AN illegal construction project underway at a corner of Jalan 1/116B in Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park, Kuala Lumpur, has not only riled up the community in the area, but has also raised serious safety concerns.
Many people are concerned about their safety as the structure, which happens to be a prayer stall (Chinese tokong), is situated in close proximity to both a petrol station and TNB sub-station.
The owner of this structure has already received a notice from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) under Section 46 (1) (a) of the Street, Drainage, and Building Act 1974, citing obstruction issues.
Responding to numerous public complaints, DBKL notified the owner to demolish the structure on Oct 3, even though it was halfway completed.
Nevertheless, construction workers at the site chose to disregard the directive and proceeded to continue working.
Not happy that the workers refused to comply with DBKL’s directive, several residents and business owners contacted StarMetro to complain about the matter.
“I am annoyed that despite DBKL instructing them to demolish the structure, the workers continued to build the structure which, later DBKL will "allow" it as it’s already up," said KC Lim, a business owner in the area.
“This area is congested and already has many illegal structures built on public walkaways and is impeding people’s movements," Lim said, adding that it was quite the norm in the area, whereby illegal structures are put up, and later allowed to remain by the authorities.
Another business owner in the area, Clarence Chan, added that DBKL should demolish the structure anyway to teach people a lesson that they cannot simply build anywhere they like.
“There has to be some control over what is allowed, and the way things work in this area is like the law of the jungle," Chan said.
Another resident who only identified herself as E. Sim added that building structures near petrol and TNB stations is dangerous, especially since the authorities, such as the Fire and Rescue Department, did not sanction it.
When StarMetro visited the site recently, the structure was halfway completed, and the DBKL notice was removed.
Several workers at the site said they were merely following orders to build the structure which was meant for prayers.
When informed that DBKL had issued a notice to demolish the structure, the workers replied that they were told by their boss that everyone in the neighbourhood had chipped in to build the tokong, and that the matter had already been settled with the authorities.
When contacted, Seputeh MP, Teresa Kok said she was aware of the matter.
“I am not against it, but they are building a prayer structure next to the petrol station and a TNB sub-station, and that is a safety concern to me and the community living and working there," Kok said.
“So I hope that before the structure gets any bigger, I hope DBKL will do the necessary and bring it down," she added.
Meanwhile, when contacted, a DBKL spokesperson from the corporate communications unit said they had already informed the enforcement team and action would be taken.
