KUALA LUMPUR – “Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi” (while you rely on the fence, the fence eats the padi) – this famous Malay proverb best describes the situation experienced by Batu constituents now.
With the constituency’s rapid development in recent years, several residents from an erstwhile squatter area were promised a unit each at the Intan Baiduri flats built under the People’s Housing Programme. However, this has never been fulfilled.
When met by The Vibes, 37-year-old single mother Sarala Saravanan lamented that life has not been a walk in the park for her in the last seven years.
I went to DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) numerous times and even went to see our MP, YB P. Prabakaran, from whom I received two letters. However, until today there has been no feedback,” she said.
According to Sarala, many empty units have not been occupied from the very beginning.
Some units have been repossessed by DBKL. These units, however, were neglected and are believed to be encroached upon by drug addicts.
There are 20 units on a single floor in each 17-storey building, and six such buildings in Intan Baiduri.
As of today, Sarala’s application is still being processed.
For Valli Rajangam, who has been waiting for a unit since 2016, hopes that she will be granted a unit sometime soon still linger, despite feedback that her application has been rejected.
“Recently, I heard that my application was apparently rejected. However, I am hoping that someone can help me, if possible,” said the 49-year-old.
Currently, Valli lives with her elder brother in Intan Baiduri’s Block A and sells breakfast every morning in the area to make ends meet.
Asked whether she would be casting her vote this time around, Valli firmly said she would have to observe who the most assiduous candidate in Batu worthy of her vote is.
“For now, I’ll just see who can help us. We’ll support the person because our house is an important matter. We have waited for it for so long,” she said.
Just a stone’s throw away in Jalan Ipoh, resident Onn Lok Huah is concerned about safety and the misery flooding brings.
“Residences here on Jalan Cumarasami in Taman Kaya have had nine flash floods – nine times since the construction of an electric substation site was going on here.
Rainwater entered our house because all the drainage was clogged,” he said. “So, what exactly has YB Praba (Prabakaran) done for the constituents here in Batu?
“We have never seen his face around here in Taman Kaya and Taman Rainbow. He hardly makes his rounds here,” claimed the 52-year-old.
He added that even though Batu residents live near landmarks like KLCC and the Petronas Twin Towers, conditions in the area are far from world class.
Batu is a parliamentary constituency in the northern outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, covering the area between Sentul and Batu Caves.
In the upcoming 15th general election, the seat will see a historic 10-cornered fight. PKR’s Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua, had held the seat from 2008 to 2018, before he was disqualified from contesting the 2018 polls on technical grounds.
Chua and PKR had then agreed to back Prabakaran, who was initially contesting on an independent ticket. The latter would later join the party upon winning the seat.
Their roles are somewhat reversed in this election with Prabakaran running as a PKR member on Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) ticket, while Chua tries to regain the seat as an independent.
On November 5, PKR president and PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that Chua would be sacked for going against the party with his candidacy.
Prabakaran made history when he became the youngest MP at the age of 22 in 2018. He garnered a 24,438-vote majority against Barisan Nasional’s Dominic Lau Hoe Chai, PAS’ Azhar Yahya, and independent Panjamorthy Muthusami. – The Vibes, November 15, 2022
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