The KL we are not so proud of

HAPPY Birthday, Kuala Lumpur!

Our capital city will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Federal Territory on Feb 1 and boy, has it come a long way.

From its humble beginnings as the federal capital in 1974 to the bustling metropolis that is home to more than two million people now, Kuala Lumpur is recognised as one of the most affordable, best value options in Asia. In fact, with an estimated 14 million tourist arrivals last year, KL is the sixth most visited city on the planet.

KL-ites tend to have a love-hate relationship with their city. We are forever complaining about the endless traffic jams, limited parking spaces, the lack of hygiene in eateries and unscrupulous cabbies.

But we also take great pride in KL’s fantastic shopping, glorious food and world-class nightspots. As a KL resident myself, the following is a list of three key areas that we can improve on to ensure our capital is truly a world-class city:

Traffic, transportation, and road conditions

I recently took the MRT from the Deloitte TTDI station to check out our latest shopping mall, TRX.

The ride took exactly 25 minutes and cost me RM3.30. Imagine if I had driven from the same location, it would have been at least 45 minutes and the cost of toll and parking would have set me back by at least RM25.

It’s a no brainer that we should be encouraging people to leave their cars home when commuting to the city.

Traffic jams are a perennial issue for KL-ites, especially during peak hours.

We have the MRT, LRT and Monorail services and they must be complemented with last-mile connectivity, including dedicated, enforceable bus lanes that allow easy access to the city centre.

If this incentive isn’t good enough, there should also be deterrents in the form of congestion charges for the CBDs, i.e. Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Raja Chulan, Jalan P. Ramlee and parts of Jalan Ampang.

The car-free day on every Sunday along Jalan Raja Laut is a great initiative. This should now be extended to other parts of the city.

The long-term solution is simple: improve public transportation and you will give commuters a viable option to leave their cars at home.

It is shameful that KL has some of the worst roads in the country. Kepong, Jinjang, Segambut and even so-called wealthier enclaves like Bangsar share the same story. Pot-holed, damaged, just terrible road conditions.

I think the 11 KL MPs should not just be paying lip service. Forget about championing local council elections. Go to the ground and see for yourself the road conditions in your constituencies. Improving these conditions should be part of the MPs’ KPI in this anniversary year.

Cleanliness, hawkers and the homeless

The record number of tourists last year would have been less than impressive with the state of hygiene in our capital city.

Litter and food waste go uncollected in many parts of the city, and this has led to a burgeoning rodent population. DBKL must crack down hard on dirty eateries. Organising rat-catching competitions isn’t good enough; the rodents’ food source must be stopped.

But we should not expect the local authority to be responsible for everything. The lack of civic-mindedness is a concern.

Litterbugs should be dealt with severely. There are signs everywhere to say that fines will be enforced for littering, but how often is this done?

DBKL must rescind the ruling for hawkers to trade at sidewalks. Enough is enough. This was a pandemic ruling that has lasted two-plus years. The amnesty to set up stalls on sidewalks and street corners has resulted in more work for the garbage collectors, not to mention a parking and traffic problem.

These hawkers should be relocated to purpose-built food courts. We are rightly known for our hawker cuisine, and these should be showcased in clean, comfortable locations.

There must also be a humane and effective solution for the growing homeless and stray animal population in KL.

The commendable initiative to house the homeless in transit homes during the pandemic appears to have been reversed.

There are now only two transit homes in the city that can take up to 100 homeless each. This is not nearly enough.

There should be more of this type of halfway houses that can be used for temporary accommodation until more permanent housing can be found.

And as for the strays, more funds need to be allocated to NGOs such as Paws and SPCA so that dogs and cats can be taken off the streets, neutered and cared for.

Housing, pedestrian-friendly streets and green lungs

There must be more sustainable, long-term green initiatives that yield results. We have some great parks but more of these green spaces would be a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

These green lungs must be gazetted and protected to ensure KL continues to have large swathes of green that break the monotony of its high-rise, concrete buildings.

Community farming in City Hall flats, commonly referred to as PPR flats, should be encouraged. These are too few and far between now. And the flats themselves have become eyesores in many parts of the city.

The Housing and Local Government Ministry is looking at Singapore’s HDB model and if this comes to fruition, KL should be the first city in the country to introduce these new-look affordable homes.

Lastly, many parts of the city are not pedestrian-friendly. In fact, many of the suburban streets are dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. A portion of the local authority’s landscaping and beautification budget should be allocated to creating sidewalks that do not endanger people. And please ensure hawkers do not set up shop on these new sidewalks.

It completely defeats the original purpose of building them in the first place.

The writer plans to use public transportation more often this year to get around KL.