We were featured in the Singapore Straits Times

Debate over hillslope project revived By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR: When retired government servant Peter Raiappan bought his home in a middle-class suburb in 1970, the hillslope overlooking his backyard was filled with trees.

Today, the trees are gone and the slope in the Medan Damansara estate in Kuala Lumpur is being turned into a bungalow retreat for the rich.

'When we bought the houses, the developer then had showed us a plan of the area. The hill was marked as a green lung and we were assured that it would not be developed,' the 65-year-old told The Straits Times.

Four of the residents, including Mr Raiappan, are being sued by the developer of the Damansara 21 project for protesting against its planned development.

The issue highlights the current anger against projects built on slopes, following a recent landslide that killed four people and turned life topsy-turvy for thousands of others in the neighbouring state of Selangor.

The 21 bungalows being built in the Damansara 21 project will each come with a swimming pool.

Each house costs between RM10 million and RM15 million (S$4.1 million and S$6.2 million). The project is being developed by SDB Properties; it paid RM50 million for the land.

The developer, in a statement issued in September, said it 'continues to stand by its commitment to ensure that all works in the project will be carried out in a proper manner, in full compliance with all conditions imposed by the relevant authorities and with the residents' safety in mind'.

The area's municipal authority, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, had said that the land was private property and not a designated green lung and all relevant authorities had given the green light for the project to go ahead.

Work started last December. Earlier more