The indiscriminate approval by the Public Works Department (PWD) of these stalls obviously reflects what the government thinks of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Road shoulders are safe passageways for disabled persons too.
Saturday July 26, 2008
MPAJ hawker stalls built on road shoulder
By BAVANI M
THE usual complaint by residents is often about the illegal stalls sprouting in places like pedestrian walkways and road kerbs, causing obstruction to the public.
But at Taman Muda in Ampang, Selangor, the stalls built by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) in Jalan Bunga Raya are the cause of the residents’ misery.
The 14 hawker stalls have gotten the community there all riled up because they are located right smack on the road shoulder.
“This is weird. This is not the place to put stalls. Isn’t it illegal?” Taman Muda resident Nancy Foo said.
Pandan MP Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is also puzzled by the whole thing.
Unsuitable location: The 14 stalls built by the MPAJ along Jalan Bunga Raya in Taman Muda Pandan.
Ong, the Transport Minister, told a community gathering at his constituency earlier this week that he couldn’t understand the MPAJ rationale for building the stalls at such an awkward place.
He said building the stalls on a road shoulder was certainly inappropriate and was illegal, even if they were built by the MPAJ.
He wondered why the authorities were not doing anything about it.
“The residents are complaining that they should not be there and I agree. It's not a suitable location. Moreover, there are no public facilities like toilets, so it is certainly not hygienic,” he said.
Ong said he was also disappointed that some parties had made a lot of noise about the stalls before the March 8 general election but, after being elected the state assemblyman of the area, had done nothing about the matter.
The assemblyman for the area, the state seat of Teratai, is Jenice Lee of the DAP.
When contacted, Lee said she had done everything possible to get the stalls relocated, but to no avail.
“I will seek the help of Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to have the matter resolved as soon as possible,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a statement e-mailed to StarMetro, MPAJ public relations officer Norhayati Ahmad said the Public Works Department (PWD) technical team had approved the location of the stalls.
“The PWD gave the MPAJ the green light to build the stalls there and the previous state government, in a bid to rid the area of illegal stalls, approved the project under the state economic planning unit,” Norhayati said.
According to Norhayati, most of the stalls in Pandan are over 20 years old and need to be rejuvenated and relocated.
On the hygiene and safety factors, she said they were no longer an issue since the new stalls had been installed with grease traps to prevent any contamination and pollution and ample parking spots had been allocated.
MPAJ hawker stalls built on road shoulder
By BAVANI M
THE usual complaint by residents is often about the illegal stalls sprouting in places like pedestrian walkways and road kerbs, causing obstruction to the public.
But at Taman Muda in Ampang, Selangor, the stalls built by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) in Jalan Bunga Raya are the cause of the residents’ misery.
The 14 hawker stalls have gotten the community there all riled up because they are located right smack on the road shoulder.
“This is weird. This is not the place to put stalls. Isn’t it illegal?” Taman Muda resident Nancy Foo said.
Pandan MP Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is also puzzled by the whole thing.
Unsuitable location: The 14 stalls built by the MPAJ along Jalan Bunga Raya in Taman Muda Pandan.
Ong, the Transport Minister, told a community gathering at his constituency earlier this week that he couldn’t understand the MPAJ rationale for building the stalls at such an awkward place.
He said building the stalls on a road shoulder was certainly inappropriate and was illegal, even if they were built by the MPAJ.
He wondered why the authorities were not doing anything about it.
“The residents are complaining that they should not be there and I agree. It's not a suitable location. Moreover, there are no public facilities like toilets, so it is certainly not hygienic,” he said.
Ong said he was also disappointed that some parties had made a lot of noise about the stalls before the March 8 general election but, after being elected the state assemblyman of the area, had done nothing about the matter.
The assemblyman for the area, the state seat of Teratai, is Jenice Lee of the DAP.
When contacted, Lee said she had done everything possible to get the stalls relocated, but to no avail.
“I will seek the help of Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to have the matter resolved as soon as possible,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a statement e-mailed to StarMetro, MPAJ public relations officer Norhayati Ahmad said the Public Works Department (PWD) technical team had approved the location of the stalls.
“The PWD gave the MPAJ the green light to build the stalls there and the previous state government, in a bid to rid the area of illegal stalls, approved the project under the state economic planning unit,” Norhayati said.
According to Norhayati, most of the stalls in Pandan are over 20 years old and need to be rejuvenated and relocated.
On the hygiene and safety factors, she said they were no longer an issue since the new stalls had been installed with grease traps to prevent any contamination and pollution and ample parking spots had been allocated.
