DEAR DATO' BANDAR

Congratulations on being appointed the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur. As a citizen who made the mistake of buying a place administered by DBKL, I am naturally hopeful that we have a mayor who cares about people's welfare and comfort, especially people living in DBKL's realm.
I am pretty sure that the people welcoming you in DBKL did not tell you about the urgent problem in Vista Angkasa, Bukit Kerinchi. It is not important, apparently. But, as you might remember from your studies, "important" and "urgent" are two different things.
Mr. Mayor sir, on the 3rd. of December 2008 (before you took office), thieves stole the phone cable in Block 2 and Block 8. Barely a couple of hours after the theft was reported to the police, Block 5 suffered the same fate.

So it has been nearly 4 weeks we have been without house phones and no internet. Not many people are lucky enough to have sympathetic relatives who could lend them expensive (but unstable) wireless modems. Old folks in the affected blocks complained of not being able to get calls from loved ones overseas, Calls to mobile phones are more expensive, whatever the ads say. Our friend, an old retired teacher on one of the lower floors is undergoing chemotheraphy for cancer. She is anxious to reassure her children in the US that she is holding on. She can do that only when the cable is restored.

If our Joint Management Committee were already up and running, we could have our cable back faster. As it is, the JMC was set up late, long after the Act came into effect in April and I saw them a few nights ago at the mamak shop downstairs meeting to get their papers in order. The maintenance fees that we pay every month are still collected by DBKL, DBKL still pays for the security guards that were unaware and unconcerned about the thefts. So, dear Mayor, it is still the DBKL's responsibility to replace the cable. The guards can be replaced later. We did not complain much when our buildings are the scruffiest in the Klang Valley, They have not been painted since they were built 12 years ago. That is important but not urgent. A working phone though, is very urgent. So, please take a bit of your time to evaluate our problem and tell your officers to get off their posterior and do the necessary.

Thank you sir.

Labels: DBKL, JMC, phone, Vista Angkasa