Traffic, crime woes plague Lembah Pantai

The majority of voters in the hot seat are fed up with the traffic congestion and high crime rate in the area.

People in the Lembah Pantai constituency claim that traffic congestion and safety concerns are the biggest problems in the constituency.
Mohd Sadiq, 50, a taxi driver with 28 years of experience said that the problem of traffic congestion is a national problem.
Asked if the Mass Rapid Transit [MRT 2] project proposed by Barisan Nasional candidate Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin will make a difference, he said that there would not be much.
“Even if we have all sorts of public transportation, the problem of traffic congestion will still continue.
“If cars do not multiply, and there’s a prohibition from buying more cars, then it would be possible for traffic congestion to be controlled. However, right now as you can see, even in flats, each household has at least two cars,” he said.
In February, Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Raja Nong Chik announced that the second line of MRT will pass by Lembah Pantai.
“It is unofficial and yet to be approved by the economic council. The MRT corp will build three stations in the area, namely in Pantai Halt, Taman Bukit Angkasa and Abdullah Hukum,” he had said.
Suraya Abd Khalid, 41, who works at her sister’s stall however said that she is satisfied with the development in Lembah Pantai so far.
“There have been many amenities such as supermarkets and food outlets,” she said.
She however admitted that one of the main problems in Lembah Pantai is traffic congestion.
“The MRT 2 project would hopefully help the problem of traffic congestion,” she said.
Siti Sarina, 43, a receptionist, said the traffic lights along the Pantai Permai road have made the area more congested.
“The jam is caused by the bus stop. When the buses queue, it becomes a problem for the cars at the back,” she said.
In terms of safety, she hopes for more security personnel to be employed especially at the PPR [Program Perumahan Rakyat] housing areas.
“We do not want social ills like drug abuse and snatch thefts to spread. As for the MRT 2 project, it should be at a strategic location,” she said.
Opportunities for youths

Mohamad Azlishah, 30, said he hoped for the youths to be given more opportunities.
“More opportunities should be given to those aged 35 and below. I have friends who were excellent in their studies but because of the surroundings [Pantai Dalam used to be a black area], they have been led astray.
“Drug abuse and illegal racing have been the reasons why some of the youths here have failed to get something better out of their lives,” said Azlishah who helps around at his brother’s bicycle shop.
Fruit seller Khatijah Yaacob, 54, said that she just hopes for her livelihood to be undisturbed.
“As long as we can still earn a living, it would be fine.
“BR1M only helped to pay the electricity bills and that’s it. There has not been assistance for people like me, from both the government and opposition,” she said.
For 30-year-old Mohd Saiful, he said that he wants change in terms of development.
“I want more developed areas and not just MPs who go to the ground. They should not be all talk with no outcome.
“Also, since the population has grown, the traffic has become worse. So I am not sure whether the MRT 2 project will be of help or not,” he said.

Mumtaj Ali, 34, said that both the traffic and safety concerns in Lembah Pantai are fine except that more foreigners have started living in the area.
“More and more foreigners are setting up businesses here. Sometimes when we go to their shops and ask for their owners, they say that the owner is not around when in fact they are the owners.
“Something really needs to be done so that we won’t have foreigners taking up domains which should be ours in the first place,” she said.
Lembah Pantai will see a three-cornered fight involving PKR’s incumbent Nurul Izzah Anwar, Raja Nong Chik and independent Rusli Baba.
Lembah Pantai has 72,533 voters, of whom Malays make 55.3%, Chinese 22.8%, Indians 20% and others the rest.