KUALA LUMPUR — Bukit Damansara Home Owners Association’s new president Khairy Jamaluddin faced a raft of complaints from residents over development approvals, traffic congestion, parking, water disruptions and other longstanding issues in the neighbourhood.
The former Cabinet minister, popularly known as KJ, said he would follow up on residents’ concerns and ensure they were brought to the relevant authorities.
Speaking at his first town hall with Bukit Damansara residents yesterday, Khairy said his role was not merely to lead the association, but to be accountable to residents.
“I have to be accountable as somebody who has been appointed as your residential representative,” he said.
Khairy also pledged to be transparent about issues that could not be resolved because of existing policies or budget constraints.
“If there are things that we can’t do, I will be honest with you,” he told the 70-odd residents who turned up for the townhall held at Pusat Komuniti Damansara.
The former health minister-turned-podcaster who was sacked from Umno for three years for making disparaging remarks about the party, and who was re-admitted earlier this year, had representatives from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Air Selangor and the Brickfields police alongside him at the townhall.
Among the main concerns raised at the town hall was the approval from the local authority for a renovation involving the addition of another floor to a house in Sri Beringin.
A resident named Zaki said about 20 objections had already been submitted against the project, which he claimed was approved despite neighbouring residents not being properly consulted.
“The back neighbour doesn’t (get) sun(light) from 2pm onwards (because of the project). You have to get consent from the neighbours, before you give the approval. But the approvals have already been given up, work’s been done,” he said.
Zaki also questioned how the approval was granted when residents claimed they had not been notified.
“So please, we need to change this, we need to act on this particular permit. We’ve had 20 objections on it already, but yet it’s approved and it’s still coming up,” he said.
He also questioned the wider impact of allowing existing houses to add floors, particularly on residents’ privacy, access to sunlight and the overall character of the neighbourhood.
In response, Khairy acknowledged that renovations involving additional floors were a specific concern raised by residents.
DBKL Executive Director of Planning Haji Rosli Nordin, who was present at the meeting, acknowledged that development approvals in Bukit Damansara had resulted in complaints from neighbouring residents.
“This is very important because sometimes (after) the project is approved by DBKL, we receive a lot of complaints from the neighbours,” he said.
Rosli said DBKL’s planning process included provisions for objections from neighbouring residents.
He also said DBKL was conducting a micro-level planning study involving Bukit Damansara to establish a more detailed framework for future development.
The development issue formed part of wider concerns over building heights, density, privacy and the impact of new developments on existing homes.
Traffic and parking were also major concerns, particularly around commercial areas where residents complained about double and triple parking that sometimes prevented buses from passing.
Police said about 1,200 summonses were issued in 2025 for traffic offences, while around 200 summonses had been issued up to July this year.
Brickfields Deputy Chief of Police, Superintendent Ahmad Firdaus Mustaffa Kamal, who was also present, acknowledged that triple-parking was a problem, preventing buses from passing through.
Traffic congestion around schools was another issue raised, particularly during morning arrivals and afternoon dismissal.
A Stella Maris School representative said congestion was concentrated between 7am and 7.30am, and between 2pm and 4pm.
The school had strengthened traffic management, engaged RELA personnel and encouraged parents to use school buses.
“I am happy to say that 150 parents have agreed to do this. And we are organising transport. So that will ease some of the congestion,” the school representative said.
Residents also raised concerns over repeated water disruptions.
An Air Selangor representative said three pipe replacement packages had already been designed and were expected to be tendered, with work targeted to begin in early 2027, subject to approvals.
Khairy said the town hall was intended to establish a starting point for tackling these longer-term problems.
“Everything from traffic, to parking, to roads, to trees, to planning permission. We’re not going to solve everything today. I don’t think we’re going to even come close to solving everything today,” he said.
Khairy said the association would work with DBKL, police and other agencies to find longer-term solutions to the problems raised by residents.
“And hopefully we can work together with DBKL, PDRM, all the other agencies, so that we can find sustainable solutions and not just one-off solutions like patching a pothole. Because we have a lot of structural, longer-term problems that we face,” he said. — August 9, 2026