Franklin Roosevelt the 32nd President of the USA
once said this, “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an
alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President
and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this
country.”
I think the voters in
Malaysia over decades have felt emasculated in many ways thinking that the
people who represent us care little for our welfare. They rule over us as like
an alien power. We feel distanced from government and unable to have a say in
what truly affects us on a daily basis. This can be very frustrating even
depressing.
Sometimes however government works and when it does it
affects us all and brings immense benefit to the people. I like to cite an
example to show how our neighbourhood became a little better off because we had
the channel to voice our proposals and to have it heard and considered. I know this is a rare story nevertheless we are thankful for the small improvements in Selangor.
About 10 years ago when we moved in to Pinggiran USJ, there
was a sizable piece of land next to our taman. Approximateky 3ha. When we
purchased our house, we were told that the empty land was an MPSJ reserved
land. As years went by we heard of the possibility of an eatery or hawker
center, a motel with sports facilities, a driving range, even a shopping complex etc. Many a times I drove by and saw people in
their long sleeve shirts parking their Mercedes surveying the empty land with
rolled out maps and drawings of the area.
I, as with all our neighbours were obviously very concerned. As it is we
have so little public spaces and the last thing we wanted was another concrete
mall next to our taman.
In 2010, I served as the Chairman of USJ3ABCD Residents
Association and because of that was onboard the MPSJ Residents Committee for
Zone 3 (JKP Zone 3). The Committee was
under the leadership of then Councillor Rajiv Rishyakaran who is now the ADUN
of Bukit Gasing. Afraid that another
shopping mall or concrete building was to come up instead of a recreational
space, I drafted a proposal in March 2011 through the JKP, the idea of an
Ecological Urban Forest. We called it the Z3 Eco Forest. The JKP accepted the idea and we presented the
proposal to the Council. MPSJ approved
the idea and on Nov 11th 2011, the Subang Jaya community together
with a private school nearby planted 1,111 trees in the area, officiated and
supported by our ADUN, YB Hannah Yeoh.
Today, 6 years later, the Park is fully supported by MPSJ
and earthworks is being carried out. This
is a win for the Residents of Pinggiran Subang Jaya and Subang Jaya at large as we will have an Urban Forest right in our township. I
was told that because of the Urban Forest the value of the properties in the
area would also escalate.
In the midst of all
the skepticism and frustration of government working for the people here is a
success story. When government works,
and the people’s interest are heard; residents are happy and the state
prospers. It works only when ordinary voters, residents, neighbors care enough to get involved in resident groups or committees. I can only imagine this on a larger scale, perhaps one day not just
in Subang Jaya or Selangor, but the whole Malaysia when we can then fully
comprehend Roosevelt’s quote; “The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a
President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters
of this country.”
Facilities
The proposed facilities available on Z3 Eco Forest are as follows:
1) A 2Km
walking and jogging path around the park.
2) A bicycle
path along the walking and jogging track
3) Ponds and
streams along the path
4) Picnic
and Playground area with water features and landscape
5) An arts
and cultural center approx 2000 square feet
6) A small
amphitheatre
7) A Eco
Farm
8) Parking
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| The Empty land before 2011 |
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| View towards the kindergarten in 2011 |
