Saga continues as barricades rebuilt

Wednesday May 28, 2008

By FAZLEENA AZIZ

AN unfamiliar group turned up as “observers” as workers from Grand Saga Sdn Bhd, the concessionaire of the Cheras-Kajang highway, reconstructed the barrier at the access road in Bandar Mahkota Cheras yesterday.

Residents who were monitoring the work done by the workers said they were surprised by the presence of this third group.

The group comprising about 20 male individuals left at about noon and appeared again an hour later when the cement was being laid.

Some of the residents who were at the scene claimed the third group were likely “thugs” hired to deal with residents who might stop the workers from doing their job.

The reconstruction of the barrier began as early as 2am with workers assembling concrete boulders to block the access road.

Raymond Yap, 54, a resident Bandar Mahkota said that reconstructing the barricade was not a wise move .

“We would still have to pay toll because many people here need to use the highway.

“There are at least 30,000 people living here and so you can imagine the volume of cars going in and out. We have to drive about 10km via Bandar Sg Long road, which is a waste of fuel.

“I do not understand how is it that they can block the road which is on state government’s land,” he said, urging the state government to help resolve this problem as soon as possible.

National MCA Youth committee member Loh Chew June hopes that a mutual agreement can be achieved for the sake of the long-suffering residents.

“The state and Federal governments should put their political differences aside and see the problem from the residents’ point of view,” said Loh, who also urged the residents to be calm in dealing with the situation and avoid confrontation.

According to a Grand Saga spokesperson, the company was not aware of any group that was monitoring the reconstruction of the barrier.

He added that the residents were free to make a police report if they felt threatened by the presence of any individuals.