‘For God’s sake ...’

KUALA LUMPURA (Jan 15, 2012): The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) admitted today that it had no expertise in environmental impact engineering and technical matters.

“For God’s sake, then don’t make any approving decisions on such matters,” Pandan MP Dato’ Sri Ong Tee Keat said.

The MPAJ made the admission in a briefing by Ikram on its environmental impact assessment in Taman Bukit Segar Jaya at a dialogue session with residents affected by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)’s project to install pylon towers.

Ikram had revealed that its studies found the precast cascade drains installed by the housing developer to stabilise the hill slopes did not meet international and local guidelines.

In a question and answer session in the Kajang Municipal Council Hall, the residents demanded to know who was responsible for making the safety approval?

Affected residents turned up in full force to pack the hall to air their grouses against TNB – OTK InfoPic by Steve Yong

When the MPAJ official admitted it was the approving authority and that it did not have or lacked the environmental impact engineering and technical expertise, an irate Ong said in his rounding up address: “For God’s sake, then don’t make any approving decisions on such matters. You must be and will be held responsible for making approvals.”

Ong also took TNB to task for the protracted dispute with the residents, blaming the national power producer for failing to observe transparency when it installed its first pylon tower in May 2009.

Ong (3rd from right) at the two-hour-long dialogue – OTK InfoPic by Steve Yong

“Today, it is 31 months too late to start consultations with the affected residents. Such dialogues and interactions should have been initiated in the planning stages.

“It is because of TNB’s failure to hold open consultations with the residents in the first place that we are all here today arguing out all and sundry.

“As in previous such briefings, TNB has always used it to present its justifications to install pylons. Unfortunately, this is not what the residents want.

“They want their safety to be assured. Such briefings will lead TNB nowhere. TNB cannot just try to bulldoze its way. It must now sincerely discuss with the residents how to reach a consensus on the options and alternatives available.”

Ong said: “What we want is not justification. We want to break the deadlock with meaningful discussions.”

Ong also pointed to several key matters raised at the briefing:
1.  Why did TNB go ahead with its project without consultations with the affected residents until the problem snowballed?
2. Why is TNB so adamant in wanting to take risks and install the pylon towers on the hill slopes when it can use other alternative routes for its towers? and
3. (Sarcasm intended) Why is TNB giving the Taman Cheras Hartamas residents such special treatment that it wants to surround 80 per cent of its Taman with pylons?

One for the album … a group photograph with the residents after the dialogue – OTK InfoPic by Steve Yong

On TNB’s claims that Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) are present everywhere, comparing the low emissions from its pylon towers and cables to the domestic microwave ovens, Ong said: “TNB seems to have forgotten the fact that the microwave oven emissions are for just one, two or three minutes. The exposure to the residents from the TNB towers and cables is 24 hours.”

MPAJ Zon 24 TNB High Tension Cable Joint Action Committee (JAC) chairman Dato’ Eadon Chin Ten Song told all present that JAC and TNB officials had met Green Technology, Energy and Water Minister Dato’ Sri Peter Chin Fah Kui on the dispute recently and that TNB had been asked to look into alternatives.

He also said that should the residents succeed in convincing a developer-landowner to allow its relatively flat land nearby for the installation of pylons, then TNB had no excuse to put the safety of residents at risk with their current plan.

TNB vice-president (transmission) Datuk Rozimi Remeli said the rerouting of the pylons would be considered if all the relevant state and local authorities and the residents were able to provide an alternative free from encumbrances.