CONCERN has been raised over residential land conversion to commercial in the draft Petaling Jaya Local Plan (RTPJ) 2035 (Replacement).
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung said based on the draft RTPJ, future growth was being squeezed into existing built-up areas of the city through aggressive redevelopment.
“We see this through MBPJ’s deliberate strategy of land use conversion where quiet residential neighbourhoods facing main roads, such as Jalan Universiti, Jalan Utara and Jalan Gasing, are systematically targeted for conversion into commercial zones.
“In older areas, density is being pushed from a historical 12 units per hectare to an overwhelming 100 units per hectare,” he said, referring to housing or office units within commercial areas.
Lee warned that altering land-use zoning on paper to accommodate such commercial developments within established residential areas would irreversibly degrade the urban environment if not matched by equivalent infrastructural upgrades.
“Development intensity must never outpace a city’s carrying capacity,” Lee said during a press conference at his service centre in Jalan Othman.
He added that city planning must prioritise safety, resilience and long-term sustainability.
“It is the statutory responsibility of Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) as the approving authority,” Lee said, “to ensure growth do not exceed the capacity of the city’s roads, drainage systems and essential services.
“We are already seeing the physical limits of our city breaking down.
“Recent incidents, such as the retaining wall collapse near Astaka field in Section 52, prove that infrastructure failures place nearby homes and residents at real risk.”
He said the city council had projected Petaling Jaya’s population to grow by nearly 280,000, surpassing one million residents by 2035.
“Alarmingly, this massive influx is planned for a city with less than 5% of land left for new development.”
Calling it a “looming density crisis”, Lee urged MBPJ to cease the practice of approving high-density projects based on isolated, plot-by-plot assessments.
“Who at MBPJ is calculating the combined traffic impact of 20 new high-rise projects commencing at the same time?
“Before planning for one million residents, I demand MBPJ commission and publish a comprehensive macro-Traffic Impact Assessment and a city-wide infrastructure carrying-capacity report.”
Accompanied by resident representatives from Sections 4, 5, 6, 16, 17 and 22, Lee called for MBPJ to organise targeted, localised focus group discussions with affected communities and their respective residents associations (RA).
He also pointed out that major redevelopment initiatives, including the Section 52 Special Area Plan and various transit-oriented development zones, were governed by documents separate from RTPJ.
“These fragmented plans prevent residents from seeing the cumulative impact.
“MBPJ planners must go down to the ground to openly debate and explain the specific, localised impacts of this masterplan on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis.”
RA coalition PJ Sejahtera pro-tem chairman Tunku Johan Mansur said they were concerned about the long-term impact of high-rise projects on existing communities and infrastructure.
“The infrastructure for utilities in Petaling Jaya has existed since the 1960s,” said Tunku Johan, who is also Section 5 RA chairman.
“If so many high-rise developments are allowed, how will the city cope?
“We are also concerned that there is not enough representation from residents in the planning process,” he said.
A PJ Sejahtera committee member, who wanted to be known only as Shanti, said residents were concerned that unchecked densification of Petaling Jaya would further erode the liveability of established neighbourhoods.
The Section 6 resident said although the draft RTPJ stated that focus group discussions had been conducted with stakeholders, many residents were not made aware of these sessions and had effectively been left out of the process.
