WHERE IS RAKYAT DIUTAMAKAN?
Low-cost flats' dwellers take SHPB to task
Noel Achariam
streets@nstp.com.my
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The residents are saying that they have no avenue to channel their grouses since the management office at their apartments was closed down last year by the SHPB.
Residents also claim they have been neglected by SHPB who is in-charge of housing in the state.
Resident N. Rani Samuel, 53, said since the maintenance office was closed early this year, they have had to deal with a host of problems themselves.
"One problem is the rent which was collected from more than half of the residents over a period of five months has been absconded by the former management which was hired by the SHPB.
"The residents were informed that the former management's tenure ended late last year.
"However, they stayed on and only vacated the office in May this year.
"During the last five months, they collected rent from the tenants and did not pay SHPB," she said.
Rani said that after finding out that their rent had not been paid to SHPB, several residents went to SHPB's office in Shah Alam to check on the status of their payments.
"The officers revealed that the former management had not paid the rent they had collected from the tenants to SHPB.
"Some tenants had paid up to 10 months' rent but there is nothing we can do now as the money is already gone,"she said.
Residents living at the two blocks of the five-storey apartments are paying RM124 monthly to SHPB.
Rani said that another issue plaguing the residents for months is frequent water disruptions due to lack of maintenance on the water tank.
She said last week, more than 250 residents were left in the lurch after their water supply was disrupted.
"The water disruption happened on Friday morning and the management office was closed. We were at a loss as to whom we could call for help. One resident tried calling SHPB but the office was closed, too.
"Then we called the Syabas hotline and were told that there was no water disruption in the area.
"When we asked them to come and have a look, the said they could only come the next morning.
"Then we called Rawang assemblyman Gan Pei Nei's special officer Gan Song Chee, who told us to call our zone representative as he couldn't get Syabas to help either.
"We tried calling Hulu Selangor MP P. Kamalanathan's secretary but there was no reply.
"Finally, we called Selayang Municipal councillor Gunaraj G. who immediately came to our aid.
"He inspected our water tank and found that the pump was not working due to wiring problems.
"He then called Tenaga Nasional Bhd, and technicians came to fix the fuse and got the pump working again.
"We were fortunate he came over, otherwise, the families here would have had no water," she said.
Rani also highlighted the fact that there are foreign workers occupying flats meant for low-income families.
"We hope SHPB will come and check on the apartments and award the units to those who qualify for low-cost housing," she said.
Rani said over the past year, there had been 10 dengue cases at the apartments.
"As there's no maintenance here anymore, lallang has overgrown everywhere and some areas may have become breeding grounds for the deadly Aedes mosquito," she said.
Rani said the residents want SHPB to reopen the management office and place an officer there to collect rent and address their grouses.
"Many families here have been suffering since early this year. There's no maintenance, there are snakes in the playground which is in bad shape, and the children here are falling sick.
"We hope the authorities will help solve our problems," she said.
Attempts to contact a spokesperson for SHPB for comments were unsuccessful up to press time.
Read more: Low-cost flats' dwellers take SHPB to task http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/2nahs/Article#ixzz10jNwAzL5
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