I read in the newspapers that MCA has the great ambition to retake the Kampung Tunku state assembly seat in Selangor. I welcome that but is an MCA candidate really good enough? Allow me therefore to make my comments on this intention. Through this column I will also declare my specific political agenda about my concerns for the next state assembly-level of elections for our local constituency.
I am a silver anniversary resident of Kampung Tunku. Like most others, I have therefore paid my local taxes all these years and presumably contributed finances towards Petaling Jaya and the growth of the city.
My original application for a piece of housing land was for Damansara Heights in 1973. Nonetheless, because of alleged cronyism and maybe corruption within the SPPK, a government-linked company to help government servants own homes, they sold houses to politicians who were never part and parcel of the original mandate. I therefore lost my opportunity when I tried to buy the land.
Therefore, and after having opted to then live in PJ, I researched about the green lung behind our current and preferred home. We were balloted for the second choice of plots of homes developed by SPPK in Kampung Tunku.
In fact, even before the ballot I had met the then-MPPJ president Abdullah Satar and enquired about the specific green lung within our neighbourhood-to-be. His response: “It is green on every map of Petaling Jaya, and therefore it should always remain a green lung.” Famous last words.
With that assurance, though, we chose the current lot because the green lung was right behind us. My American wife told me, “You can take the girl out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the girl!”
But alas, on one fateful Saturday in November 1999, the earth-movers came, at the request of some community members of this constituency, and raped our green lung. Fortunately, my wife had just flown off to visit her family the morning before. Therefore, I was thankful that she was not present to see and feel the rape of her green lung; where she walked and prayed daily. It was always her private time with nature and the God of creation.
There is no greater harm to humankind than man’s mindset which does not fully appreciate that our green environment and Earth belong to God as well. Instead, these rapists believe that “man is the centre of his universe, and they can do anything!”
This phenomenon and observations are well argued by SH Nasr in his well known book which is from the University of Chicago Lectures in 1969 on ‘ Man and Nature: The spiritual crisis of Modern Man! ’
On that fateful day, I called Wong Sai Hou or WSH, my fellow collegemate at UM. He was the MCA representative and state assemblyperson for Kampung Tunku. To his credit, he came immediately to the ground with his ally and friend, Chew Mei Fun, and walked the neighbourhood and reviewed the situation. Chew later went on to become MP for Petaling Jaya Utara and MCA women’s wing chief.
‘Not enough clout to stop this rape’
To tell the whole truth of this matter, WSH told me that he could register my protest but MCA does not have enough clout to stop this rape. This was because the local residents of Kampung Tunku had long asked for a bigger mosque and that this request was never a priority for the Umno leaders until 1999, when it was too late to stop this rape.
I then did some further research and investigations. I found out that the original plan for the mosque was on the hill next to the former surau and current sekolah agama site. But that was rejected by SPPK because of the scenic view and they planned to build bungalows there with excellent views. The second proposed site was in front of the Kampung Tunku school and this was duly agreed. But that plan was never executed.
As with all developers, their original plans were slowly but surely shelved, and the same site was slowly but surely deviated from the plan and later developed into compact houses, and sold at rather exorbitant prices for even more profit. Now, SPPK is a public listed company, owned by yet others.
That same SPPK surrendered our “approved but not-yet-gazetted green lung” to the mosque committee of Kampung Tunku and who took it upon themselves to build a mosque. I am not sure if there was even a building plan and proper due process for approvals, as we, the residents, objected to the rape, but it was overlooked. That project, too, collapsed as a result of “accusations of corruption and wrongful expenses.”
Finally after the general elections of 1999, the JKR of Selangor took over the project and built this mosque which now accommodate 1,400 people, but usually and daily it does not exceed a congregation of about 100. The sultan of Selangor was recently invited to launch this “illegal mosque”.
Only on Fridays does the mosque get a large congregation. Otherwise, every morning, while I walk in my neighbourhood, I can already hear about four calls to prayers. There are perhaps too many mosques and not enough faithful. There are even mosques inside high-rise buildings.
Therefore, whoever wants to become the next assemblyperson for Kampung Tunku, I would welcome them. But I would demand a personal and public commitment that the person will be an assemblyperson who will protect and preserve EVERY remaining green lung left in the the Kampung Tunku constituency, without any more so-called “development”.
Kampung Tunku is already over-developed. We, the residents paid for her current state of development. There needs to be fuller and greater cooperation between the political parties and residents associations before the quality of our life in Kampung Tunku becomes unacceptable to the majority of older residents.
Therefore, to the current assemblyperson and local representatives of MBPJ, please take notice this is my personal call that we, citizens of Kampung Tunku, may begin a ‘Virtually Occupy Green Lungs Movement’, if any more rapes happen. May God bless Malaysia.
