Secutiry Update as of Dec 19

As of today we have 495 residents who have paid up out of 690 occupied houses. When we did our earlier rounds campaigning, 593 or 86% said they support this idea. So right now residents who have paid up is at 72%. I hope that you can help us by talking to your neighbors who have not signed up (with no green gate tag) and encourage them to join. I also hope the 100+ residents that said they will support our security scheme will come forward voluntarily and sign up. This is for the good of the whole community. As much as I hope that we can get full support from all but unfortunately there will be a number of residents living among us that will not support this scheme even though it is benefiting them.

One of the services that Homeguards provides to us paying residents is Tiger Eye, where the guards will keep an eye out on your house when you are away e.g. for your holidays. The guards when they patrol the neighborhood will stop by your house take a look to make sure all is in order (no gate/doors/windows ajar or signs of intrusion) and drop in a note in your mail box to show what day and time they were at your house. So if you are going to be away for a few days and want this service, then call Homeguards call center (03 3373 3994) and inform them what are the days that you will be away.

In my last e-circular there was an error in a phone number as pointed out by a number of residents (thank you!). The correct emergency numbers for you to key into your mobiles and have ready next to your house or office phones are:

First number to call - 03 3373 3994 (Homeguards HOTLINE NBR)
Second number to call - 0162848798 (DD LINE FOR DJROA ZONE 3)
Third number to call - 0163373994 (DD LINE AT CALL CENTRE)

I've been asked to inform all residents (and their maids) who walks their pet dogs to please bring along a plastic bag and pick up your dog's poo so as not to stink up our neighborhood. I trust everyone don't like to step on shit. So please be considerate and do the right thing.

The guards have been instructed to stop all motorbikes, lorries and vans at the 2 guard posts. As for the cars they are doing it randomly at the moment. We have distributed the car stickers and more are coming back to purchase additional. Once more residents have the stickers up, it will be easier for the guards to just pay attention to the cars without stickers. Also, there are quite a large number of residents who have not/will not sign up to our scheme. They will not get stickers nor gate tag.

As of today, we have started implementing the Visitor's Pass where visitors have to display the A4 size laminated pass on their car dash board, motorcyclist given pass that they will wear around their neck, and guards will also take down their particulars including house they are visiting. This is for tighter control and warns the visitors that they are being monitored while in our zone. We'll try that out and see how that works. Problem is our entrance roads are very narrow and will cause congestion if all the cars are stopped, unlike neighborhoods that have been designed for gated security with wider roads and places to stop. Walk in individuals seems lesser of a threat at the moment but we will monitor the situation to see if that too needs to be addressed.

We will continue to highlight and improve with Homeguards to inform of the various complaints from the residents about inattentive guards, sleeping guards, etc and will continue to monitor their performance. So all your feedback is important to highlight to Homeguards of the various issues. But overall, there has been marked improvement in the security of our neighborhood. I do feel a lot safer and sleep better. Never the less we should never let our guard down and must always be alert for strangers in our neighborhood. Bad elements will find ways to penetrate any security schemes. Its our duty to look after ourselves, our loved ones and our properties. Having guards 24/7 is only a deterrent and not a 100% fool proof system.

We have applied to TNB for electrical supply to the guard house on road 35. Once that is approved, we plan to install boomgates there. As for road 31 where the detractors lives, we have to be cautious as last I heard they have consulted lawyers to try and stop our security scheme near to their houses. So far I've not received any notices yet. Once we are more certain that things have cooled down, then we will look into boomgates there.

Attach is an article in today's Star Metro's newspaper on DBKL demolishing boomgates in 4 housing areas. I hope MBPJ will not do that in PJ.

Meanwhile, we are thinking of closing entrance on road 31 from 12midnight till 6am daily. That means only entrance/exit during that 6 hours will be from road 35. That will tighten the security further at night. A guard will still be stationed at road 31 to monitor the situation. If you think its a bad idea, let me know. As for daytime, the guards and all of us have to be alert for potential intruders. Don't take our security for granted.

We will continue to improvise as best we can and improve as we go along so please have patience and help us by giving feedback. All feedbacks are welcomed. Thank you to all who have been giving us constant feedback. Do keep them coming.

