Since her soft opening more than 6 months ago, many more shops have made their presence at this neighbourhood mall. Famous brands like Harvey Norman and Mc Donalds are now in business, much to the delights of many residents here. The place is coming alive with larger crowd and some of the eateries are doing roaring business. However, the critical mass is not there yet and many shop lots remained shuttered. But it is looking promising as days go by as many more outlets have lined up for an opening.

The car park is still free and security personnel are stationed at both the entry and exit points. Since the auto-gate is not yet in operation and anyone can easily drive through, many have wondered the purpose of the security personnel. Perhaps they are there to check if we are bona fide shoppers? We do not know when charging will start but we hope the rates will be attractive. Shoppers want to shop at their own leisure. Others just want to have their favourite cup of coffee and watch the world go by. And the last thing they want is the thought that they have to fork out the equivalent of a cuppa for the parking. For a very young mall that is yet to be fully occupied, a wise thing the management of this mall should do is to keep the rates extra low. Certainly, it can’t remain free forever as it will be a magnet for residents across the road. The parking fee should be attractive. How about free parking for 1st two hours and a ringgit for every subsequent 4 hours?

The mall currently has quite a good tenant mix: a supermarket, a reputable electrical and electronic chain, a book store, a good number of restaurants, a limited number of fashion stores and even a bank! It will be great if there is a cineplex too.

Here are some shops that will be opening soon, what other shops would you like to see here?

Artist impression of proposed fencing at Ara Impian

Ara Impian is a collection of four neighbourhoods in the old phase of Ara Damansara namely Chelmsford, Palemo, Calarossa and Berkeley. Chelmsford is the smallest neighbourhood with less than 50 houses but collectively, they are a medium size community with a total of about 400 houses.

All four neighbourhoods share a common entrance today but an outsider will find it a bit strange there are three separate guard houses: one each for Palemo, Calarossa and Berkeley.

In terms of security, Berkeley is the current leader. She is the first in this community to create a gated and guarded neighbourhood following the footsteps of Attilia and Alissia community.

It is not easy to create a gated and guarded neighbourhood. There are differing opinions and almost everyone wants a say. It takes a lot of time and sacrifices of the volunteers to plan, engage, arbitrate and finally to gain consensus. Even then, it will not be 100%.

Recently, all residents in Ara Impian were invited for a potluck gathering. Many may know their immediate neighbours or someone across the streets. Unless you share some common grounds like both your kids go to the same school, it is quite unlikely you will know someone staying in another neighbourhood. So this event creates an opportunity to make new friends and extend your social network.

The residents came with a variety of food mostly home cooked but some took the convenience to order some fast food. There were games too for the children and their laughter were evidence they had a great time.

The highlights of the night was the announcement of a proposal to unite the community with a grand security plan. The proposal is for a gated and guarded community for Ara Impian. The fence will start from the border with the Semi-D neighbourhood with a common guard house at the common entrance and continuing along 1A/20 facing the Chelmsford neighbourhood. It then turns right following the big monsoon drain and joins up with the existing fencing at Berkeley.

With this grand plan, part of Berkeley’s fencing will become redundant. But not to worry, the plan was to dismantle the redundant stretches and to re-use them.

Now, the challenging part. It will take many more weeks and perhaps months before the project is confirmed. Don’t be surprised some residents will simply not participate. Some others may just pay lip service and will come up with a thousand reasons not to pay. The success or failure will hinge on the supporters, many share the belief it’s a small price to pay for a secured environment for themselves and their family. What’s the point of working hard to earn a living and then living in fear that you or your family members may be the next robbery victim?

When this project do get the mandate to proceed, it will represent a huge achievement: a community who is willing to come together putting aside their personal agenda and differences to create a more secured neighbourhood. Less obvious is this project complements another neighbourhood next door, the Semi-D community which is already gated and guarded. Together, they form a tightly controlled zone covering more than 500 houses with two round-the-clock manned entrance equipped with security cameras.

The vision of a safe and secured neighbourhood for all residents at Ara Impian is enough to give this project your support. I can’t think of a good reason why it shouldn’t.

What’s your view?

Support of the residents towards the function was tremendous. Many contributed cash, food, drinks, music and services. Food and drinks were ample. Some residents brought home prepared food.

