Telco structure woes

Article in thestar.com.my
Monday August 31, 2009

By MANJIT KAUR

THE Penang Municipal Council has been urged to remove four illegal telecommunication structures atop the roof of a double-storey shoplot in Island Glades.

Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer said the structures had been there for over 10 years, and residents living nearby had been complaining about constant headaches.

He said the council had issued a notice to the telecommunications company on Nov 25 to remove the structures, but the company had failed to do so.

Tan showing Rayer the illegal telecommunication structures atop the double-storey shophouse in Island Glades.

“Another notice has been served to the company, and the council has given the owner a grace period until end of December to remove the structures.

“But I appeal to the council to ask the owner to remove the structures immediately, just like what had been done in several other areas,” he told reporters when inspecting the site on Saturday.

Tan Chaik Hong, 44, who lives opposite the shoplot, said his wife and neighbours complained of constant headaches ever since the structures were put up.

It is learnt that the owner of the shoplot, where the structures are placed, receives RM6,000 monthly from the telecommunications company.

When contacted, state Local Government and Traffic Mana-gement Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the state was finalising the guidelines for such structures which would be tabled by the state’s planning committee soon.

“A company, PDC Telecom- munications Sdn Bhd, was also looking at suitable sites to help the network operator relocate the structures,” he said.

He said the situation needed to be balanced, as such operators had also received complaints of poor coverage from their subscribers.

“In fact, the Malaysian Commu-nications and Multimedia Com-mission has fined certain network operators for not performing in accordance with the key performance indicator.

“Therefore, this situation must be taken into due consideration, but the local authorities will be mindful on the concerns raised by residents when approving the sites,” said Chow.