Before I sign off, the security committee (kudos to them who have worked so hard for everyone!) and from Candy & I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's hoping 2009 will be a Prosperous, Healthy and Safe one for All.

Another Snatch Thief Case on road 27

This afternoon around 2:30pm I was in my master bedroom and suddently heard a scream of a lady from outside of the road. My instinct told me it must another snatch thief. Immediately I looked out of the window and not to my surprise I saw a Malay guy carrying a handbag running to his accomplice on a bike and speed away. I tried to note down the plate number unfortunately it was too far. How I wish the boom gate is up already so that all these snatch thieve will be blocked at the entrance.

Another Membership Drive Coming Saturday!!

Hi all, there will be another membership drive this saturday (Nov 8) from 10am-12n at the park. For those of you who have yet to sign up and pay, kindly bring along your cheque book that day.

Another New Crime Cases in Our Neighborhood

Below are feedbacks from residents:

(1) 27 August 2008 - This morning at 4.00am i was awaken by my dogs barking non stop When i looked out the windows i saw 1 chinese guy trying to get into my car after he had smashed the passenger window When i screamed at him his friend who was waiting in an old dark blue proton wira nearby pulled up and they drove off. Thanks to my dogs for making so much noise otherwise i would have lost my car !! This happened in SS22/35 Damansara Jaya. I immediately called ASP Ranjit on the handphone and the police responded very fast ...Believe me within 10 mins the police car came Kudos to them.

(2) 27 August 2008 - I am a resident of Damansara Jaya (SS22/32A). This morning my car window was broken into and I would like to share with you some pictures. Hopefully you can upload them to our boomgate blog. (Please see attachment)

(3) 16 August 2008 - For your information, I was told by the Penang Nasi Kandar manager that on 16th Aug 2008 at around 8pm, another BMW was hijacked outside Magic Wok Restaurant, The car owner was having dinner at the restaurant and when he left, about to get into the car, the hijacker put the knife to his neck. Looking back at all the incidences, we concluded that we all have to be very alert wherever we are be it lonely or busy places. Sad to say, it always happen when we least expect it.

(4) Copied from an email circular -

I was driving along SS2/22, Petaling Jaya going towards Damansara Jaya. This street is totally residential one street off the main road.

About 10 houses in front of me was this young lady walking by a car parked along the grass patch outside one of the terrace houses. As she was reaching the rear end of this clean decent looking Silver Proton Waja, I noticed the engine started and the left rear passenger doors window was being wound down.

Suddenly a man emerged out of the rear passenger doors window his entire torso and making a grab of this lady's handbag!!!! As this man emerged from the car's window, the Silver Proton Waja was pulling out of its parking position slowly not in a hurry with the man from within just dragging the lady and her handbag along until she gave it up!! Then they drove off slowly, no hurry!!!

All the above happened in front of my eyes in less than 30 seconds!!!!!

Her screams and cries did not help! No one came to her rescue in fact a middle age woman ran into her house upon seeing this happening right in front of her house only to come back out to lock her gates after the car has driven away! Do you blame her? The thieves were so bold!!!!

By the time my car reached her, the Silver Proton Waja had turned the corner. She was very shaken but thankfully only slightly hurt her pants were torn as were her slippers, bloody knees, shins, palms and elbows. On the way to the police station, she told me that she had noticed that there were 3 men she identified them as 'brown-skinned' men in the car.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw what was happening thus did not have the instinct to take note of the cars registration number. I've always thought that would be the first thing I would look out in an incident like this but NO I was too shocked simply watching this scene being played out right in front of me!!!

So please beware when you are walking by parked cars with men inside.

Beware of snatch thieves !!

Recently there were a few feedbacks from residents around this area that they were being tailed by motoryclist at night on their way home. There were two riders on the motorcycle and they normally off their light. Just be extra careful on your way home. Do check around before exiting your car or open your compound gate.

Another Attempted Robbery Happened Yesterday !!