The gathering was held in the Casarina neighborhood. Because of the rainy season, 6 big tents were erected to house the event. However, the weather co-operated to make it problem free.

The residents had an enjoyable time meeting up and catching up with neighbors. The kids were entertained to an hour long show by funny man Mr John. Based on their responses and laughter, they had an awesome time.

Three accidents in one week at the same junction! Isn’t this one too many?

Last Tuesday evening, a car collided with a motorcyclist. The car was badly damaged with a big depression on the windscreen. The motorcyclist was lucky to be alive as no helmet was seen. He had a large wound at the back of his head but was conscious. The traffic lights was working so it had to be the driver or the cyclist.

Monday morning, an MPV rammed into a sedan. The driver’s door was badly damaged. The traffic lights was out. So it had to be the carelessness of the drivers.

Yesterday afternoon, a taxi knocked down the traffic pole and landed on the divider. Next to it was a sedan. The traffic lights was out. The road was wet and it was still drizzling. Blame the drivers?

Most of the time, the drivers are at fault. They should have known the lights are not working so it is common sense to be extra careful. It is better to be safe than sorry.

But putting the blame fully on the drivers is a little bit unfair. There are the other culprits too: the faulty lights, the slippery roads, the darkened streets, the apathy of the authorities and perhaps the devil too.

Many complaints were filed with MBPJ on the faulty traffic lights. We hardly see Mr Amber at work and worst Mr Red is often in a hurry showing up before the number is called. MBPJ, as the local authority is responsible but the residents complaints are like a pile of discarded papers stored in a junk yard. Our area councillor, Encik Khairul promised to look at our problems but days and weeks have come and gone. He probably was stationed in NATO before.

We complained on the street lamps many moons ago. We were given various excuses: it was an act of vandalism; we are not responsible for that street, MBPJ is. Despite the excuses, our developer, SDP assured us actions would be taken. They did but only after much delays and many trials and errors: the lights came on one night but disappeared the next or only alternate lamps were lighted up.

And now, the lights have gone away for Christmas holiday. The latest excuse: two bills amounting to more than RM150K have not been settled. So Mr Tenaga said: “Enough is enough!, Potong! Potong!”. The perplexing part is why only these two streets; why not the rest? Even for these two streets, why only half of them?

Seri Pilmoor is the premier G&G community in this neighbourhood. But the road next to it is a river of mud. This problem has been there for months and after every downpour, they send a team to clean up the mess. But why not fix the problem once and for all? Who is responsible for this mess?

Sewerage is pouring from a manhole along the main road and also from two manholes inside the Semi-D compound. The manhole cover is now dislocated and it’s a death trap. Who is responsible?

So who is at fault? our developer, Sime Darby Property? MBPJ? our councillor? Or the drivers?

You tell me.

Isn’t it strange how every year at this time, the traffic lights at the junction of PJU 1A/3 – PJU 1A/20 goes off?  I remember clearly last year it was November as well and it did not get fixed for 3 weeks.  I wonder how many accidents occurred at that junction.

This year, the problem is compounded by the off street lights north of that junction along the Seri Pilmoor bungalows.  I’ve just returned from my morning walk, and I was not surprised to see an accident had just happened.

Anyway, I’ve called MBPJ and they told me the faulty lights have already been reported.  But the interesting thing is that the staff said the traffic lights/road has yet to be handed over to MBPJ.  Say what?  I wonder if the roads are only going to be handed over to MBPJ after the completion of Seri Pilmoor.

I received this mail a few days ago and at first read, it looks genuine enough. Since it is on a subject that is dear to everyone’s heart, I rather err and pass this information on.

“Last Saturday, 17-09-11 (“named” 25th Anniversary Charity Dinner), at about 11.30 am as I was driving to Thean Hou Temple to see how the arrangements go, just near the Federal Auto/Volvo show room, a motorcyclist started to hoot at me and gesturing that something was wrong with my car. Then he passed me by and went on his way.

A few seconds later, another motorcyclist with a pillion rider also came by, this time on my left and started hooting and shouting at me. I slowed down and rolled down the window and asked what was the problem. He shouted in Bahasa that my front wheel brake was leaking with brake oil and he wanted me to stop the car so that he can fix it.

