Residents given no choice in erection of cellular transmission tower

Some 200 residents in Taman Bandar Baru Kangkar, Pulai, have voiced their objections to the erection of a telecommunications transmission tower in their area, during a dialogue session here.

The residents say that the telecommunication transmission tower is sited too near to the residential area and are concerned about the possible effects of radiation produced by the tower.

Present at the dialogue session were the Gelang Patah MCA division chief, Jason Teoh, representatives from the Malaysia Nuclear Agency, Johor Bahru Central local council, the telco, and the network access infrastructure installer.

Resident, Lee Yong Eng, 56 said that the telco should have consulted with the local residents and business community before putting up the transmission tower.

“The residents here are worried the radiation generated by the tower will have adverse health effects, especially for infants and senior citizens,” he added.

The residents views and agreement must be sought, if the federal government’s pledge of  “People First, Performance Now” is not to be a mere slogan, Lee said.

He said the tower was installed some time in 2009, but was dismantled strong objections from the residents here.

But the telco reinstalled the tower last December and started operating it in February this year.

An official from the radiation research division of the Malaysia Nuclear Agency, Roha Tukimin, said that the installation of the tower is in accordance with ‘guidelines’ and does not pose any danger to the public.

“From our research findings, the radiation level generated by the telco transmission tower has never caused any danger to the public in comparison Gamma or X-ray generated radiation which contained dangerous radiation level,” he added.

Roha reiterated that not a single telco transmission tower in the country has exceeded the permitted 20 volts per square foot transmission level and each transmission tower has an effective coverage area of about 500 metres only (which seems incredible).

Speaking on behalf of the telco, he said that if the transmission tower is located too far away from the residential area, the subscribers in that area will not be able to enjoy a good coverage.

The Gelang Patah MCA division chief, Jason Teoh, said that he would assist residents to forward their petition to the relevant authorities.

He added that in the event the petition from the residents fails to produce the desired action, he will advise the residents not to subscribe to the broadband service of the telco concerned for five to ten years as a sign of protest.