Bandar Sg Long and Bandar Mahkota Cheras Solidarity Dinner a great success!

"We want free access! "..."We want a Chinese primary school!"

These were the two legitimate demands made by the Bandar Sg Long and Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents.

(Pix) The young chap with the loud hailer is Tan Boon Wah, the chairman of the action committee.

More than 500 of them turned out at the dinner organised by the Sg Long DAP branch and co-organised by the BMC Free Access Action Committee held last night (Saturday, Sept 9,2006) in Bandar Sg Long.

For the last two months, the residents here have been coming out in full force every Sunday morning to demand for the opening-up of the main access road, which was currently blocked by Grand Saga, the toll company.

The residents have taken their woes to the Parliament and they have also met up with the Works Minister Samy Vellu. Samy have given some unacceptable answers ( he passed the buck to the developer, and even called the access road as illegal because JKR has not approved the road...). He has yet to come back with a concrete solution until today.

The residents were also disappointed with the developer ( The Lion Group) because the company has chosen to keeping mum on the issue instead of making efforts to open up the access road.

We were also diasappointed with Ong Ka Ting. As the Minister of Housing and Local Government, he behaves as if the BMC problem has got nothing to do with him. He has yet to explain why CFs were issued without the access road.

The BMC Residents Association has not been seen doing its job. It is believed that its committee was controlled by the MCA.

Everyday, residents here were forced to travel an extra 6.5 km and often caught in the traffic jam before leaving for Kuala Lumpur.

On top of that, they have to pay at least RM1.20 (in and out) to the toll company.

Many residents here have been calling Samy the "minister of toll" because he seems to have taken side with Grand Saga.

On the other hand, the demand for a SJKC for Bandar Sg Long was made as early as 2001.

There are about 20,000 families (mainly Chinese) living in these two townships.

Speakers for the night include Lim Guan Eng(DAP SG), Tan Kok Wai(Cheras MP) , Ong Chee Keng (DAP Selangor Chairman), Ean Yong Hian Wah(DAP Selangor secretary) , Yap Lum Ching ( DAP Serdang parliamentary liasson committee chairman) and H K Tan( DAP Sg Long branch chairman) and Ko Bing Liyong(Assistant secretary of Dong Zong).

I spoke in the capacity of the Advisor to the BMC Free Access Action Committee.

In my speech, I have touched on the success of several campaigns to motivate the residents.

These include the recent cancellation of the RM1.5 billion Broga incinerator and the Sg Long open market (where the hawkers were forced to move to a site right at the smelly oxidation pond). Both campaigns were initiated and championed actively by the DAP.

I have also criticised the MCA for their failure of building new SJKCs in Sg Long and other parts of the country.

I have described the so-called "moving school" policy adopted by the MCA as a serious let down to the community. It simply means that an SJKC can only be built on the "demise" of an existing one.

Shame on you, MCA.