By PJ WAVES
By YIP YOKE TENG | Jan 11, 2010

Using the people for personal gains

Demolition in progress: The small hall at Block 4, Gugusan Melati flats in Kota Damansara being demolished by MBPJ contractors.

Political party should never drag the innocent man on the street to achieve its agenda

THE demolition of a small hall at the Gugusan Melati flats in Seksyen 4, Kota Damansara, might not have been highlighted by many newspapers, but the incident has exposed a worrying phenomenon that certain quarters are manipulating the people and playing with public sentiments for their personal agenda.

The incident first made headlines when a group of teachers, parents and children rushed to the site to make a tearful objection on the afternoon the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) carried out the demolition.

They claimed that the hall had been used by some 800 residents and students for various activities .

The council was thus labelled insensitive and such connotations were disseminated through the media, but the truth turned out to be completely different from what the demonstrators had claimed.

It was later found out that the hall was built without approval and it had been locked for years while it should have been a common area shared by everyone there.

Many residents had objected to having the hall there and a lawsuit was filed against the council for not taking the illegal structure down.

Kota Damansara assemblyman Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim and MBPJ officials confirmed that various notices had been duly issued to inform the relevant parties of the council’s action.

Meetings were held but none of those from the other camp turned up.

The worst part of this fracas was that the demonstrators were not even residents of the flats.

They were brought in together with the children from elsewhere for the show. The children were dressed for the occasion and had props to show that the place had been used.

The act was put up at the expense of the children’s safety as they were ushered by the adults into the demolition area that had been cordoned off. What if a beam or a wall of the structure gave way?

Claims that the residents did not have a proper place for activities were not true as there was a community hall not far from the site.

MBPJ Public Complaints Bureau head Tengku Nazaruddin Tengku Zainudin received a death threat via SMS after the structure was brought down.

All these were maddening as at the end of the day, they were only intended to hide the fact that the hall was actually meant to be the operation office of a political party, which did not even bother to apply for a permit to build it.

Political parties may have been formed to champion the rights of the people but what happens here is hurtful.

Individuals and groups have been trying to obtain support through various means as they wave the banner of a political party.

But making use of the press and people by ignoring the welfare of the community and even using death threats are intolerable.

Residents, on the other hand, should always understand the complete picture before acting emotionally.

It is also safer to refer to the right authority, even though you may have to be patient enough to bear through the bureaucracy. It will still be better than going through a third party no matter how sweet-sounding the promises may be.