I READ THE article “PJ church carpark to stay” dated Dec 18, 2024.
I feel obliged to put it on record that it was the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, in his capacity as Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, who solved the problem at St Ignatius Church (SIC).
The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) reports to him directly.
John Leong, in his capacity as a local councillor, has no locus standi to announce that “the church carpark could remain and that only a few bays would be affected by the river project.”
While the proposal had been submitted officially by the church on Dec 17, it took time for the approval to be given by the DID, including meeting the Minister to discuss cost variation.
Therefore, at the time of writing (Dec 20) there is no official agreement from DID as yet.
However, as I understand it, both parties have at least agreed to a later date to begin the river widening work in January 2025, which makes more sense to do the job during the dry season.
The two meetings on Dec 9 (Leong attended this meeting) and subsequently, a site visit and meeting on Dec 12 only became a necessity after the JPS district engineer Mohd Shahril bin Mohd had officially written to the church on Nov 27, stating that JPS planned to begin work on Dec 15.
It came as a shocker for everyone. This would have created unnecessary havoc for the church, especially during the festive season.
In this writer’s opinion, the letter was clearly a defiance of the instruction given to DID and Land Office by Fadillah during the meeting together with SIC representatives at parliament just two days earlier on Nov 25.
As I was at the meeting, it was obvious to me that Fadillah wanted both parties to meet first before arriving at an amicable solution before reverting to him for further budget consideration.
At the meeting, I can see Fadillah’s role as being most significant in resolving the matter, without which all subsequent meetings on and after Nov 25 would not have been possible.
Fadillah had used his position to intervene in order to save a situation from getting awry. May we all learn a lesson from this episode and move forward as a nation in a civilized (Madani) manner.
LATEST UPDATE:
May 09, 2025
After several months of delay, my contact in SIC told me that a lady DID engineer wrote to them again that work on the river bank would proceed as planned.
To the alarm of my friend, this was not what was agreed upon. The agreement earlier was to build the embankment based on the contour of the riverbank. Now, the DID wanted to build a straight embankment, which means SIC will lost about 40-50 carparks.
To the alarm of my friend, this was not what was agreed upon. The agreement earlier was to build the embankment based on the contour of the riverbank. Now, the DID wanted to build a straight embankment, which means SIC will lost about 40-50 carparks.
What initially upset my friend and his fellow parishioners, was the lack of engagement with the stakeholders. The church had written several times to the DID, but there was no response or call for a meeting to discuss the latest upates.
Finally, with Fadillah's intervention, a meeting was organised. This is what one of them wrote to me recently. I am glad it is a good conclusion, and both sides are happy. I believe the church has been properly advised by their own parishioners who are consultant engineers themselves.
Once again, thanks to our Deputy Prime Minister for being willing to push the button. Without his intervention, things may have gone awry. As the intermediary, I am also happy there is a good conclusion to this episode.
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