In the past few weeks, a number of residents and visiting family members have sought clarification on various issues pertaining to the establishment of security barricades in the Section Five area. Your participation and interest in this process is much appreciated and has helped somewhat to refine proposals to improve the execution of this project. All these queries have been responded to by ED LEE. For the benefit of the Section Five community and people that use the recreation areas of Gasing Hill, some of these Frequently Asked Questions and their responses are recorded here for the benefit of those of you with similar queries.

1. Is there a Monthly Charge to residents?
A: There is no cost associated with the boom gates as they were donated by a well wisher.
We have not yet established the costs but we are trying our best to keep it to the minimum. there are approx 800 households in this portion of Section 5 and we are trying to tag paying the security guards at RM4000 per month for all of them. So if every houseold pays we should be paying no more than RM5 per household. I hope that is not too expensive.

We have not budgeted in the costs of lighting the gates and public liability insurance. Hopefully MBPJ will provide the lights and TNB special rated cheap electricity. We will also be buying 30 traffic cones at approximately RM27

2. Who will be manning the boom gates?
We are planning to employ 4 men who will
- open and close the gates at other than jalan 5/35 & 5/13 at 9.30 pm and 6.30 am respectively
- patrol on their motor cycles with mobile phones and truncheons and 1 man to remain at our   base in the Residents Association pondok at Jalan Chantek
- they will respond to residents’ calls but will inform the police immediately of such calls/reports   from residents before proceeding to the victim’s residence where they will render whatever assistance that is within their means without jeopardising their own and residents’ safety
- they will jointly conduct patrols with the police whenever possible

Will they be trustworthy?
All of the men will have their particulars checked by the police before they are employed.

3. How will they be able to tell a resident from a thief/housebreaker/murderer? And what about our visitors/friends and family?

Neither the gates nor the guards will be able to filter such persons and in fact they are not expected to perform such functions.  The guards will be your contact persons in emergencies.  They will alert the police first after which they will respond by coming to the aid of the victim.

4. Isn’t the distance between the main road and installation of drop gate on Jalan 5/5 too short? Will it not cause accidents because cars speeding along the main road will break suddenly behind cars that are blocked by the drop gate.

There is a speed limit along Jalan Gasing and I am also sure you will agree that accidents have happened before the boom gates appeared.  Unfortunately during most trial periods unforseen events do happen due to ignorance or flouting of laws but in time with full knowledge of all motorists of the existence of the gates no such untoward incidents will occur. I have been assured that the gates have been installed within the specifications for setbacks required for such structures.

5. Access after hours
I am a doctor and am on call 24/7. If i need to go out in the wee hours of the morning, will they be there to open the gate for me and how will they know who to let in, say if i finish a case at 2am if it carried on from normal working hours?

How will people gain access to and from Trinity Methodist Church after 10 pm?

Jalan 5/35 & 5/13 will not be closed unless there are emergencies.  You may use these roads to exit and enter without interference at all times.

5. What about guarding Bukit Gasing entrance? Housebreakers can still enter from KL side on foot.

Yes, that is correct.  We have another committee under Dr Jagdev Singh looking into this matter.  We are proposing to having a security buffer zone erected by residents living along the whole stretch of green belt but this depends very much on the cooperation and support we are hopefully going to get from these residents.

In most cases even if the criminals come in that way, they seem to always have a getaway car or motor cycle waiting for them in the vicinity for fast escape so the gates will come in handy then.

6. What about letting in people who legitimately want to use the natural recreation areas, i.e. the walkers and joggers between Gasing Hill and Jln Lembah?

I take this path every morning at 6.15 am and I take it the gate will be closed till 6.30 am. What are the provisions for the people that take early morning walks, runs, exercise between these 2 areas.

If there are many more visitors to the area who request that the road be opened earlier to cater to them we will reconsider opening times. During the objection period (April 18 to May 17, 2007) the gates will not be closed at all.  Only the police will be authorised to operate the gates during emergencies.

After the objection period, the gates will be closed with the exception of Jalan 5/35 & Jalan 5/13.  You may enter by car thru these roads.

Both pillars extend the entire width of the road so there will be difficulty for anyone to enter even onfoot.  And alternate entrances are not feasible especially to those that are walking in.

This is purposely done so as to deny entry/exit access to unauthorised & likely criminal minded pedestrians and motor cyclists  to the community. Most snatch thieves are motor cyclists and they can weave in and out of tight spots if we give them half a chance.

7. Why not use leaflets to inform the public?
We have found out through previous experience in the past that sending out leaflets does not get the attention it deserves.  the response to previous circulars sent to houses got no feedback and the usual excuse was that the residents did not read them. It was wasteful excercise in terms of money, time and effort. The banner has been effective in getting people’s attention.

8. How are the local authorities involved?
We had a public meeting which was attended by the OCPD and the full complement of his senior officers last month at SM Lasalle to discuss this system in detail.  This was similarly advertised with banners placed at road entrances in advance.

I had several meetings with the mayor and his deputy on this issue prior to putting things into motion.  we may end up setting the guidelines for other communities as the crime situation doesn’t seem to improve despite the OCPD and his men going flat out to address the situation.  Criminals are increasing in numbers with the perceived rising socio economic downturn and unemployment.  we have to cope with this and the drop gates is one way the community is responding to the crisis.

Editor’s note: If you have further questions. I encourage you to use this blog site for a rapid reply. The answer to your question could also benefit other readers. Simply register your name. Your personal particulars will be confidential.

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