I am writing not merely as a resident of Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) but as a concerned citizen who believes in the vision of sustainable urban development.
In the pursuit of progress, we all make mistakes.
Some are minor; others are monumental.
When the National Landscape Department (JLN) planned a RM40mil office building atop a steep incline at Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, it might have looked elegant on paper – a “bird’s-eye view” for the very staff tasked with guarding the hill.
However, the reality on the ground has proven to be a catastrophic miscalculation.
Since the project’s inception, the lush green canopy of Bukit Kiara has been stripped bald with alarming speed.
What was once a thriving ecosystem is now bare earth, vulnerable and exposed.
The consequences were immediate:
Mud floods: Downpours now turn the hillside into a river of debris, sending mud flowing into the homes of residents along Jalan Abang Haji Openg.
Property devaluation: Homeowners who have invested their life savings into this neighbourhood are watching their property values plummet due to man-made environmental instability.
Safety risks: The hill is physically rejecting this construction. To persist on such a steep, destabilised slope is to gamble with the lives of those living downslope.
There is a profound irony at play here that the public has not failed to notice.
JLN is the official guardian entrusted to protect our green lungs and urban forests.
Yet, in this instance, the institution meant to safeguard Bukit Kiara has become the primary agent of its destruction.
When the protector becomes the source of harm, it erodes the most valuable currency a government has – public trust.
The project is still in its early stages.
There is still time to make amends before this becomes a “white elephant” or a permanent black mark.
I urge Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming to exercise his authority to:
• Scrap the project entirely: Acknowledge that the environmental cost far outweighs the administrative benefit. Office space can be rented in nearby buildings without destroying a forest.
• Redirect funds to rehabilitation: Convert the RM40mil allocation into a massive reforestation and slope stabilisation effort. Let the healing of Bukit Kiara begin under YB Nga’s watch.
The alternative is to, at the very least, scale down the project significantly and relocate it to flat ground at the base of the hill, where it does not threaten the safety of the community or the integrity of the slope.
The people of TTDI and nature lovers across Malaysia are watching.
Please do the right thing.
Let the machinery be packed away and let the trees return to Bukit Kiara.
Dr Pola Singh
Kuala Lumpur
