The Kuala Lumpur Residents Action for Sustainable Development Association said a recent meeting with DBKL about a proposed development was “nowhere near a discussion”.

Most of the residents’ queries or suggestions were only met with responses of “Noted”, “OK”, or silence from the meeting’s chairperson, the association said in a statement.

The muted response and “one-way conversation” gave them the impression that DBKL would respond in writing after internal deliberations, but no written reply had been forthcoming.

The group said the response pointed to a lack of accountability and transparency in DBKL when engaging with residents on city planning, despite a court ruling that “the mayor has a duty to give reasons for its (DBKL’s) decisions to objectors notwithstanding the absence of a statutory provision to do so”.

The association said it has sent a four-page letter to DBKL highlighting three main issues to consider before approving future housing projects in Taman Desa. The issues are; traffic and drainage system; lack of public facilities; and lack of public transport.

Last Saturday, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok urged the government to halt high-density developments near flood retention ponds and to review existing projects near the retention pond in Kampung Bohol and Taman Desa.

A Malaysiakini report yesterday quoted Kok as saying she had handed a petition to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warning that the infrastructure in Taman Desa and other Madani housing project locations must be upgraded to accommodate the increased population.

She said town and country planning department estimates had called for more schools, government clinics, police stations, and community centres to be built.

Kok said despite repeated requests from her and a residents’ association, many roads remain unpaved in Taman Desa and the drains and parks have not been upgraded.