Barriers placed by Lim in front of his house in Jalan Bukit Desa 1. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
Frustrated houseowner in Taman Desa wants the authority to clear land dispute
A RESIDENT of Jalan Bukit Desa in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur, has once again resorted to blocking a portion of the road in front of his home to show his exasperation with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
Datuk Edmund Lim placed construction barriers on the main road in front of his property, with accompanying signs to explain his action.
He claimed the road was built on his land.
He said he had been ignored by the local authority which failed to resolve a long-standing encroachment issue involving his property.
In March last year, Lim staged a similar protest by placing a 3.04m x 6.09m steel container on the road for two weeks and cordoned off the site with traffic cones.
At that time, DBKL officers, prompted by public complaints to the Seputeh MP’s office, requested Lim to remove the obstruction as a gesture of goodwill.
Lim told StarMetro, “I agreed to remove the barrier the first time because the DBKL officers agreed that the road was built on my land.
“The officers said they would come back to me with a solution if I removed the steel container. “But it has been almost two years since I removed the steel container, and despite going to and from the DBKL headquarters to check on my land issue, I have not received any solution.”
He said it was now almost six years since he first raised the land encroachment matter with DBKL.
Lim bought a 4,634.7sq ft residential property in Taman Desa about six years ago.
A photo of the container Lim placed on the road in front of his house as a mark of protest last year. — Filepic
Soon after moving in, Lim, who is in the construction line, noticed that his land was smaller than his neighbours’.
He hired a land surveyor to measure his property and discovered that it was 1,009sq ft smaller.
“The developer for the area had wrongly measured the land, and now 1,009sq ft of my land is on a public road.
“I wrote to DBKL with all the drawings and papers asking for a solution, but was ignored.
“So I did what I had to do to get their attention,” he said.
In the March incident last year, the presence of the steel structure irked so many residents and motorists in the area that multiple complaints were lodged with DBKL and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.
Following that, DBKL’s land surveyors measured the land and acknowledged that Lim was right.
“They agreed that there was a mistake and the public road was on my land.
“The officers asked me to remove the obstruction and promised to come back with a solution.
“I want to make myself clear here. I put the barriers there only to prove a point to them as I have waited years since submitting my complaint,” said Lim.
DBKL responded initially in a statement to StarMetro last year saying that it would check the original approved plan and title deeds for the housing scheme with the Federal Territory Land and Mines Office (PTGWP) to resolve the issue.
When contacted this time, an officer from the corporate communications unit promised to get to the bottom of the matter once and for all.