In my mind, stopping on a road with heavy traffic is certainly not the best thing to do and further more what can he do for me, if the problem is a serious one. So I shouted back that I am nearing my destination, without telling him that I was going to Thean Hou Temple. I drove on wary of the ‘brake problem’. Seeing that I was gathering speed and making the turn that leads to the Brickfield Police Station (and Thean Hou Temple), they did not follow. At that moment I was rather grateful to these guys (of dark complexion – needless to say you know who, we are not supposed to be racist) .

When I parked the car at Thean Hou Temple, I went and have a look at the front wheel. Sure enough, there were several drops of brake fluid. I was convinced that the brake caliber was leaking and so called my friend to get me a bottle of brake fluid on his way to Thean Hou Temple.

When he came with the brake fluid, another friend and I went to refill the brake fluid but surprised to find the brake fluid container in the car is still full! To cut a long story short, when I sent the car to the mechanic on 23-09-11, the mechanic could not find any leakages. Fishy situation, I thought.

Now is the real situation. When I golfed with my friends on 24-09-11, I related the story to them and one of them who stayed at Taman Seputeh said that I was lucky for not stopping otherwise, I could have been robbed. He further added that many residents at Taman Seputeh and the Brickfield areas, especially ladies, have fallen victims and robbed, when they stopped to ‘receive’ help from these ‘samaritans’.

So be alert whenever you are being approached in this manner and in any places, not just Brickfield areas. As long as your car can go, move on and get to the nearest mechanic to check it out, rather than trust some strangers.”

Proposed site of Tesco store

The nearest Tesco is at Mutiara Damansara which is some 10 kms away. Giant has two stores close to each other at Kelana Jaya and they are the nearest, distance wise provided you are not caught in the infamous LDP crawl. Carrefour also has two stores in the vicinity, at Subang Jaya and at Tropicana City Mall.

So Tesco is the odd man out and it is no surprise there is talk that they are coming to town. In fact, this is no new news as years ago, the speculation is there except that it was on then off and then on again and off… until no one is sure.

Well, the cat is now out of the bag!

Recently, a management team from Tesco had a meeting with the residents here. In the same meeting were representatives from Sime Darby Property, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs and the consultant firm, Mag Technical and Consultant Sdn Bhd.

Tesco wanted feedback from this community on her proposal to setup a store here. Fourteen representatives from nine resident associations, both formal and informal attended the meeting.

Traffic consultant, Mr Goh Bok Yen, was also invited to give his views on the impact of additional traffic to this neighbourhood.

There was a question and answer session where residents were encouraged to give their feedback. The residents had many questions from a very wide spectrum. The questions include “Will the store here be GBI (Green Building Index) rated?”, “How does Tesco handle disposal of organic material/refuse?”, “How do you handle pest control?”, “What is the energy consumption and source of power in the store?”, “What is the construction timeline?”, “How does Tesco propose to handle traffic congestion during festivities?” … and many more.

At the end of the meeting, the residents were asked if they are in favour of Tesco’s plans. It was an overwhelming 86% “Aye” with one “Nay”. One representative left early and did not vote.

So the plan is now set in motion. Just like it needs nine months for a new born, this won’t be overnight. Hopefully, by 2014, we can just walk across the street to do our marketing chores.

More than 120 residents showed up this morning at the junction of Jalan PJU 1A/3 and 1A/20 to protest the development of two high density projects in our neighbourhood. The protest was organized by Ara Damansara Response Group (ADSG) representing the voices of concerned residents here.

The two projects are Ara Greens Wellness and Healthcare City by HSB Developments and Villamas by Lembah Penchala. HSB Developments has proposed to build 6 blocks of medium cost 15-storey service apartments, a 4-storey medical center plus another 14-storey medium cost service apartment. On the other hand, Lembah Penchala has submitted a proposal to build two commercial office blocks of 12 and 13-storey and a 14-storey service apartment. Upon completion, these two projects will have a total of 1280 service apartments.

The residents have had many meetings with MBPJ and the developers and have expressed concerns over the high plot ratio, insufficient parking lots, traffic congestion, road safety concerns with the close proximity of ingress and egress points to the busy cross-road junction and the inadequacy of the present utility infrastructure (power, water and sewage) to support such a high population.

