The Dispute
On 21 April 2008, local residents took the dispute into their own hands and dismantled the barricades for the first time by hand, temporarily allowing traffic to and from the township to directly enter and exit the expressway for three weeks. A few days later, the Hulu Langat land office confirmed that concessionaire Grand Saga had no rights over the access road.
In the following days, it was a cat-and-mouse game between the residents and the concessionaire, as the barrier was repeatedly rebuilt by Grand Saga only to be dismantled by the residents shortly after. In some instances, residents pooled hundreds of dollars to hire trucks and heavy machinery to bring the barricade down.
On 8 May 2008, residents clashed with the Police while they were protecting the access road from being rebuilt by Grand Saga. Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng was allegedly assaulted by the Police and was hospitalised. Several accusations of police brutality were made.
The residents attempted to obtain an injunction against Grand Saga to rebuild the barrier on the access road. On 13 May 2008, the court denied the injunction and Grand Saga vowed to put up another barrier.
On 27 May 2008, a five-foot wall was erected by Grand Saga. Some residents and journalists (including mainstream newspapers) at the scene were attacked by unidentified men who were armed with sticks, pipes and helmets, sitting on the walls to prevent them from being dismantled. They also smashed the windows of a few nearby vehicles. Police reports were lodged and residents accused Grand Saga of hiring thugs to ensure that the wall remained in place, a charge that the concessionaire vehemently denied. The next day, the barrier was torn down once again.
Members of the opposition state government tried to bring up the issue on the Malaysian Parliament, only to be shot down by the speaker. A few days later, the Federal Government ordered that the access road was to stay open until the court makes a final decision on the dispute.
On 4 June 2008, the Malaysian Highway Authority and Grand Saga were ordered to install traffic lights on the junctions of Bandar Mahkota Cheras to ease the traffic flow of the residents.
Read more about this topic: Bandar Mahkota Cheras Toll Dispute
Famous quotes containing the word dispute:
“Your next-door neighbour ... is not a man; he is an environment. He is the barking of a dog; he is the noise of a pianola; he is a dispute about a party wall; he is drains that are worse than yours, or roses that are better than yours.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“The king said, -Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other. But the woman whose son was alive said to the king -because compassion for her son burned within her - -Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him! The other said, -It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it. Then the king responded: -Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.”
—Bible: Hebrew, 1 Kings. 3:25-37.
Solomon resolves a dispute between two women over a child. Solomon’s wisdom was proven by this story.