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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright May 2024
After the dawn prayer (Subuh), Muslims who attend the mosque often head to their favourite spots for breakfast at nearby warongs (roadside stalls), cafes, or restaurants.
In Bukit Damansara, the usual choice for many is an Indian Muslim cafe called The Mubeen, located close to the mosque, serving a variety of dishes including roti canai, thosai, toast, and eggs.
One Saturday morning, as we sat outside the cafe at tables occupying a few parking bays, the conversation turned, as it often does, to politics. Today, it was about the politics of town planning, specifically the unfairness of plot ratios in determining the fate of landowners within city limits.
The plot ratio, determined by the town planning authority, can make or break a guy who owns a lot within the city. A piece of land may be given a ratio of 8 while its neighbour may get only half of that.
One striking example is Kampung Bahru in Kuala Lumpur, a Malay reserved land, where most are allotted a plot ratio of 2, while one particular lot was given a ratio of 8, a few years ago.
Meanwhile, across the river, multi-level towers keep going upwards into 40 or 50 floors, including the renowned skyscraper named The Petronas Twin Towers or the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, amongst the tallest in the world.
The disparity in plot ratios raises questions about fairness and equity in urban planning. How is it that one person can become a multi-millionaire overnight simply because of a decision by the town planning authority?
Shouldn't there be more transparency and accountability in such decisions that have such profound impacts on individuals and communities?
As we finished our breakfast and dispersed, the unfairness of plot ratios lingered in our minds. It's a reminder that in the city, as in life, the dice are not always rolled fairly.
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