Leave Tamil school alone, find other ways to avoid traffic woes, says Ramasamy

KUALA Lumpur City Hall and a developer must look at alternative ways to reduce traffic congestion in their new residential development instead of seeking to remove parts of a Tamil school in Kinrara, said P Ramasamy.

Ramasamy, who heads new Indian-based party Urimai, said in an age of civil engineering marvels, the developer can always think of reducing traffic congestion through numerous ways. 

“Removing parts of SJK (T) Ladang Kinrara in Puchong can be avoided,” the former DAP leader said in a statement.

The school has been involved in a dispute after it was revealed that DBKL and Fajarbaru Land Sdn Bhd had demanded the school hand over 3,000 sq ft of its compound for the expansion of Jalan Mas in return for a compensation of RM50,000.

The road expansion would mean that several of the school’s buildings, including a kindergarten and canteen, would have to be demolished, thus affecting the 700 students enrolled at the school.

It has been reported that the school has refused to hand over part of its land unless it was compensated properly. It also claimed that it was not informed earlier about the developer’s demand, which came through a letter on March 4 without any prior notification.

Fajarbaru Land has developed 1,604 units of Residensi Wilayah apartments on Lot 101895, Jalan Mas, Petaling district, Kuala Lumpur, which is adjacent to the school that is primarily located in Selangor.

The traffic impact assessment report submitted by the project’s consultant proposed that Jalan Mas be upgraded to four lanes due to the expected increase in traffic volume once the apartments are built.

DBKL said the proposal to upgrade Jalan Mas will involve the demolition of several structures built on road reserves, among them a temple and several buildings belonging to the school.

Ramasamy asked why the Selangor government was quiet on the issue, questioning if it acquiesced to the demand for re-location.

“It is not too late to stop the relocation. The school should be maintained intact.

“Do the authorities think that because it is a Tamil school, they are at liberty to impose the condition of re-location. Is this an act of bullying the powerless Indian community?” he said.

Earlier this week, DBKL said the Land and Mines Department and the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MBSJ) have been instructed to identify suitable areas to relocate parts of the school.

City hall said this was decided at a meeting on June 7, which was chaired by Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa and attended by Batu MP Prabakaran, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Kinrara assemblyman Ng Sze Han, and representatives from SJK (T) Ladang Kinrara, the Hindu temple, government agencies, and the relevant departments in DBKL. – June 23, 2024.