Thursday, November 15, 2012

Security Matters in Casa Desa

Casa Desa is more than four years old now - I know because I got married at about the same time we moved in - and we celebrated another AGM and more milestones. As one of the best managed condominiums in Taman Desa/Seputeh district (ask any property agent in the area) we've manage to run our community prudently and keep it safe. Credit goes to the JMB and Izrin & Tan for really turning things around after the developer's initial bad management.

On the safety aspects, we really only had one bad episode a year ago, where a fellow resident got attacked in a work-related incident. Apparently, he was a victim of jealousy and the assailants got through unnoticed or without due diligence from the guardhouse. It was messy. The ambulance and cops came. We made the national news.

The next day, the residents rallied around as the JMB called for an emergency 'town hall' meeting. There and then, we decided that the best way to start safety was to really police visitors from the guardhouse and put in more stringent controls. Using my own workplace experience, we formed a Security Sub-Committee and drafted Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that we felt could be used by the new Security Management firm we hired.

Working amongst us, we fleshed out several key areas of concern and shared our proposal with the JMB. After feedback, we introduced it to the Security firm and its designated supervisor for our condo.

A year later, I can proudly say that Casa Desa can look back and see this as a landmark. We've not only steadily updated our SOPs but the security guards have managed to get residents to comply peacefully 99% of the time. Next to come are the CCTVs that will control security from within, especially around our carparks. Obviously, the best security will always be vigilant residents who care about safety in the community.

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Taman Desa's Perfect Storm

If you happened to be in Taman Desa on the 25th of January this year, you would have seen something pretty amazing at around 6.30pm. Out of nowhere, a storm hit Kuala Lumpur and Taman Desa seemed to have borne the brunt of it. Picture a scene from the movie The Perfect Storm (George Clooney's epic battle against an Atlantic storm) and simply take out the waves. What's left were hurricane-like winds that literally tore roofs of buildings and uprooted trees. I only realized it after driving home to find my preferred entrance to Taman Desa (via the Waterpark) blocked by trees. Then I found the lakeside entrance also blocked. Finally, I had to enter via Taman Bukit Desa and navigated my way through the main street - Jalan Desa Utama - as a drizzle continued unabated. The sight of huge trees uprooted and leaning on house walls was humbling. Then came the sight of felled lamp-posts and low-hanging cables. Trees criss-crossed the road, making the journey look more like an off-road trail in the rainforest. Here's a glimpse of what I took:

Rain made navigating a real challenge for motorists





Cables and debris forced cars to slow down





Inevitably, we all encountered a jam as we made our way closer to Casa Desa





This guy had a very lucky escape




The other down-side is that - with the time it took to get home from work - a planned attendance with some other relatives for our CNY dinner had to called off. Here's a glimpse of the wreckage the day after. It was taken on the same street as I made my way to work:

Small trees weren't spared the damage





The scary part was seeing lamp-posts bringing down live cables with them on the road





I used to buy fruits from this seller. Thankfully, it was business as usual a couple of days later




One of Taman Desa's best-known features is its leafy ambiance. Large trees can be found all over the place, providing a useful shade for pedestrians and a welcome verdant view that few KL-ites would enjoy (you'd have to reside in the fringes of the city to really see something better). The recent windy calamity highlighted an obvious weakness. But I doubt anyone will be spooked by this. The trees will continue to be a part of the suburb, and nature will continue to sometimes mete out a forced trim or two.