AMPANG JAYA, April 29 — Gombak MP Datuk Seri Azmin Ali today assured displaced residents of PKNS apartment in Taman Keramat Permai here that they will not be financially burdened by the costs of finding temporary housing nor repairs to fix the cracks that have appeared in their homes.
The former Selangor mentri besar who is now the federal economic affairs minister said state-owned PKNS will bear the repair and the moving costs instead of putting an extra burden on the families that were forced to evacuate the building due to cracks found on the fourth and fifth floor of Block F in the housing area.
At the same time the evacuees will also receive RM500 per family from Azmin’s MP allocation to assist them in their time of need.
“I have spoken to the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council and they have identified a few newly completed buildings that can be used to house the evacuees,” Azmin told reporters during his visit to the affected building as well as the evacuation shelter housing the displaced residents this morning.
Asked whether or not the other 11 blocks in the 12 block apartment will have its structural integrity studied, he said the focus currently lies with Block F.
Out of the 40 units in Block F, 37 were occupied and had to be evacuated. 25 families are currently being housed in a multipurpose hall while the rest found shelter with their relatives.
The cracks were first discovered on April 26 by a resident who made a call to the Fire Department at around 12.50pm.
Azmin said the structural integrity study is being conducted by Selangor-owned PKNS, Ikram and an independent consulting firm.
He also said the technical report and recommendations is expected to be submitted to the Selangor government by May 2.
“Some of the steps they have taken so far include relativity test to see earth movement and stability and laser scanning to see the building’s structural movements. These past few days there has not been any significant movements but we are still monitoring the situation.
“If the building is safe, we expect that the residents can move back there before the fasting month starts but if the findings show that it is dangerous, I will discuss with PKNS and the state government on the steps to be taken,” said Azmin.
However, he emphasised that even if the report states that it is safe for occupancy, there could be a lot of repair works for the damaged block.
This would mean that the residents, comprising owners and tenants, are unable to return to their homes here.
Azmin added that PKNS has identified a few locations nearby to be used as temporary homes for the displaced residents.
