MACC report by HRP, Batu Caves rail, road works & bridge @ RM 100 Million? Batu Caves quarrying? Majlis Perbandaran Selayang, Selangor and Federal Sta

HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY MALAYSIA

NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245

Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com Email: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :

In Reply : Misc/Feb/10

Date : 2^nd January 2010

Y. Bhg. Dato Abu Kassim bin Mohamed

Ketua Pesuruhjaya

Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia

SPRM Block D6, Fax : 03-88889562

Complex D, E-mail : abukassim@sprm.gov.my

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,

62007 Wilayah Persekutuan,

Putrajaya

Dear Sirs,

Re : MACC report by HRP, Batu Caves rail, road works & bridge @ RM 100 Million? Batu Caves quarrying? Majlis Perbandaran Selayang, Selangor and Federal State government’s dubious approval of planning, building permission and construction.

______________________________________________________________________

We refer to the above matter. Please treat this as our official MACC report.

During and after the Thaipusam festival, we have received numerous public complaints about the undue and unlawful separation and segregation of the historical traditional, heritage and ancestral 500 over year old hindu ritual riverbed from the main Batu Caves hindu temple (reference NST 28/1/10 at page 12).

Further to the dubious planning and building permission that was approved by the Selayang Municipal Council, the Selangor State Government and the relevant Federal Agencies we now raise the following fifteen points for your real and serious investigations and prompt prosecution accordingly:-

1. The Sentul Railway station is a dead end. If only this Railway station had been shortened and brought forward by about 100 meters or so and built on the empty piece of land just before the main road leading to Batu Caves, a whole long stretch of this Batu Caves ancestral riverbed could have been preserved and maintained as part and parcel of the Batu Caves Heritage and which is to be in line with Batu Caves becoming a World Heritage Site.

1. Was the closure of the main road from the said riverbed to the Batu Caves Hindu Temple to make way for some giant construction companies to undertake the estimated One hundred million Ringgit Malaysia (RM 100 Million) construction works by the building of the spiraling elevated bypass road across the railway tracks, the new Batu Caves Railway station, the “unfit and unsafe” bridge to the Batu Caves Tamil School etc.

1. Why wasn’t an overhead railway bridge built instead which would have cost a fraction of the spiraling elevated bypass road and in order to maintain this ancestral and heritage walkway from the said riverbed to the Batu Caves hindu temple.

1. In the alternative why wasn’t an underground railway passageway not built to maintain this walkway from the said riverbed to the Batu Caves hindu temple.

1. The whole row of about 20 traditional up to fifth generation Indian flower shops leading to Batu Caves has now been by passed with the building of this new spiraling elevated bypass. These shops risk closure anytime now due to lack of business.

1. Why didn’t the Selayang Municipal Council or the Selangor State Government or the relevant Federal Authorities order a Stop Work Order with the view to maintain, preserve and restore this original historical, traditional, heritage and ancestral walkway to Batu Caves.

1. Why didn’t the PKR led Pakatan Rakyat Selangor state government lodge an MACC report on the possible acts of corrupt practices in the planning, building and construction of this project.

1. The Batu Caves Tamil school has now been cut off from the riverside part of Batu Caves and this new development is also causing grave inconvenience to even the fifth generation Malaysian Indian minority parents and school children who are forced to cross the steep, dangerous and unsafe overhead bridge across the railway lines to get to their school.

1. Why couldn’t the original Railway gate crossing be preserved and the then existing road been maintained if not enhanced which would have cost a fraction of the cost of this spiraling elevated bypass and the related development.

1. Was this whole undue development intentionally designed to segregate Batu Caves from their traditional riverbed site.

1. Was this whole undue development project to save if not to cater for the private interest of the cement factory at the end of the railway line?

1. Why is this cement company still allowed to operate next to a potential World Heritage Site and in a residential area.

1. We have been informed and now request your goodselves to investigate if and /or why quarrying works are still believed to be allowed to go on at Batu Caves when the same had been ordered to be stopped even as long ago as 1980 by the then Selangor State government. (Starmetro 26/1/2010 at page M9). If there is no massive quarrying works why then is there the cement factory at the end of the Railway Line requiring huge railway containers to transport the “harvested” cement.

1. We are not aware of any advertisements in especially all the three Tamil newspapers notifying especially the ethnic minority Malaysian Indian public of the eventual closure separation and segregation of this ancestral walkpath from the riverbed to the Batu Caves hindu temple.

1. Even now we demand for the restoration and the further enhancement of the original road to the main Batu Caves temple and the maintanance and preservation of the original walkpath to Batu Caves. The present PKR led Selangor state government even at this juneture can act at least to undo these injustices.

In the circumstances we suggest that your goodselves propose to the Federal, Selangor State governments and the Majlis Perbandaran Selayang that as a matter of general public importance this whole development be torn down the original status quo be maintained, all (suspected) quarrying works be stopped and the ancestral riverbed not only be restrored but the river be made clean, purified and also enhanced to become the Ganges of One Malaysian Batu Caves.

Kindly keep us posted on the status of these investigations and also revert to us accordingly.

Thank you,

Yours faithfully,

……………………….

P. Uthayakumar

Secretary General (pro tem)