Friday November 9, 2007
Public hearing on SS15 project aborted after row
By LIM CHIA YING
THE public hearing on a proposed project to redevelop the SS15 Subang Jaya community hall on Wednesday was aborted shortly after it started, following some disputes. The hearing has been postponed indefinitely.
The hearing at the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) was to allow shopowners operating within 20m of the site to give their opinions or voice objections.
The hearing was scheduled to start at 10.30am but was delayed when MPSJ president Adnan Md Ikhsan turned up nearly an hour late. Shopowners, who turned up for the hearing, were agitated by the tardiness.
The proposed privatised development, which, if approved, will replace the current public community hall on the site of the former SS15 wet market.
Some shopowners said they had only learned about the hearing from a small advertisement published by the MPSJ in a newspaper on Aug 23.
Of the 31 shop lots within the 20m radius of the project site, only 16 were said to have received letters from the MPSJ informing them of the hearing.
Several shopowners who did not receive the letter turned up for the hearing anyway. They asked Adnan why only certain shopowners were sent the letter although all of them had submitted their replies to the MPSJ within the 21-day objection period prior to the hearing.
The shopowners also wanted to know why press reporters and photographers were barred from the public hearing.
Earlier when Adnan entered the meeting room, he apologised for the delay, explaining that he had numerous cases to handle in the morning.
“I’m sorry, but I had so many other cases to handle earlier. In fact, I could get my vice-president to chair this dialogue, but I didn’t to do so as I want to personally look into this case and talk to all of you,” Adnan said.
The public hearing then started with shopowners asking why the MPSJ was limiting the number of people allowed to attend since the community hall was a public facility, and those affected by the proposed development were not confined to within 20m of the project site.
During the meeting, heated words were then exchanged between Adnan and shopowners. He then aborted the meeting, saying that he would arrange for another day to hold the hearing.
Subang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, who was present, said he agreed with the shopowners that the dialogue should not be confined to just those within 20m of the project site.
“Since this is a government property, which currently houses a public community hall, we should not interpret the 20m rule strictly. I will check the rules on this but, even if that is the provision, that should apply to only private properties and not a government site like this,” Lee said.
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