KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — A proposed hillside community park in Bangsar that has elicited strong protest from within the community will now be reviewed, an official from Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) Local Agenda 21 Kuala Lumpur (LA21 KL) unit said.

Khairul Anuar Mhd Juri, the co-ordinator for LA21 KL's Clean and Beautiful City programme, said the subsequent decision on the project named Kebun-Kebun Bangsar will be announced to the residents after their objections have been discussed.

“We have heard it loud and clear, what we are going to do is we are going to go back to discuss among the stakeholders in LA21 and also with the mayor.

“As what we have heard tonight that the people of Weng Lock have objected to the project, phase one of this Kebun-Kebun Bangsar,” he told about 80 to 90 residents of Taman Weng Lock — which is most directly affected and nearest the slope — at a dialogue session last night.

Earlier, residents of Taman Weng Lock (or Taman Bangsar Pertama as some prefer to call it) repeatedly voiced their objections during the dialogue session, with one asking: “Who will be responsible for our families when landslides happen?”

At one point, a show of hands of those against the proposed project was called for, with virtually almost everyone present putting up their hands.

A cross-section of the crowd numbering between 80 to 90 residents raising their hands to show their objection against the proposed hillside urban farm.
A cross-section of the crowd numbering between 80 to 90 residents raising their hands to show their objection against the proposed hillside urban farm.

Victor Low, a committee member of the Jalan Riong Rukun Tetangga that also covers the Taman Weng Lock area, told Malay Mail Online that he had already submitted a petition together with the collected signatures on August 8.

“I sent it to the mayor's office, LA21 and the TNB CEO,” he said.

According to Low, the final tally of the signature drive for the petition stood at 160 signatures from 109 out of the existing 168 households in Taman Weng Lock, indicating that roughly 65 per cent were against the proposed project.

Shaari Ahmad Junid, a retired DBKL staff who has voluntarily taken up the role of LA21 advisor, said an urban garden would help reduce Kuala Lumpur's carbon footprint.
Shaari Ahmad Junid, a retired DBKL staff who has voluntarily taken up the role of LA21 advisor, said an urban garden would help reduce Kuala Lumpur's carbon footprint.

Shaari Ahmad Junid, the adviser to LA21 KL who was also present at the dialogue session, apologised if Taman Weng Lock was inadvertently left out of the first engagement session this January with Bangsar residents, noting that LA21 officials had invited all residents' associations known to them.

An LA21 official provided Malay Mail Online with details of three previous engagements on the project with residents within the Bangsar vicinity, including on January 16 and March 6.

Shaari said that the urban park could help reduce carbon footprint in the city, also explaining that this is just one of the many projects being worked on jointly by LA21, the private sector and the community — based on recognised residents' associations or Rukun Tetangga groups.

LA21 KL is a programme that seeks to have collaborative effort among the local authorities or DBKL in this case, the private sector and the community to promote sustainable development and higher standards of living in the city.

The hillside garden is proposed to be on electricity provider Tenaga Nasional Berhad's reserve land, which is on a slope directly behind houses in Taman Weng Lock.
The hillside garden is proposed to be on electricity provider Tenaga Nasional Berhad's reserve land, which is on a slope directly behind houses in Taman Weng Lock.

Shaari urged the Rukun Tetangga or residents' association representing Taman Weng Lock residents to be part of the LA21 initiative, where a committee can be formed on the proposed project and where the community can then present its views and be involved in the decision-making.

When met later, Shaari also clarified that the proposal for a hillside park in Bangsar is still under discussion, with the proposed location yet to be discussed by the local community and only having been scouted by one of LA21's partners Kelab Kebun Bangsar.

“Kebun-Kebun Bangsar is being proposed as one of the Kebun Kejiranan Bandar (urban neighbourhood gardens), and Kelab Kebun Bangsar is a partner in Kebun Kejiranan (initiative),” he said, referring to Kelab Kebun Bandar.

“This project is being discussed, whether it is viable or not, the community must decide,” he added.

Kelab Kebun Bandar had proposed and pushed for the Bangsar community garden that the club calls Kebun-Kebun Bangsar.

Local resident Puan Hasena said Taman Weng Lock residents are very upset as the neighbourhood is in a valley surrounded by hills and questioned if anyone would dare guarantee that there will be no adverse effects from the hillside urban farm.
Local resident Puan Hasena said Taman Weng Lock residents are very upset as the neighbourhood is in a valley surrounded by hills and questioned if anyone would dare guarantee that there will be no adverse effects from the hillside urban farm.

Shaari said that safety considerations and views from the experts will ultimately be the key factor for any decision on the proposed park on the hillslope near Taman Weng Lock.

According to LA21 and DBKL officials whom Malay Mail Online spoke to, the Kelab Kebun Bandar is merely a partner of LA21 for the “Kebun Kejiranan” (neighbourhood garden) initiative that would cover urban farms throughout Kuala Lumpur, with the recently-signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between them not even specifying “Bangsar.”

Jalan Riong Rukun Tetangga committee member J Suresh had questioned why Taman Weng Lock residents only discovered the proposed project about three months ago.
Jalan Riong Rukun Tetangga committee member J Suresh had questioned why Taman Weng Lock residents only discovered the proposed project about three months ago.

J Suresh, a Jalan Riong Rukun Tetangga committee member, later told Malay Mail Online that his committee has decided for now against joining the LA21 committee on the proposed park, as it was uncertain if the project will go on despite them voicing their objections there.

“So far we do not want to be in the committee in the LA21 decision-making because we want our objective to be achieved first, we want the project to go off, we do not want the project to proceed because this is the request of the residents,” said the long-time resident whose family has been living in Taman Weng Lock for several decades.

“We don't want to join because that doesn't guarantee us the project will be called off,” he added.

Taman Weng Lock resident Kevin Mark Low said the residents liked the project but disagreed with its location, pointing out various concerns such as slope safety, security and increased traffic congestion in the residential neighbourhood.
Taman Weng Lock resident Kevin Mark Low said the residents liked the project but disagreed with its location, pointing out various concerns such as slope safety, security and increased traffic congestion in the residential neighbourhood.

Earlier during the dialogue session, another Taman Weng Lock resident, Kevin Mark Low, reiterated the neighbourhood's willingness to help identify a better location for the park and argued that the neighbourhood is already part of the project by virtue of its proximity.