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Headline : USJ 16
residents lauded
By Hizreen Kamal
UP to 300 residents of USJ
16 in Subang Jaya turned up at a nearby field, despite the rain, to
witness the opening of a residents' centre last Saturday.
There was standing room
only under the four canopies set up on the USJ16 field, which belongs to
the Subang Jaya Municipal Council. It was a night o celebrate their
success in raising RM54,000 from fellow residents to realise the
construction of their own building
The structure, which looks
like a gazebo, is the
brainchild of the USJ 16 Neighbourhood Nightwatch committee, established
two years ago. The gazebo project took about three months
to be completed. It is made out of expensive chengal wood. It stands nine
metres high and covers 2,000 sq feet. The wooden structure and carpentry
alone cost about RM27,000 while the roof tiles, steel brackets and paint
were all donated.
A spokesman for the
30-member Nightwatch committee, Jimmy Ooi, said its members had gone from
house to house in the neighbourhood to get residents to contribute towards
the building of the centre. He said this after the official opening of the
building by Subang Jaya State Assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng last
Saturday.
Lee told the audience that
the mere act of seeing people coming together as an entity, particularly
in an urban area, is not as common as it should be.
"The residents of USJ 16
have shown that they work as one in whatever project they undertake."
He added that the structure
has been described as one of the better ones built in the area, and he was
"very proud" to have been asked to open it. Lee hoped residents'
associations in other areas would follow the example set by the USJ 16
residents. He said people tend to take better care of a project which they
had initiated themselves, as there was "a greater sense of pride in such
an initiative".
"Tonight's
event would not have been possible if the residents did not co-operate in
order to ensure that the project took off. "It reflects the concept of
good neighbourliness. "USJ 16 residents, by and large,
have a sense of belonging to this housing estate and have taken the
initiative to even help in beautifying the area," said Ooi.
The USJ 16 centre will
serve as a meeting place for residents, a resting place or shelter for
users of the field and the USJ 16 Neighbourhood Nightwatch patrollers, a
venue for USJ 16 pot luck parties and other social functions. Ooi said the
Nightwatch committee would no longer need to hold its meetings in members'
houses.
He said
the structure stood as a
symbol of unity among the residents.
"This is the result of
sheer hard work and commitment by each resident." Ooi said the committee
had submitted an application for approval for the project to the council
(MPSJ) last year. Ooi said they had also re-turfed the grass on the field
and helped landscape the area around the gazebo.
(hizreen@nstp.com.my) |
