Taman Permai Indah residents stage demo over water subsidy

Some 3,000 residents of the Taman Permai Indah Flats in Pandamaran on Sunday claimed that they received only in the last three months the Selangor government’s water subsidy launched in June 2008.

About 30 representatives of the residents staged a demonstration at the flats today and demanded that the state government pay them the arrears in the subsidy which they claimed amounted to about RM260,000.

A spokesman for the residents, A. Prakash, who is president of the Malaysian Indian Welfare Association, said the residents had only begun enjoying the free 20 cubic metres of water valued at RM11.40 over the past three months.

“Until now, the residents have been paying for their water according to the bulk meter rate without any subsidy since 2008,” he told reporters.

Prakash said the residents wanted the state government to pay them the subsidy in cash and that each of the 526 households would be entitled to about RM500.

He also said that they wanted the state government to repair the access road to the flats which was riddled with potholes and had not been resurfaced for some time.

The lifts at the four blocks of 11-storey flats are also not well maintained and made mobility difficult, especially for the elderly and pregnant women, who live on the higher floors, he said.

“The residents are required to pay a monthly maintenance fee of RM38, but are denied proper service. The problem was raised with Pandamaran state assemblyman Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew but nothing has been done so far,” he claimed.

Liu, when contacted by Bernama, said the residents should set up a joint management committee to take charge of the maintenance of the basic facilities, including the provision of the subsidised water.

“Then, the state government can at least provide coupons for the eligible residents who use the bulk meter,” he said.

He also said that the residents should switch to individual water meters to enjoy the water subsidy.

Liu claimed that the state chairman of the housing, building management and squatters committee, Iskandar Abdul Samad, had provided adequate allocation for the maintenance of the eight lifts at the flats.

–  Bernama