RESIDENTS of Taman Bendahara in Ipoh, Perak, are urged to retain a lawyer to mediate with the developer who plans to build a columbarium near their homes.
Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee said residents could only challenge the project via legal means as it has been approved by the Ipoh City Council in 2023.
“We are a democratic society and have to do things according to procedures.
“Not even the Prime Minister can revoke the project,” said Lee during a town hall session on the project at SJK(C) Sam Chai.
“The residents should also appoint three persons to engage with us and the lawyer on this matter.
“I also hope the developer can agree to stop work voluntarily until we mediate on this,” he added.
It was learned during the town hall that the project was approved on Oct 9, 2023.
The project obtained approvals from all relevant agencies, including the Fire and Rescue Department, Department of Environment, Drainage and Irrigation Department and the Kinta District Land Office.
The columbarium is to be built on a 1.8ha private land next to a Muslim burial ground at Jalan Bendahara.
The plan has been on display at the city council headquarters lobby for 60 days, to allow people to view and voice their objections.
More than 80 people attended the town hall and all requested that the project be reconsidered.
Lee said he received messages from residents objecting to the project since early January.
“When the residents’ grouses reached me, I contacted the city council and the developer to call for the town hall,” he said.
Lee added that the developer sent out invitations in April 2023 to nearby residents and the shopkeepers at Jalan Bendahara for the town hall session to get feedback on the project.
“During the town hall held the following month, there were no objections from those who attended,” Lee said, adding that only seven residents were present then.
A resident, who only wanted to be known as Evonne, 40, said she did not receive the invitation to attend the town hall in 2023.
She said the invitation, which she saw later, only stated that the town hall was about a new project.
“It did not state that the meeting was about a columbarium,” she said, adding that many in the area were also unaware about the project until recently.
“The nearby Muslim burial ground has long been there and we respect it.
“We cannot accept another (funerary) place.”
Other concerns raised during the town hall included the possible depreciation of property value, cultural sensitivities and the proximity between the project and the nearest houses.
