PETALING JAYA: Nasrullah Suradi's office is a hot, tiny room with a lone desk and walls coated a watery shade of green. He
rarely used it but on that morning he was relieved to literally shut the door on the world outside.
?I have been doing this job for six years but this is my first experience with the Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) flats,? he said. ?I've
never seen such squalid living conditions before.?
Nasrullah, 28, is the new building supervisor for Blocks G and H of the PPR Putra Damai flats in Lembah Subang. The eight blocks
? totalling about 3,136 units ? reportedly house the largest concentration of squatters under Selangor's Zero Squatter programme.
Hundreds of squatters from various squatter villages in Petaling Jaya were told to live there while developers built low-cost flats at
their original adresses. That was 11 years ago.
The promised new houses are now abandoned projects and what was meant as a transit home in Putra Damai has become permanent
residence.
When FMT visited the flats last July, however, the living conditions were a far cry from Nasrullah's description. His predecessor,
Zulkifli Abdullah, had bulldozed his way through every obstacle to resolve all but two social and maintenance issues.
The compound was clean, the drains were unclogged, there were no signs of vandalism and the street lights were working. The two
outstanding issues were the constantly faulty elevators and the empty units that had doubled up as haunts for drug addicts.
But when the baton was passed to Nasrullah in early May not only did these two issues persist but Zulkifli's other successes had also
unravelled.
?Some street lights weren't working, the drains were backed up and window panes were broken,? Nasrullah recalled. ?Only one of
the three elevators work and drug addicts are still breaking into empty units.?
Utility debts
Nasrullah confessed that his heart sank when he first clapped eyes on Putra Damai. The dumpsters overflowed with trash while more
lay strewn in communal areas. Broken and unwanted furniture obstructed the narrow passageways and an abandoned car took up the
motorcycle bays.
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?I didn't know where to begin,? he said in wide-eyed remembrance. ?It was overwhelming. And then there were all the utility debts
that the residents chalked up.?
?My predecessor used to pacify the utility companies because he felt sorry for the residents. Most of them are single mothers and
struggling to make ends meet. But I think his kindness backfired on them.?
On that particular morning, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) personnel were disconnecting electricity supply from units that had
defaulted on payments. A police patrol car encircled the flats on the lookout for enraged residents. And there were many of them.
Nasrullah sighed as his walkie-talkie crackled for the umpteenth time. A female voice on the other end informed him that a resident
was threatening the TNB personnel if they didn't restore her electricity supply immediately.
?Some of them owe TNB up to RM13,000,? he said. ?TNB shows proof of having sent warning letters. The resident insists she
never received any. What do we do then? And how can we explain their hardship to TNB when more than half of them subscribe to
Astro??
But like any other community the bad apples are only a smattering. Most of the residents have willingly engaged with Nasrullah
although none have been forthcoming with solutions.
?A few have even taken offence when we encourage them to keep the area clean,? he said. ?They feel that because they are paying
to live here they are entitled to do whatever they wish, including turning the area into a dumpsite.?
Mountains of trash
Within days of coming on board, Nasrullah doubled the number of cleaners and called the Petaling Jaya City Council (MPPJ) to
collect the mountains of trash. But what he didn't count on was the residents interpreting this as a licence to litter.
?Rubbish would pile up on particular spots along the walkways within days of us clearing it,? he lamented. ?And if the cleaners
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catch the residents red-handed, they (the cleaners) are 'punished': the residents would drop stuff on their heads when they are
working beneath the balconies.?
?We've had soiled diapers, used condoms and even used sanitary napkins sailing over the balconies and hitting people below on the
head. I really don't understand this behaviour.?
One reason could be the fact that there are no rubbish disposals on each floor and residents have to make their way to the dumpsters
on the ground floor. But Nasrullah's suggestion to place a bin on each floor was shot down by the resident association.
?They said that there was no guarantee that the bin wouldn't be stolen or burnt!? he said. ?We can't afford to keep replacing the bins
so that idea was scrapped. But now people have to bring their trash into the elevator.?
?This can be very uncomfortable when only one elevator is working and is packed with people. Maybe that's why they keep
throwing stuff out their windows.?
Nasrullah has since highlighted his challenges to MPPJ which has asked him to submit an inventory list for action to be taken. While
the relevant agencies have readily received his complaints, their response time leaves much to be desired.
?It's too early for me to comment on the state government's support but I could definitely use more help in turning this place
around,? he said.
Ironically, the state government is in the midst of sprucing up the privately-owned Maju Jaya flats near Kampung Medan. The
project, under the state's Urban Renewal Plan, will soon see 300 residents enjoying an upgrade in living conditions.
Nasrullah may harbour a similar wish for Putra Damai in the future but for now he plans to tackle a more fundamental but laborious
challenge.
?The mindset needs to be upgraded first,? he said. ?My first step in that direction is to draw up some house rules. I don't know how
effective it will be but at least it's a start.?
Then he suddenly looked uncertain.
?I really don't know how to do this,? he admitted. ? Do you have any solutions for me? Would your readers have any? Because I
honestly don't have one.?
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