Just yesterday night around 10pm+, 2 motorbikes were tailing a victim who was on his way to visit his friend who stayed on road SS22/27. When the victim stopped his car in front of the gate of his friend, he noticed that there were 2 motorbikes ridden by 4 malay men slowing down behind him. The bikes head lights were switched off. That arouse his suspicion and he immediately engaged his gear to 'R' (getting ready to knock these guys. One of the bike rode to the end of our road and make a u turn and as soon as this bike approaches his car, he saw the 2 men from the other bike ran towards him with parang. Immediately, he reversed and sped off. In the midst of driving away, he knocked one of the guys lightly.

We were told that these same gang attacked on another person somewhere in our area after failing to strike on him. It had been a busy night for police as there were already few reports with a break in at SS22/36 (road along the playground).

Statistics of Crime in this area

House Broke In - 18 cases
Snatched Thieves - 22 cases
Car Hijacked - 19 cases

*base on feedback from residents

Statistics of Crime in this area

Base on some feedbacks from residents in this area, below stastics of crimes in the past months:

Snatched Thieves - 15
House Broke In - 18
Car Hijacked - 19

Update of the Boom Gate Campaign

As of today, we have managed to gather a support of 43% out of the 730 houses in this neighborhood. However according to Selangor Housing and Property Board, for existing housing like ours, we need to have at least 85% of the residents to agree for us to be able to apply to the state government for approval. Read more about it at: http://www.rehda.com/bulletin/08/bulletin-0802.pdf

So we are still far from our target of 85% for this plan of ours to work. Talk to your neighborhood now. If they have not showed their support, it's not too late to do so. Just drop us a mail at lim.jmpr@gmail.com

What is more IMPORTANT than our family welfare and security !!

Quote from a resident who stay on road SS22/27A:
".....I fully support the proposal of having a gated community in our neighborhood. Our family's welfare and security which is now under threat, is DEFINITELY worth more than RM70.00 per month. With this in mind,It is my fervent hope that other residents can come out strongly to support this scheme"

More House Broke In Cases !!

Story from a resident who stay on road SS22/31:
"Security in DJ has turned very bad. My house was broken into in May. Despite having a car in the house, dog and alarm, that did not deter the burglars from tearing/ripping down my window and grill. Lucky no one was at home.I was told by the police, during that day, 3 other houses were broken into. In the past week, there were about 15 -20 cases.

Date of incident: 13 May 2008
Time of incident: 12.00pm (Once my alarm is activated, a call will be patched to my mobile phone)
Items taken: Watches, notebooks, ipod, ipod speakers, back up drives.
Interesting observation: They did not take my passport, loose cash amounting to 20-40 Ringgit and liquor"

Another Car is gone !!

When is this going to end?? What happen to our society now? This morning another CRV went missing from the car porch of a house on Jalan SS22/39. Owner woke up and found her CRV gone and her gates wide open and the control box near the gates was dismantled. I was advised to put a pad lock on the auto gate before sleep every night since the crime is very rampant thesedays!!

Two more roberries again in our neighborhood !!

A resident of Jalan SS22/32 was robbed of her hand bag yesterday right outside her house by to 2 men on a motorbike during the day time. She had just returned from the bank. In the scuffle she sustained some injuries and still lost her handbag, money, mobile phone, etc to the robbers. She is one of the supporters of this security idea of ours.

Another case also happened on SS22/32. A resident woke up this morning to find one of their Honda CRV stolen. It is sad to hear that all these nasty incidence happening in our neighborhood. How can we get our peaceful neighborhood back? We need more poeple to come and support our gated security project. Only with more support from the residence can this project be carried out as soon as possible. PLEASE talk to your neighbors to see if they have signed up or not. If not please do so by e-mail us at lim.jmpr@gmail.com.

Peace of mind comes at a price

An article from NST, Friday, 27 June 2008

PETALING JAYA: Concerned over rising crime rates, residents of many housing estates are taking security into their own hands and installing security gates and hiring guards to patrol the streets.

But it does not come cheap, and the worse part is they are actually breaking the law. Under the Street, Drainage and Building Act they are not allowed to obstruct public roads.And for the moment, the authorities are allowing the gates to remain while councils and state government discuss whether or not to legalise the gated community system. Bandar Sri Damansara residents association paid about RM15,000 for boom gates and to hire security six years ago.

