Residents and stakeholders concerned about the Petaling Jaya Local Plan (RTPJ) 2035 (Replacement) should exercise their rights by submitting formal objections during the public consultation process.
Section 6 Rukun Tetangga chairman Rajesh Mansukhlal also urged residents to understand the proposed plan.
“Voice your concerns through your residents’ association, assemblyman or MP.
“Exercise your rights to help create a more sustainable city.
“With public objections, developers will have to make adjustments and comply with stricter conditions imposed on their developments.
“Residents should not assume that a proposed development will not affect them simply because it is located some distance from their homes.
“Every development requires supporting infrastructure, and residents have a responsibility to question whether the necessary infrastructure is in place,” he said at an awareness session at the RT Section 6 activity centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
About 70 people attended the session hosted by Petaling Jaya Sejahtera (PJ Sejahtera), a coalition of residents’ associations, civil society groups and other stakeholders.
Rajesh said local authorities were responsible for city planning and should not rely on developers to provide the necessary public infrastructure.
He said developers generally focused on creating infrastructure such as new or wider roads leading to their own developments, and not on providing facilities serving the wider public.
“The infrastructure must be in place before developments begin. This is essential to safeguarding the public interest,” he added.
Resident David Yoong urged the public to understand the proposed RTPJ amendments and the implications they could have on the city’s future landscape.
He said uncertainties surrounding increasingly heavy rainfall and flash floods could be heightened if new developments are not supported by adequate infrastructure.
MCA Urban Affairs Bureau chairman Tan Gim Tuan said assemblymen, MP and councillors must listen to residents’ concerns.
“The general public often does not know how to participate in the objection process.
“The number of objections submitted is very small compared with the city’s population.
“It does not reflect the true public sentiment, because many people are simply unaware of details of the proposed changes under RTPJ (Replacement).
“It is the public’s right to participate in the consultation process, and they should take the opportunity to do so.
“When objections fall on deaf ears, it is ultimately the public who will bear the consequences.”
Meanwhile, Rajesh said low public awareness surrounding RTPJ (Replacement) highlighted a critical gap in community engagement.
He said during the preliminary publicity stage under Section 12A of Town and Country Planning Act 1976, which ended in February this year, only 367 responses were submitted.
For a city with more than 800,000 residents, this represented only a tiny fraction of the population, he added.
To help bridge this gap, PJ Sejahtera presented a step-by-step guide explaining how the RTPJ (Replacement) process works.
A qualified town planner also briefed attendees on the legal framework under Town and Country Planning Act 1976.
Rajesh urged residents to watch for Petaling Jaya City Council’s official announcement on the public display of the draft plan.
He also encouraged them to review the proposals, discuss with their neighbours and submit formal feedback during the public consultation period.
