FOR the past few years, residents of the UDA Flats in Tanjung Tokong in George Town have been having issues with their lifts, resulting in hardship to many of them, especially the elderly, the sick and young children.
Teoh Eng Keong, 64, who has been staying at the flats for 30 years, said he had been trapped in the lifts six times.
“Lucky for me, nothing untoward happened.
“Due to the problem, many senior citizens stay indoors rather than mingle with their neighbours,” he said at the flats recently.
The flats residents’ association chairman, Abdul Hamid Ibrahim, 59, said the problem was compounded by the poor attitude of residents themselves.
He said they used the lifts without following the guidelines.
“They push their way into the lifts, resulting in overcrowding and exceeding the lift’s maximum capacity.
“They don’t get out when the alarm sounds. This causes the lifts to be stuck.
“I hope this issue (faulty lifts) can be addressed once and for all since many residents are mainly senior citizens and young children.”
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State Local Government and Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said RM175,400 was needed to fix the two lifts.
“The state government will bear about 80 per cent of the repair costs using Tabung Maxima funds.
“The remaining 20 per cent will be borne by the Tanjung Bungah assemblyman’s service centre, and it will take two or three months to complete it,” he added.
The 30-year-old 16-storey flats are built and managed by Uda Holdings Bhd.