Association president Ravindran Raman Kutty said: "Residents have to pay about RM50 a month. The problem is that not all are paying for the security coverage. If everyone paid we could reduce the charge to RM30."He said the housing estate, with a population of 60,000, is divided into two sectors. Those in the higher density areas pay less. "Some residents have their own private security guards as well," he said.

Guards at Bandar Utama checking motorists entering and leaving the neighbourhood.
He said MBPJ has issued a notice to remove the boom gates, "but the ruling is not being enforced yet because our local assemblyman and MPs are looking at the situation. We hope MBPJ will introduce by-laws on the gated community system soon."Bandar Utama residents' association chairman Datuk Manpal Singh said about RM50,000 was spent to install 15 boom gates. A close-circuit television system was also been set up. Residents pay about RM40 a month."We do not want to be a gated community, but this is the only way we can deal with the increase in crime. The system is not foolproof, but it acts as a filter," he said.

PJ mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman said the council is looking at the feasibility of setting up a gated community system in non-gated neighbourhoods.The council needs to discuss the technicalities with the newly appointed councillors, he said.He and Subang Jaya council president Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan said the issue of gated communities had been discussed at the state level, and the councils were awaiting further instructions. "For the time being we will allow the gates to remain," Mohd Roslan said.Nine areas in USJ have adopted the gated community system. Residents' association president P.C. Yeoh said the ranges from RM30 to RM100 a month depending on the area. He said the Municipal Council issued guidelines on the system. "At least 80 per cent of the residents have to agree." Adnan said: "We will see in the next two to three months what the state government decides."

Second "membership" drive for more supporters

Our second "membership" drive over the last weekend to recruit more residents to join us have just been tabulated. Last Saturday, 23 volunteers came forward to help us talk to the rest of the residents. Thank you very much for all your cooperation. Many have also called and written to us giving us various kinds of support. Thank you very much. It really motivates us to see so many supporters. All support are very much appreciate and yes, we will be calling on you at the appropriate time.

Congratulations, we now have 232 supporters! I believe there could be more replies to come. There are 700 houses in our section of the neighborhood. Ideally we'd like to get at least 80% (560 houses) to support our project. We are still very short of our target so more work needs to be done. Once we have gone through all the replies, corrected all the typo errors (I'm sure many emails will bounce back), we will send out to you a list of all the residents who have replied to us. Many people have also not provided us with their email. We will go through the list and ask for their emails. It's so much more easier to communicated via email. I hope from that list, you will be able to see who are your neighbors that have not replied to our mailers so please help to talk to them to sign up.

We have also hit a snag in our campaign and now require help. The owner of the house 63, Jalan SS22/31, i.e. the first house at the corner turning in from Jalan SS22/41, have stated in no uncertain terms that she vehemently opposes to us setting up a guard house in front or near her house. She is of the opinion that it is the guards who are the criminals and she is against having them staring into her house 24/7. Also she says the traffic jams that will be caused by the barrier and taking of information of visitors will be a bother to her and her friends visiting her. So I'd like to find out from everyone, is there anyone of you who may know her personally? If yes, please contact us. We need your help to go talk to her. Having a friend to explain to her and listen to her concerns maybe the better way to find a compromise. So please contact me if any of you know her well.

We will also need to find out if house 2, Jalan SS22/35, the first house as we turn in from Jalan SS22/48, is supporting our project or not. The other guardhouse will be built near that house. Hopefully that house owner will be a supporter. From the feedback that I've got house 2A, Jalan SS22/35, the neighbor, is a supporter. Again, if anyone knows the owner of that house, please come forward as we will need you to talk to that person and solicit his/her support.

Lim has started a Blog to post the updates of our crusade to boom gate up our neighborhood. Please visit http://djboomgate.blogspot.com/. You can post your comments there. We welcome all comments and feedback. We are soliciting for everyone who had bad experiences living in this neighborhood of ours to share your story online. We will then compile all the stories and use that to convince the naysayers to join us.

This coming Sunday, our working committee will be meeting up over breakfast to talk about this project and how we can move it forward. So do stay tuned for more feedback. If you know your neighbors, do check with them if they have signed up or not. If not, please ask them to sign up by filling up the form and returning it to us.

