More than 50 residents of block A, PPR Kota Damansara staged a picket last Friday in front of MBPJ officials, demanding swift repairs of malfunctioned lifts and other problems.
Holding up placards that read “where is our right?”, “when to repair our lift? Lift? Lift?”, the residents handed over a memorandum to local assemblyman Nasir Hashim.
They were among the 1,400 dwellers of the 18-floor flats who have been forced to climb up staircase to reach their homes since Sept 3, as all three lifts were not usable.
The aggrieved residents, many of whom elderly and disabled, could no longer hold their patience but to issue an ultimatum to the council flat owner, MBPJ.
“We hope by October some work can be done, if not we shall picket in front of MBPJ (building),” said PPR Kota Damansara residents association chairman Johari Nander.
He said other blocks also faced similar problems, with either a workable unlit lift for the entire block, or a lift that only stops at certain floors.
Elderly resident, Rasdi Tak Ari, who stayed on the second floor but owned a food stall on the ground floor, said he is often forced to go to his stall and back to his unit at least 10 times a day.
“Sometimes I carry a gas tank or heavy goods with me, it is such a strenuous task to climb up the staircase,” he said.
Amy Ong, who lives on the 11th floor of block C, said the block has been left with a single lift for five years.
She said the lift also suffers from frequent breakdowns, which the management says is caused by overloading.
“But of course it is overload; we have only one lift for the entire block. Sometimes when the water supply is cut off, we need to carry buckets of water into the lift,” she said.
Other problems faced by residents include unlit corridors, frequent water disruptions, uncovered manholes, poor-maintained playgrounds, no handrail in block A’s staircase, malfunctioned fire rescue pipe, leakage from sewerage pipes and filthy public toilets.
RM5.9 million needed to do facelift
Manag
ement team representative Shahriza Mohd Masri, who responded to the complaints said the lift breakdown was caused by a break-in and theft of the motor in the engine room of the lift.
“My contractor replaced the missing parts, but a day after another breakin happened,” she said.
She said grill securing the motor room has been upgraded in an attempt to beef up security.
“Hopefully by early October the lift can resume operation,” she said.
MBPJ engineering department official Nur Lisma Abdul Rahim, on the other hand, said the council is applying for RM5.9 million from the state government to do a complete renovation on the flats.
“The current allocation is small, so everytime we received complaint only we do the repair,” she said.
Meanwhile, the residents association has also agreed to fork out a budget to hire security guards to man the flats.
Nasir will also meet with MBPJ official to deliberate the issue soon.
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