The fearless voice of Cheras

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today

SPECIAL REPORT ON KL Cheras is one of those nondescript townships with an unexpectedly entertaining past. It boasts hosting the 1995 SEA Games, housing the longest night market in Malaysia and Pheonix Plaza, which was opened by film star Jackie Chan. Adding to these colourful characteristics is its MP Tan Kok Wai.
Tan, who is currently serving his fourth consecutive terms in Cheras, is known for his fearlessness and no-nonsense approach to dealing with the government. So it isn't at all surprising that he is proposing that the Ministry of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being be abolished.

“We don't need a ministry when its powers overlap with that of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL),” he said matter-of-factly. “DBKL has been institutionalised since 1972 while Putrajaya and Labuan have thir respective development boards. The ministry is unnecessary, especially when its interventions are laced with political interest.”

“Without the ministry, the mayor (Ahmad Fuad Ismail) will be able to report directly to the Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak). As long as there is a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department to take care of KL, there is nothing to fear. The minister will reply to parliamentary queries while the mayor will address queries at the local level.”

Without missing a beat, he went on to call for the revival of local government elections which he promised Pakatan Rakyat would do if it came into power.

“In this respect, KL should take lead,” he asserted. “Our neighbouring countries all have elected mayors. We are behind time. Even if the government isn't prepared to restore local government elections nationwide, it should begin with KL.”

Tan, who is also the vice-chairman of DAP, is equally noted for his candour which was evident in his acknowledgment of DBKL's cooperation and service towards his constituency. Yet his single grouse echoed that of his fellow MPs – DBKL's lack of transparency. He claimed that until today, the MPs have no idea how the budget is planned and distributed.

“Each year the mayor reads a prepared speech without revealing any details or breakdown of expenses,” he said. “And every year we've been asking the government to include elected representatives in the drafting of the budget but it has refused.”

“We don't even have prior knowledge of the development planned for our constituency and when we ask we are either not provided with the details or are given partial details. We have no insight into the spending, which is very unfair.”

Another DBKL matter which greatly annoys Tan is the delay in appointing the first two opposition members in 36 years onto the its advisory board. According to him, the law dictates that two representatives appointed by the Selangor government must have a place on the DBKL advisory board.

But the two Pakatan representatives have been waiting for over two years to be appointed because their nominations have yet to be approved by the Sultan of Selangor. Tan pointed out that the Sultan's approval does fall under the law but is a tradition that was started by the previous Selangor menteri besar Khir Toyo and which is followed by his successor Khalid Ibrahim.

“Under the law, the menteri besar just needs to submit the proposed names to the king. Once the king gives his approval, the two representatives will have to take an oath and then are empowered to carry out their duties. We are eagerly awaiting their appointments because only then will there be a breakthrough.”

Killer traffic

Upgraded roads and new highways have burgeoned in Cheras but have done nothing to ease the snarling traffic congestion. Tan still clings to the hope that the Light Rail Transit (LRT) extension that was talked about five years ago will become a reality soon.

Preliminary works on the line from Kelana Jaya to Putra Heights in Ampang have already been rolled out but the second route, which connects Kota Damansara to Cheras via the city centre, remains a blueprint. Tan has received word that this route will be included under the 11th Malaysia Plan but he isn't holding his breath.

“You just have to look at the Grand Saga highway to understand the necessity of this route,” Tan said. “The number of additional toll booths set up there surpasses the original number. Hundreds of thousands of people travel from as far as Semenyih through Cheras to go to KL for work.”

Tan grimly predicted that before the LRT extension line becomes a reality, the traffic situation in Cheras will drastically worsen and no amount of new flyovers will salvage it.

A need for urban renewal
In his latest meeting with Ahmad Fuad, Tan brought a new issue to the table. He wants the government to provide balanced development to the city folk so that no township is living in the shadow of another.

Calling Mont Kiara and Hartamas “different worlds”, he warned of unrest among the people living in shabby environments who are forced to watch those in neighbouring constituencies move around in sparkling new ones.

“It's all about urban renewal,” he explained. “Developing old townships into livelier places by providing better facilities and roads and more business opportunities. Most of these old housing areas have dilapidated wet markets that gives them the look of slums. Such places should be given a modern face-lift.”

He observed that what the government lacked was not funding but simply political will. Referring to the on-going plan to build 35,000 People's Housing Project (PPR) flats, he pointed out that there was no point in building new ones when the maintenance of existing ones is being ignored.

“We should learn from Singapore where public housing is efficient, the units are spacious and the infrastructure is well-maintained,” he said. “You can argue that Singaporeans have a different mentality but if our government is not setting an example in service improvement, then it can't expect public mentality to improve either.”

City without a soul

What truly makes Tan's heart bleed, however, is the dullness of the city's heartbeat. Throwing his hands up in frustration, he exclaimed that he is always stumped as to where to take his foreign friends when they visit KL.

“KL is a city without a soul,” he lamented. “There is no tourist attraction that does us proud or which defines KL. Every big city in the world has its landmark except us. At one time we had the world's tallest building that was our source of pride. Now all we have is the world's tallest flagpole.”

“But we still have one record that remains unbroken,” he said, with a glint in his eye. “We have the world's most toll booths. You will never find this many toll booths in other major cities. I'm not running down my own city but let's face it. Malaysians live their lives around toll booths and traffic and really, what kind of a life is that?”