It is already 25 years: Residents living near Highland Towers want remaining blocks torn down

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11): Residents living in the vicinity of Highland Towers (pictured) continue to ask for the surviving two blocks to be torn down, reported The Malay Mail.

Most Malaysians have not forgotten the horrible incident that struck the development 25 years ago today when Block 1 collapsed, killing 48 people, but it is a whole different matter for those living near the tragic site.

The remaining structures are known to attract drug addicts, criminals and there are even reports of people wanting to see ghosts and encounter hauntings.

In August, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin suggested that the site be turned into a park.

“Everyone in the neighbourhood wants to see these eyesores demolished but it’s a complicated matter. Since the police shootout two years ago, things are quieter but the buildings are still being used by criminals.

‘I’d like to see the land being used for outdoor activities... as for ghosts, I can honestly say I’ve never seen any,” Taman Sri Ukay Hill View (TSUHVRA) Residents Association (TSUHVRA) president Datuk Siti Hendon Chik told the news portal.

Three suspected robbers were gunned down by the police near the buildings in 2016.

After the proposal for a park was announced, residents have also urged the authorities to ensure that all safety requirements are met before the site is redeveloped.

The government should only go through with the plans after the government has studied all the safety issues in the area, said TSUHVRA secretary Shila Kasim back in September.

Resident of Taman Hill View for 15 years, Shahida Malik Ibrahim, 58, told the news portal that her house has been burgled numerous times.

“With the new security team, I feel safer but someone tried to steal our car last year. The alarm went off, so they ran away. But what if I forget to turn on the house alarm... then what?, ” she said.

Teenager Seema Mayyuwaddyzin is all for the site to be turned into a place where happiness can return.

“If they demolish it, then I hope they do something useful for the community. If not, I’d like to see it turned into a tourist attraction,” she said.

And did she see anything that was “supernatural?”

“I used to take a stool and stand on it to try to peep through the gates. I remember seeing shadows and hearing noises. It piqued my curiosity.”

In July, Knight Frank Malaysia executive director for capital markets Allan Sim said the plan to redevelop the area will benefit the local community in terms of stamping out criminal activities that have been found within the abandoned buildings.

“It could also help to provide some sort of closure to the families of the affected, which could not have been properly reached over the past 25 years with the ruins of the development still towering over the Taman Hillview area,” he says.

A resident at Taman Hillview for thirty years and who only wanted to be known as Marshall said he believed that with the government taking the lead in the redevelopment plan, the market’s confidence towards Ulu Kelang properties will be restored.