The Damansara constituency is home to large pockets of commercial centres along the Damansara-Puchong Highway.
MORE than anything, those who call the Damansara parliamentary constituency in Selangor home want their future MP to show up, engage with them and do the job expected of an elected representative.Damansara is considered a fairly affluent area with a sizeable number of senior citizens.
Residents yearn for a better quality of life which they say is being threatened by overdevelopment.
In the last general election, incumbent Tony Pua Kiam Wee won the Damansara parliamentary seat with a majority of 106,903 votes, the highest recorded majority nationwide.
For the 15th General Election (GE15), the number of voters in Damansara is about 192,000, with the addition of new voters.
Damansara parliamentary constituency is made up of the three state seats of Kampung Tunku, Bandar Utama and Bukit Lanjan.
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It is predominantly Chinese with those from the community making up 57.8% of voters, Malay (33.7%) and Indian (7.7%).
As of now, Damansara will see Barisan Nasional’s Tan Gim Tuan from MCA take on Gobind Singh (DAP) from Pakatan Harapan and Lim Si Cheng (Gerakan) from Perikatan Nasional.
“We want the new MP to do a meet-and-greet or townhall session with residents yearly,” said Damansara Utama Residents and Owners Association (Duroa) committee representative Datuk Dr Ilango Karuppannan.
Damansara Utama residents say their quality of life is affected living next to the busy Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP) while being surrounded by the MRT, LRT3 and mixed-development projects.
Ilango said the new MP should look at making improvements in residents’ representation in Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
Retiree Tan Teck Kooi, 67, said he wanted the future MP to take their views seriously when it came to quality of life and development in the constituency.“This is a mature township comprising mostly retirees. Most of them have just one property, the one we are living in here.
“There is so much development in our neighbourhood, but we cannot afford to move elsewhere,” he added.
Retired physician Dr Vicky Ayadurai, 60, who has lived in Damansara Utama for more than 20 years, said while a good road network and public transport were essential, it should be less intrusive as their presence was affecting residents’ quality of life.
This might not be real ‘bread and butter’ issue, and that was probably why they were not addressed, she said.
“That is not right as everyone’s needs should be taken into consideration,” she added.
Retiree Yong Wei Mee, 65, said the new MP should push for better engagement with residents when improving infrastructure.
Manager Ronnie Yeoh, 45, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 12 years, said floods should be resolved.
“Floods should not be happening in a developed constituency,” he said.
Bandar Utama resident Priya Kulasegaran hopes for an MP who consults the grassroots and pushes for improvements on the ground.
“Don’t just give lip service via fiery campaign promises.
“I’m interested in an MP who can inspire us,” added Priya.
The Damansara constituency is home to large pockets of commercial centres along the Damansara-Puchong Highway.
Patches of green: Residents tending to their community garden at Jalan SS21/42 in Damansara Utama. — LOW BOON TATT/The Star
Tan wants the next MP to take their concerns about quality of life seriously.
Yong says there should be better engagement for infrastructure projects.
Dr Vicky says everyone’s well-being should be considered by the elected MP.
Ilango wants the future MP to have an annual townhall session.
