KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — DAP's Lim Lip Eng said in Parliament today that the Garden International School should be shifted from its Mont Kiara location as it was contributing to traffic congestion in the area.
The Segambut MP said the needs of the students should not surpass those of the general public who must put up with the added traffic on Jalan Kiara 3 where the school is located.
“With regards to the traffic congestion in Mont Kiara, I don't just get complaints from the public, but i also get complaints from MPs in this hall. PJ Selatan, Lembah Pantai, Permatang Pauh,” he said.
Lim noted that Jalan Kiara 3 was a major thoroughfare that linked Kepong, Segambut, Damansara, Petaling Jaya and more.
He then claimed that the foreigners who attend the school should not be given precedence over locals, but conceded that some students were also Malaysian.
“It is high time that DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) close down Garden International School, relocate it,” he said.
To this, Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk J. Loga Bala Mohan said the proposal would be studied, but noted that it would cost Putrajaya at least RM70 million to acquire the school's land.
Loga said that the traffic congestion in any international schools are a normal occurrence, especially during peak hours in the morning and afternoon.
He said that this was because there is a lack of school bus usage, a problem which was further worsened with an increase in private vehicles flocking to the schools, waiting to drop-off and pick up students.
“To overcome this problem, DBKL is in the midst of studying the feasibility to allow a ‘left-in, left-out’ traffic, and to prevent vehicles from making rights turns.
“To enable this, a U-turn for both sides need to be prepared,” he added.
