Selangor Appeal Board Issue1 - JPBD Selangor

SELANGOR APPEAL BOARD LAW REPORTS
REJOINDER TO THE APPEAL
In objecting to the Appeal the Respondent contends that it is a policy of the Respondent not
to allow two centres to operate across from each other. It states “Secara umumnya dasar
MPSJ tidak membenarkan Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak beroperasi berhadapan di antara
satu sama lain.”
The Appeal Board is not obligated at all times to be governed by local authority policies. If
it were, the Board will be compelled to accept every local authority’s decision every time a
local authority says, “It is our policy!”
While the Board encourages local authorities to formulate policies to guide their planning
approval process in order to facilitate administration and ensure consistency, the Board has
the responsibility to evaluate whether any particular policy brought to its attention is just
and fair, whether it promotes good town planning and the creation of a liveable environment,
and whether it is practicable and reasonable in the circumstances encountered.
In the opinion of the Board a policy of not allowing day-care centres to be located across
from one another is simplistic and not well thought out. The reasons for the Board’s opinion
are as follows:-
i. A day-care centre of the type being dealt with is a feeder service to a particular type
of primary school. It has to be located within walking distance of the school. There is,
therefore, a very limited area it can be located in.
ii.
Ideally, a day-care centre should be a building large enough for multiple bathrooms
and toilets to be installed, separate changing rooms for boys and for girls, space for a
large study room to contain at least about fifteen to twenty desks, a reasonably-sized
refectory, at least one room for a sick bay, and if possible a recreation room with indoor
games facilities. There are generally no such premises available in the vicinity of
the type of primary schools we are dealing with. Our urban planning has not taken
into consideration day-care centres. The situation is, therefore, a “make do” situation
and given such circumstances we will have to make the best of what is available.
There are only two types of existing premises available for day-care centres to use
– residential houses or shop-houses. Of the two, residential premises are the better
choice because there is at least some garden space for the children to have access
to fresh air, sunlight and room to move about. The best choice is possibly a corner lot.
A large luxurious bungalow may be ideal but it may not be available within walking
distance of the target school, besides the rental could make the service unaffordable
to most parents.
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