Tuesday July 17, 2012

New police station soon in Brickfields

By BAVANI M. and VIJENTHI NAIR
metro@thestar.com.my

A NEW police station will soon take shape in Kuala Lumpur’s Little India.

Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said the new station would be built on the former Brickfields police headquarters land in Jalan Tun Sambanthan once the developer agreed to the land swap deal with the government.

“The details have not been finalised. The developer, police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) are still discussing the matter.”

The former police headquarters was relocated to Sri Petaling at the end of 2010 to make way for redevelopment purposes.

Safety issue: There is not enough security for pedestrians as they walk with motorcycles passing them even on the pavements in Brickfields.

Nong Chik said this at the launch of “Transforming My City Through Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley” programme on Saturday.

The three-day programme, held from July 13 to 15, was organised by the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry. The event was held at the concourse area of Bangsar Village 2.

Also present was incoming mayor Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib.

“This programme is to publicise the government’s initiatives in line with our aspiration for Kuala Lumpur to be among the top liveable and top economical city in the world. We see new focus on building truly rakyat-oriented initiatives to support Malaysia’s ambition to become a high-income nation by 2020,” he said.

Greater Kuala Lumpur is one of the National Key Economic Areas under the Economic Transformation Programme. Nine Entry Point Projects (EPPS) and two business opportunities have been identified as a catalyst to achieve the goals under Greater Kuala Lumpur plan.

“Among the important criteria for a smarter city is to have more open spaces which include green spaces in the city.

“Cities of the future have to be environmentally friendly and this is why one of our Greater Kuala Lumpur initiatives is to increase the shaded area in the city by planting more trees and opening more open parks by collaborating with the private sector,” said Nong Chik.

“We then look at the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley’s 10- year ambition to grow from six million to 10 million people and how it will help to support the talent needs initiated by other economic areas and to spur more investment spiralling in the city and the country as a whole.

“The Federal Government and DBKL aim that by 2017, the number of daily commuters using public transport will rise four folds, from an estimated 480,000 in 2010 to two million. The government also have plans to improve existing bus lanes by installing barriers to separate them from the road used by other vehicles.

“The Federal Government is also conducting detailed study for a high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore,” he said.

“Although not within the ambit of Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley, I am also aware of the crime situation and concerns of the residents in combating crime.

“For example, in Bangsar, apart from ensuring that DBKL moves swiftly to implement deterrent measures such as adequate lighting and building road humps, I have championed for increased police personnel and have successfully convinced the police to open a police station in Brickfields.

“I am also working towards upgrading the Travers police station to a police district headquarters. This war on crime is a collective struggle that affects us all, and if we work together, I am confident we will win,” he said.

Representatives from the Brickfields Business Community Society (BBCS), Little India Action Committee and Brickfields Rukun Tetangga want the government to expedite the proposal to build the police station.

Aside from this, they also want the authorities to install closed-circuit TV cameras (CCTVs) for better security.

BBCS secretary A. Karuppiah said traders and businessmen believe the installation of CCTVs in Brickfields could help reduce criminal activities there.

He said there had been an increase in snatch thefts and robberies since the district police station moved to Sri Petaling at the end of 2011.

Businessman Raja Samiappan said there have been several cases of snatch thefts involving tourists but it had not affected the image of Brickfields as a tourist spot.

Little India Action Committee chairman S. Pathavachalam said the police should take more proactive actions to stamp out unhealthy activities in Brickfields.

He said CCTVs would definitely play a key role in deterring any “would-be” thieves or robbers from committing the offence there.

Brickfields RT chairman S.K.K Naidu said,“The area would be more secure if there is a police station.”