In addition, these two plots of land were originally surrendered to the State Government to be used as recreational facilities for the residents in this neighbourhood. For unknown reasons, the land use was converted and sold. Our developer, Sime Darby Property is a commercial organization accountable to the shareholders and the cost of any land given to the State Government had to be recovered. This can be easily priced into the houses they build. So the residents actually paid for the land and are co-owners. But this is now being taken away. It is no different to being robbed.

Despite our objections, MBPJ approved the projects and ignored many of the planning guidelines, both local and national included.

The residents are very disappointed and plan to submit a memorandum to our Mentri Besar soon. Our State Government under the new administration has preached CAT (Competency, Accountability and Transparency) and the residents hope the State Government will review and rescind the approvals by MBPJ.

There was an incident of attempted car-jacking in our neighbourhood last Sunday night. A resident was on her way home after visiting her friend at the low cost flats next to Oasis. She was tailed almost immediately by two guys driving a Proton. They horned at her a few times but she ignored them. Upon reaching the traffic junction next to Dataran Ara, both cars had to stop for the red light and the guys made some gestures pointing to the back of her car. Again, she ignored them but sensing trouble, she put on her hazard lights and sounded the horn hoping to attract some attention. Unfortunately, other motorists ignored her so when the lights changed, she stepped on the accelerator to speed away. The guys gave chase driving dangerously close and trying to overtake her. Although in panic mode, she managed to make a U-turn near the bungalow entrance and it was with huge luck that she did not hit the divider. She managed to reach home safely but she was fully shaken by this terrible ordeal.

If you are returning home at night or just going out for late supper, please be on the alert. It appears this gang is targeting those driving alone and lady drivers are particularly at a higher risk. This resident was driving a Perodua so it appears they are not just picking only on luxury cars.

What should you do when you are faced with a similar encounter? Here are three suggestions:

1. Do not stop or get out of your car. This is easier said than done. If you are bumped, you may slow down or even stop but do not get out of the car immediately. Let the other party get down first and try to make an assessment by observing if the other party is alone or with passengers, are they male?, do they look suspicious? If it is a real accident, it is likely the impact to your car will be a lot bigger than a nudge. Car-jackers do not want to create too much damage to your car as their intention is to dispose it quickly. If you have the slightest doubt, forget about the damage and drive away.

2. Avoid driving home alone late in the night. Again, this may be difficult to do as many of us work late. You just need to be alert and if you suspect you are being followed, try to drive to a crowded place near by: shops, petrol stations etc. Remain in the car and continue to observe. If you have friends staying nearby, call for help and see if they can come to your assistance. If the coast is clear, drive away but continue to be on the alert. If your house is not in a guarded neighbourhood, do not return home straight away.

3. Print a sticker “Car-jacking! Beware! Don’t get down!” and place it somewhere near your dashboard. This may sound silly and may even be embarrassing when you friends or colleagues see it. It is better to be safe than sorry. As the message is there all the time, your brain will be conditioned so should you become the unlucky one one day, you are well prepared.

It’s not a very safe world out there so we just have to be on the alert at all times!

The Casarina Residents Association had a gotong royong to clean up its neighborhood on Saturday 01-Oct-2011. More than 40 residents participated in the event. The gotong royong was targeted to clear the playgrounds, back lanes, open fields and other common areas in the community. 

MBPJ Councillor En Khairul Anuar was there to provide support. MP for Subang, YB Dr Sivarasa was scheduled to attend but was unable to do so at the last minute. He was represented by his private secretary Mr Peter Chong.

MBPJ rendered total material support. They provided all the equipment for the clean-up – wheel barrows, brooms, spades, rakes, garbage bags and even gloves. They also provided a huge waste container, as well as a lorry and workers who drove around to collect the trash.

The participants, beside working to clean up their environment, also had a good time getting to know and interacting with their neighbors. Participants brought their own additional equipments. One resident brought a grass cutter to remove lalang and unwanted bushes in the playground. The Association provided mineral water and the Secretary graciously made banana kueh and agar-agar for refreshments. It was indeed a happy event. Some residents asked to have it on a regular basis.

Casarina Residents Association thanks all participants who sacrificed their Saturday morning for the community. The Association also records its appreciation to MBPJ, Councillor En Khairul Anuar and YB Dr Sivarasa for the tremendous support and assistance.