The Shame of Ipoh, Joke of the Nation.
By : Yin Ee Kiong

It takes something like the tower-block development ‘smack right next to nature with a panoramic view of the Kinta Valley and towering outcrops’ to remind us why we need an elected local government.

The present system of an appointed mayor and councillors is just not working. Well, some can argue that it’s working in that it’s easier to ‘do business’. . . if you catch my drift. But it’s not working for the people – protecting their interests, meeting their aspirations regarding the environment, infrastructure, jobs and services. It does not give them - the stakeholders - the right to hire and fire as should be the case in any democracy.
So there is no accountability at all. Callous businessmen with the right connections can do as they please . . . and get away with it.

Under a democratic system – with an elected council - any development such as The Haven would have been put to public scrutiny. The public would have been invited to view the proposals and voice their opinions. I am not talking about just any development but one which is “nestled at a foothill and with the virgin forest of Titiwangsa Range as a backdrop.”
What will be the negative impact such a development have on the environment?
It’s all very well to promise buyers ‘live water’ flowing at 7570 litres an hour, mountain bike trails, jogging tracks, cool waterfalls at Ulu Kinta. But at whose expense?
Bike trails and jogging tracks and excessive human traffic will impact on the pristine environment which the developer is quick to use as a selling point. It will affect the fauna and flora of the place.

Someone in authority argued that the development “blends in with the hills”. Like a sore thumb! I say. How can you hide or blend three twenty-six tower blocks with the hills? No Pritzker Prize architect can do that much less one engaged by the developer (which one can safely assume has not won any major prize at all).
The developer can promise to take all the precautions, but even if he is true to his word, it’s just the degree of damage he does to the environment: damage it he will.
Three tombstones will mark the spot where the environment died.

This is a development that comes at a high environmental cost – a cost that will be borne by the people of Ipoh today and till kingdom come.
Rather than being an icon which is the ‘Pride of Ipoh, Envy of the Nation’ it is the “Shame of Ipoh, Joke of the Nation”.
The joke’s really on the people of Ipoh, because the developer will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Until we have elected local government this will repeat itself. There’s of course no guarantee that this won’t happen under an elected city council but if it does we have only ourselves to blame. For now the finger can only point at the State Government and the gaggle of order takers who pass off as mayor and councillors.

This is not about party politics because both sides of the political divide are equally determined to deny the rakyat their say in how their local government is structured and run.

This is a fait accompli, some say (not till the Fat Lady sings, I say), but even if it is, it does not mean we have to take this lying down. Those involved in raping Ipoh should not think they can get away without hearing our anger and disgust. They leave behind a legacy which future generations will curse them for..

CopyrightYin Ee Kiong 2010