PETALING JAYA: Subang Jaya residents look forward to its city status on Oct 20. They hope Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) will take the right path in developing the third city in Selangor after Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya.
SS19 resident Diyana Zulasmin said Subang Jaya should be turned into a business or educational hub, rather than an entertainment city.
She said it is only a matter of time before Subang Jaya becomes a city because it is one of the most populated places in Selangor.
“It is also a self-contained city where you can find food, education, entertainment and medical facilities. You don’t need to go anywhere. It’s all here,” she told theSun recently.
She also said she is both excited and apprehensive as she doesn’t know what direction MBSJ is taking when carrying out the upgrade.
She would like to see a review of its local plans for the next 10 years.
She hopes to see Subang Jaya become a greener city, as well as having fewer shopping malls so that people can appreciate nature more.
She pointed out that traffic congestion in Subang Jaya needed to be eased.
A USJ resident, who wants to be known as Hoo, applauded the council for the upkeep of public amenities.
He suggested that emphasis should be placed making the public places cleaner and greener instead of turning the city into a major entertainment centre.
He agreed that stern actions should be taken to discourage indiscriminate parking during peak hours at commercial areas in Subang Jaya.
SS15/2 and SS15/3 Rukun Tetangga chairman Michael Sundram felt that Subang Jaya is not ready for a city status if basic maintenance of public amenities and facilities is not up to par.
“Look at our roads and drains, the maintenance is just not there and it’s getting worse. We must look into the conditions before claiming we are a city,” he said.
MBSJ councillor Lee Jen Uyin said while the council is trying to use the funds available to upgrade public facilities and amenities to ensure a safe, clean and more comfortable city, the people’s mindset must also change.
“You can’t build an overhead bridge or a zebra crossing when the residents do not use it,” she said.
With the upgrade to city status, Subang Jaya must have good infrastructure, cleanliness and strong enforcement.
“There are many expectations and we must show that we can provide the service they want,” she said.
From being part of the Petaling Jaya District Council to having its own municipal council in 1997, Subang Jaya has come a long way to be upgraded to a city.
Subang Jaya will change its status from a municipality to a city after it received consent from Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had announced Subang Jaya’s city status last December after the state government received Cabinet’s green light through its Housing and Local Government Department.
The Petaling Jaya City Council achieved its status in 2006 and Shah Alam City Council in 2010.
Among the criteria for granting city status are that a local government must have a minimum population of 500,000 and an annual income of not less than RM100 million.
