KUALA LUMPUR – The Taman Yarl Residents Representative Council has slammed the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Lands and Mines Office of Kuala Lumpur (JKPTG) for their alleged failure to address the dangerous animal problem in the area.
It noted the growing threat of pythons slithering through homes and monitor lizards crossing busy roads has left residents in fear, with abandoned land and derelict houses providing a refuge for these creatures.
The council’s head Alvin Thayaparan attributes to the authorities’ neglect and lack of accountability over the past 30 years.
Alvin’s comments followed a report by Scoop, which revealed that residents of Jalan Awan Kerawang have been voicing their concerns about the dangerous encounters with wildlife that are becoming a common sight in the area.
Following a site visit, Scoop identified eight to ten derelict plots and houses, ranging from approximately 5,000 sqft to 12,500 sqft.
The neighbourhood is also surrounded by several landed properties, condominiums, and SMK Taman Yarl, a secondary school.
Having lived in Taman Yarl for over three decades, Alvin expressed his frustration at the lack of action by DBKL and JKPTG despite numerous complaints.
“I totally agree with what the residents are saying, and they are clearly not making anything up.
“The residents even missed out on mentioning that there have been cases of monkeys and rodents getting into their houses. Even from the side of our council, we are tired of chasing the authorities for a proper response on this matter,” Alvin told Scoop.
He argued that simple measures, such as identifying the owners of abandoned properties and requiring them to maintain the land every six months, could help mitigate the dangerous animal problem.
“All the authorities have to do is find the abandoned landowners and tell them to clean up their areas every six months, so we won’t have issues like pythons or monitor lizards terrorising the residents.”
Alvin also criticised JKPTG for failing to use its available data to track down the owners of the abandoned properties.
“It wouldn’t take a minute for JKPTG to find out who owns the abandoned lands or houses, as they have all the data with them, and I don’t understand why they are not doing it.”
The issue extends beyond Taman Yarl, Alvin added, with nearby areas such as Taman OUG also grappling with abandoned lands and properties.
“This has now become the norm, and the residents are being affected by all the abandoned lands and houses in most of the nearby ‘taman-taman’.
Many of these landowners should stop randomly buying lands and houses only to leave them abandoned.”
He expressed concern that landowners are purposefully allowing properties to remain vacant until their value increases, inadvertently creating a dangerous environment that encourages wildlife to invade residential areas.
“They fail to realise that by doing so, they are indirectly encouraging wildlife creatures to terrorise the residents living in the ‘taman-taman’,” Alvin concluded.
Scoop will reach out to DBKL and JKPTG for their comments on the matter. – December 24, 2024