Malaysian Subway Project Sparks Protests

 　　alaysian plans to build a subway in Kuala Lumpur, have sparked protests and allegations of land-grabbing.

　　Chuah Chee Peng, 56, has been living in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur city's historical Chinatown, for more than 40 years. “I grew up watching the landscape of Petaling Street change. These shop houses didn't look like these 40 years ago. But renovations decade after decade keep changing the facade¹,” he says.

　　Chuah says the facade of Petaling Street is expected to change even more drastically, after the city's first mass rapid transit² (MRT), known as MY Rapid Transit, is completed. The construction project, which could cost between between $12 billion and $17 billion (RM36 billion and RM50 billion), will provide greater linkages³ in the city center, as well as to the suburban⁴ areas of Kuala Lumpur.

　　Petaling Street, situated⁵ in the heart of the city, is earmarked as one of the sites for the MRT.

　　However, even before tunneling works have begun in Petaling Street, issues involving mandatory⁶ land acquisitions by the government have plagued the project.

　　Slightly over a month ago, shop owners and residents of Sultan Road, situated in Chinatown, were upset when they learned the units situated above a section of the tunnel to be built for the project will be acquired by the government under the Land Acquisition Act.

　　Chuah lives and works at a street adjacent to Sultan Road. “So far, this street is not affected⁷. But, who knows what will happen in the future?”

　　The government has said that it is acquiring the shops and land above the tunnel to ensure the safety of the buildings and possibly demolish⁸ them, in the event that these buildings are no longer safe for living after the tunnel is completed.

　　While The Land Public Transport Commission, a government agency overseeing the land acquisitions, has vehemently⁹ denied that such acts tantamount to “land-grabbing”, it would not guarantee that the land acquired would be returned to the owners after the construction of the MRT is completed.

　　Protests against these acquisitions are getting rampant¹⁰, as the residents and landowners are concerned that the government is attempting to buy off the parcels of land and buildings below market price only to be developed into high-valued commercial properties.

　　Residents of Sultan Road are not the only ones caught in a quandary¹¹ over the construction of the MRT. Landowners in Imbi Road and Bukit Bintang Road, also located in the heart of the city center, are challenging the acquisition of their properties for the MRT project.

　　The landowners of Imbi Road have challenged the acquisitions as “wrongful”, while shop owners in Bukit Bintang Road have staged a protest over the acquisitions of 20 units of shops to make way for tunneling works and an underground station.

　　Fears of mandatory land acquisitions in the city have compounded in recent months, following notices issued to some residents living in an affluent¹² neighbourhood in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur that their properties could be acquired for the purposes of building the train system.

　　Currently, the city already has two train systems running, which is the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Monorail. However, the train systems are not sufficient to address the increasing traffic congestion¹³ woes¹⁴ in the city.

　　The MRT project is listed as the country's largest and most important civil infrastructure¹⁵ project under the current Prime Minister Najib Razak's administration under an economic roadmap known as the Economic Transformation¹⁶ Program.

　　The program, which was unveiled in April this year, outlined key economic areas that the country would leverage¹⁷ to attract foreign direct investments that have been sluggish¹⁸ compared with neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore in recent years.

　　With 31 stations and 10 million commuters expected after its completion by 2016, Najib has said the MRT project will generate up to $3.7 billion (RM12 billion) worth of other construction projects such as commercial properties and higher residential¹⁹ properties value.

　　The massive construction project also plays an important part in providing a multiplier effect to sustain the country's economic growth, amid concerns that a global economic downturn will affect its economy.

　　The Malaysian economy grew 7.2% in 2010, and the government has expected growth to be at 6% this year. However, in a report in August, Goldman Sachs has cut its forecast on Malaysia to 5% from 5.4%, while it projects the economy to grow 5.2%, compared with previous estimates of 5.6%.

　　Goldman Sachs has said the economy is likely hampered²⁰ by weaker demand from the US and European markets this year, as well as Malaysia's high budget deficit²¹ of 5.4%.

1 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 linkages   

n.连接( linkage的名词复数 )；结合；联系；联动装置

参考例句：

• Only the thermosetting resins provide a strong cohesive forces; this is due to molecular cross linkages. 只有热固性树脂具有巨大的凝聚力，这是由于分子交错链所造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The linkages between the stable units must be as near as possible of equal stability. 稳定链节之间的键必须有尽可能接近的稳定性。 来自辞典例句

4 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

5 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

6 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

9 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

10 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

11 quandary   

n.困惑，进迟两难之境

参考例句：

• I was in a quandary about whether to go.我当时正犹豫到底去不去。
• I was put in a great quandary.我陷于进退两难的窘境。

12 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

13 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

14 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

15 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

16 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

17 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

18 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

19 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

20 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

21 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。