By Sarawakian
Subang Jaya has been my home since the 1990s and so much has changed. What began as a small housing area just south of the Subang International Airport under the administration of Petaling Jaya, today, we have our own Subang Jaya administrative region. Subang Jaya has been elevated as a city status and the jet engines which started to cease from 1998 have yet again scratched our peaceful skies.
The tree lines along the roads within Subang Jaya of old especially fronting Bomba and the Police Station of SS17 and SS18 have been felled to make way for the NPE (New Pantai Expressway) Many have met the same fate along Persiaran Jengka and Persiaran Kemajuan as the LRT lines and the Kelana Jaya Link took precedence and promises made for better landscape remain wanting.
The vehicular traffic has now choked all parts of Subang Jaya as the development of housing areas continued past the SS12-SS19 and past the valley which is now the KESAS highway. Beyond this began USJ2 and have extended all the way into Putra Heights. We are now connected with major highways with KESAS, LDP, ELITE and the NKVE surrounding Subang Jaya.
Still, Subang Jaya remains a wonderful planned residential and commercial area. To be honest, I dare say the best in Malaysia. The population of Subang Jaya is growing and highly educated. However, with any progress, we see complacency and old habits die hard. The new generation learns from their past. If not, why then can we still see how much hygiene had deteriorated in SS14 and SS15?
All you need to do is to walk in the commercial areas of SS14 and SS15. The pavements are seen with rubbish unattended. Not only pavements but even shoulders of the roads now. Many of the older housing areas remain tenanted but the upkeep seems to be sliding as overgrowth seems pertinent in many residential areas.
Gone are the major colleges in SS15. Taylors have moved into a large campus in Sunway. Only Inti College remains taking over Metropolitan College. I am quite sure admissions have dropped as houses nearby do not see a good take up of student housing. Kopitiams and cafes are now getting quieter.
The crows have however started to reduce in numbers from SS14 and SS15. That is a good thing. However, the rat population has not. The owl project is gone as nothing is heard off now ever since the community at one time tried to look for natural control.
The spirit of positivity is on the wane in Subang Jaya. I wonder why. I walked around and talked about it with like minded people in our favorite kopitiams. But even the environment in the kopitiam have changed. Some of our favorite fares like the prawn noodles of Mee Yoke are no longer around. A plate of good char kway teow is now hard to find because many stalls do not sell them. I guess we yearn for what has gone. Today, we have modern interpretations of food. One which focuses on higher pricing for larger sizes. We yearn for a decent sized portion at affordable prices.
Where are we now heading to for Subang Jaya? It does not seem to see a light the past few years post Covid-19. I seriously think Subang Jaya needs a change in political will. It is time to consider a change again as nothing much has changed.
We still talk about the state of our internal roads, our drains, flood issues, rat issues, the ridiculous bicycle lanes and the lack of connectivity to all the transport stops. As I have highlighted before, the bus stops have still not been renovated other than a number. The walkability of these remains a challenge.
Sometimes, we just feel tired harping about this when others just do not care. Subang Jaya will one day be an ageing city if we do not look at having Subang Jaya as the education hub as before. Instead, Sunway seems to have replaced this.
Is it not strange when Subang Jaya in fact has 10 LRT stations from Subang Jaya to Putra Heights. We also have a BRT line connecting the station at USJ7 and Putra Heights being the interchange to the line towards Bukit Jalil. Subang Jay’s LRT station also connects to the KTM Commuter Trains which go to Klang and KL Sentral.
Subang Jaya is also home to Sunway Pyramid, Subang Parade, The Summit USJ, Nu Empire, SS15 Courtyard, DaMen Mall, Main Place Shopping Centre, Giant and Mydin. We have two renowned private hospitals, the Subang Jaya Medical Centre and Sunway Medical Centre.
It is impossible to not improve Subang Jaya. To be honest, I think the current local government of MBSJ, and the councilors should seriously pull their socks up. There is an opportunity to review all efforts to make Subang Jaya more business friendly and encourage creativity and discipline.
We have no choice with who helms the local government as all of them holding key positions were nominated by political parties. This has been a problem which we all acknowledge and one which the incumbent state government and Federal government have conveniently forgotten.
Perhaps being in the driver’s seat breed the want to progress higher and gain self-popularity. It is not hard to see. Those who have been nominated as councilors have not been vocal or attending to issues. If there was, I would be sure the media would have picked up. Some councilors have nothing better to do than to show that they are in the thick of posing for cameras without real content.
Sadly, we can only lament and hope for change again. We are tired. Irritably so. Much like the rather ridiculous reopening of the airspace for jets to screech our skies yet again. Politicians do not want peace. They want to disrupt progress for a better living.