We are very motivated to see that this project succeed and need all your help and support. Thank you very much.

Estimate Cost of the Project

12 security guards (6 guards @ 2 entrance x 12 hrs shifts) at RM1,700/mth x 12 guards = RM20,400. This will be the monthly salary cost, inclusive petrol allowance to the guards.
Walkie talkies hopefully to be provided by the security firm.

Estimated cost to construct each boom gate = RM2,000 x 2 = RM4,000

Estimated cost to purchase clocking machine for committee to track that the guards have made their rounds (RM1,400) + 5 additional points (RM40/point) = RM1,600

Estimated cost of buying a table, chair, big umbrella, torchlight, baton, plus misc = RM3,000

Estimated cost of ang pow / duit raya for the 12 guards and 1 supervisor = RM1,500

Estimated cost to produce 1,200pcs car stickers at RM2,400

Other misc operating cost = RM10,000

Construction of guardhouse = Mr Paul Lim (64, Jalan SS22/27) has very kindly offered to sponsor the cost of constructing this. Thank you very much Paul.

We will eventually need two guard houses for 2 entrances/exit points.

Annual salary cost for 12 guards = RM20,400 x 12 mths = RM244,800
One time fixed cost = RM22,500
Total first year operation expenses = RM244,800 + RM22,500 = RM267,300

Estimated cost per house scenarios depending on number of houses who joins in:
200 houses = RM1,337 / 12 mths = RM112 / mth
400 houses = RM669 / 12 mths = RM56 / mth
500 houses = RM535 / 12 mths = RM45 / mth
600 houses = RM446 / 12 mths = RM38 / mth

With the increasing cost of living and inflation, expect the cost to go up rather than down.
Inform the residents the following:
· Our targeted estimated cost per house is between RM60 – RM70 per month.
· Final cost estimation will be worked out at the next committee meeting and everyone will be kept informed.

Boom Gate Project in Damansara Jaya

To Fellow Residents of Damansara Jaya
In Support of Gating and Guarding Our Neighborhood

Crime rate in Damansara Jaya has gotten from bad to worst. We attended the DJROA–Police dialogue (with ASP Ranjit) held on 17th June 2008 and we walked away disappointed at the lack of solution and direction. The police know exactly how bad the situation is; however, they are unable to do any more than what they are currently doing, which is grossly insufficient. We heard more excuses than positive reassurances from them.

Just last month, my father-in-law’s 2 year old Toyota Altis was car jacked right in front of my house (145, Jalan SS 22/27) on a Sunday morning at 9.30am by 3 robbers with parang and pistol. In the melee, my right wrist was slashed. We lost our car to the robbers. It was a very traumatic experience for me and my family that I would not wish to happen to any one else. Many other residents here too have experienced violent crimes right at their doorsteps.

It is time we, the residents take security into our own hands to protect ourselves, our families and our properties.

We have now formed a security committee just for this section of our neighborhood. It is headed by me and my neighbor John Chen (House #143) together with 10 other residents. We now seek the support from ALL the residents of this section of Damansara Jaya to come forward and help share the cost of installing two boom gates and maintain the hiring of full time security guards to turn our section into a gated and guarded neighborhood. This can only succeed if ALL of you join in and support this initiative.

We are proposing to place two boom gates at the junction of Jalan SS22/35 & Jalan SS22/48 and the junction of Jalan SS22/31 & Jalan SS22/41. We plan to also close up permanently the junction between small lane of Jalan SS22/33 & Jalan SS22/48. There are 700+ houses in this section. We hope ALL will participate.

The estimated cost per house can range from RM60 to RM70 per month depending on number of houses participating. Costs will include hiring of 12 or more security guards, setting up 2 permanent boom gates to monitor all traffic, and guards to patrol only our neighborhood. More details will be provided once we gauge the level of interest from the residents to participate in this idea. Remember, with a gated and guarded neighborhood it will increase the value of our property.

Do send us your comment or idea on this project. You may also share with us any experience that you have faced that you won't want it to happen to anyone else.