rajasoorian also expressed his disappointment at the then Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillors who approved the commercial project without residents’ knowledge. If the present council under the current state government closes an eye to the problems we are facing here, we would be back to square one,” said Rajasoorian..... " This statement resonates at the core of our democratic system, where citizens change their 'administrators' through the ballot box when they have been found wanting, dishonest, arrogant, etc. Do the new councillors now follow up on their election promises, and evaluate all projects, especially those awarded close to the end of the previous Govt's tenure, for propriety and honesty? In this example, have the councillors taken cognizance that the residents have not been 'consulted' on such a big project, and in fact it has been pushed down their throats, as the statement has intimated? I am just a layman, but I know that area well. It is a low lying area where rainwater find a way to flow in heavy rain, and thus maybe reducing the possibility of floods in Sections 12 and 14. The T-junction has been susceptible to minor landslides several times already, as the slope at the top of the T appears to be weak. If a 19-storey hotel is built with basement carparks and ingress and egress roads, will the "concretization" of the whole area make these sections more vulnerable to floods in the rainy season? Besides the Traffic Impact study which should rightfully be publicly discussed, have studies been made on the environmental effects of building the hotel? Like effects of flood and traffic gridlock on the surrounding schools, for example. We must not allow "big business" to cajole and browbeat us into accepting anything that will have long term deleterious effects in our area. Our elected representatives must see to that, or, are we going to agree that what Terence Fernandez feature in 'The Sun' Spoilt New Kids on the Block is ominously prophetic??