Residents of Jalan Pasai 1 and 2, complain of construction debris from the high-rise project behind their houses. — Photos: YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
FOR the past three years, the residents of Jalan Pasai 1 and Jalan Pasai 2 in Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, have been living in constant fear and frustration.
A two-block high-rise project behind their houses has turned their once peaceful neighbourhood into a danger zone, with construction debris such as stones, steel pipes, pieces of hardened cement and even parts of the scaffolding frequently raining down on their homes.
The hazardous “flying objects” have not only damaged rooftops, walls and cars, but also have disrupted the residents’ lives and threatened their safety.
The high-rise project sits on a 0.89ha land located a mere 3m away from the houses of Jalan Pasai 1.
One block of the high-rise project is a 43-storey residential tower while the other block is 30-storeys high with retail units and offices.
“During construction, debris falls on our rooftop almost every day.
“My roof is constantly battered by falling stones,” said resident Jimmy Lau, 62, adding that a few of his flower pots were also broken by the falling items.
The high-rise building is so close to houses of Jalan Pasai 1 and 2.
“My house rooftop is riddled with holes and there are cracks in my walls too,” said Ken Loh, another resident.
Sixty-seven-year-old Tahir Idris said the windscreen of his and his son’s cars were cracked due to falling objects.
“There were barely any safety measures in place when they started construction, and that should have been a priority given the close proximity of the project,” he added.
Loo Kean Weng, 56, recounted how part of a scaffolding fell on his house roof, leaving a gaping hole in his daughter’s bedroom ceiling.
“Thankfully, my daughter was not at home at the time, but her entire bedroom was a mess,” he said, adding that the damage cost about RM5,000 to repair.
Residents’ representative, Vincent Hong, 35, said the developer’s main contractor had been fixing the damage from time to time, but most of the work had been mere patchwork.
“There are no long-term solutions provided.
“In the meantime, residents are living in constant fear,” said Hong.
When contacted, the main contractor of the project said repairs were done on all things that were damaged by falling debris.
“We have spent almost RM80,000 to repair the damaged items.
“We made sure to resolve immediately all the issues that were raised, and some within days,” said the contractor’s spokesperson.
He stressed that a net was always in place during the construction, for the people’s safety.
“The net was only removed recently, after the building is already completed.
“We are now doing rectification works at the site.
“We are due to hand over vacant possession to the buyers soon,” he said, adding that there should be no more issues.
“The only issue was the piping system that was pending at the site.
“To address that, we are currently rerouting the pipes to Jalan Merah Silu as advised by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL),” said the spokesperson.
