Segambut woes

Part I

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com (By Stephanie Sta Maria)

SPECIAL REPORT ON KL Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng has been issued an ultimatum by his constituents -- either relieve Jalan Segambut of its snarling rush-hour traffic or prepare to be relieved of his seat during the next general election. It's a tall order for the first-term MP and he knows it. The perpetually congested Jalan Segambut is traversed by about 50,000 residents not just from within the constituency but also from neighbouring ones, who use it a shortcut to the city and Petaling Jaya. The already nightmarish traffic flow is further worsened by multiple roads converging into a single lane and traffic lights that confuse motorists. “I've witnessed it myself and it's terrible!” Lim nodded. “Some residents have to leave their houses as early as 6am to avoid the chaos and if they're late, the consequences include a one-hour crawl to cover a mere 100 metres.”

The solution lies in the form of a RM95 million road expansion project by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) that spans 4km and is split into two phases. The first 1.4km phase involves transforming the current single-lane road into a dual carriageway and building a flyover intersection at Jalan Segambut and the SPPK junction. It is a light at the end of the tunnel but one that irate residents have been waiting to glimpse for a decade now. Patience has been wearing thin and reached breaking point when the project appeared to face yet another delay early this year. Kuala Lumpur mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail has asked residents not to lose faith just yet and gave his assurance that the project would start as soon as DBKL receives funding approval from the Economic Planning Unit. But this has done little to pacify Lim. “The delay in itself is unacceptable.” he asserted. “And I blame it on the former KL mayor Abdul Hakim Borhan and former Federal Territories minister Zulhasnan Rafique. They completely messed it up.”

Since taking office, Lim has been deluged with complaints from his constituents who “don't care which side you're on or how you do it but you better solve this issue fast”. Taking heed, he asked DBKL for a temporary solution, to widen the 100-m stretch from the Jalan Segambut-Jalan Jambu Mawar junction to ease the traffic bottleneck there. That request, along with three letters to the current Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin on the issue, has been met with stony silence. But Lim refrained from blaming Ahmad Fuad. “I have to give credit where it is due,” he said. “Ahmad Fuad is a good guy and is trying his best to work with us but there are hidden hands holding him back.” And here, he made no attempt to hide exactly to whom those hidden hands belonged. “Raja Nong Chik is an Umno stooge and he's ignoring Segambut because it's not under the Umno banner.

Since taking office, he hasn't attended any of the quarterly meetings among the KL MPs. Instead, he said that he's had discussions with Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, which should suffice. But what does Khalid have to do with KL?” “Instead of spending time with KL MPs to understand and help fix the city's issues, he is busy bullying the Lembah Pantai MP (Nurul Izzah Anwar). It's very clear that he is only interested in snatching back Lembah Pantai for his party.”

Lim is also frustrated over the limited communication channels which, he said, had prevented him from properly explaining the situation to his constituents. Being an opposition member, he said, meant less access to the mainstream media, which has led him to turned to social media instead. “Unfortunately, this has only reached 20% of my constituents,” he noted ruefully. “The rest are still very upset with me over what they see as non-action. As far as they are concerned, they gave an opposition member a chance in a BN stronghold and nothing has changed.” And then he unexpectedly delivered a sharp rebuke to the latter group, calling them “selfish” and “insular”. “They don't care about the crime rate or flash floods in the city, they just want their issue solved,” he said. “It's understandable but there is a bigger picture here. There are innocent people dying in police custody. And squatters who have been waiting for a new home for 20 years. So don't come down hard on me over a road.”

A squatter dilemma
Traffic congestion is only the tip of the Segambut's woes. The other two issues trailing it are the squatter situation and the rising crime rate. While Lim is counting his lucky stars that the squatter issue in Segambut is nowhere near as serious as that in Lembah Pantai or Titiwangsa, he is also scratching his head over an unusual quandary. “The squatters in Segambut are confined to two areas – Kampung Sungai Penchala and Kampung Segambut Dalam,” he said. “Almost all are illegal immigrants who have set up longhouses in the hillside and back lanes.” The irony, he explained, is that the local residents are happy to live alongside them and have even asked Lim to leave the squatters alone because they are “good people”. Lim expressed admiration for their benevolence, but added that he could not turn a blind eye towards what he considers a potentially serious issue. Already, the squatters have integrated themselves into the community by setting up their own sundry shops and eateries by the road. “It almost seems like KL is an outlaw country!” said Lim. “I don't want Segambut to be a small-scale Sabah where half the population are foreigners. So every quarter of the year, I file a complaint with immigration, the police and DBKL. And here's where it gets interesting.”

“The police will conduct a raid in the morning, detain the squatters and release them by evening. It has become a routine. These days I feel reluctant to lodge a report because I'm merely creating an opportunity for the authorities to... you know what I mean.”

Stay connected for Part II...