KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — On paper at least, Ampang will be among several mukim under the Hulu Langat district to be placed under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) starting at midnight, but things appear less certain on the ground.
Just hours before most of Selangor goes under stricter lockdown, business owners said they are still confused about whether or not they can operate.
A key reason fuelling the confusion is the lack of clarity about Ampang’s borders.
Ampang, a densely populated former mining town that spans 143.5 kilometres or 55.4 per square miles, once fell under the Hulu Langat administrative district, but was later placed under the Ampang Jaya municipality, now considered part of Gombak.
It’s a change that many Ampang folks were not aware of according to some residents that Malay Mail spoke to, despite a majority of them having lived here all their lives.
Riza Nor Naqiyuddin, 22, who works as a service adviser at a car repair company based in Pandan Indah, is unsure which mukim his company falls under because the premise address carries a Kuala Lumpur postcode, and not Selangor’s.
“We don’t know for sure to be honest. We ourselves are just waiting for the boss to give instructions but as far as we know the shop is under Hulu Langat (district),” he told Malay Mail.
Yet Pandan Indah is one of dozens of small neighbourhoods that form Ampang’s vast municipality and is a Selangor state legislative constituency.
Adding to the confusion is the blurred division between the districts of Hulu Langat and Gombak, to the north-east. It is unclear if Pandan Indah falls under the Ampang mukim of Hulu Langat, or is a mukim in Gombak.
Ampang is the only mukim under Gombak not placed under the EMCO.
As a federal constituency, Ampang has more than 150,000 voters who vote in three state legislative constituencies, reflecting its large size.
In 2009, it had over half a million residents according to Ampang Jaya City Council data, which means there are definitely more today.
Barricades and barb wires
Just less than two kilometres from Riza’s workshop lies Kampung Baru Ampang, a century-old Chinese new village “created” during the Emergency to combat the rise of communism, and where this one motorcycle repair shop has been operating for over two decades.
Its supervisor, Johnny, 32, was just as confused about the EMCO. When asked which mukim the shop is in, Johnny, who at the time was busy scouring the internet for information on the lockdown, instantly replied “Hulu Langat.”
But he was unsure if the service they sell is considered essential despite having already obtained approval from the Ministry of International Trade and Industries.
Car and motorcycle repair shops are deemed as essential services, according to the ministry.
“It’s Hulu Langat I think so we are under EMCO. But we got the Miti letter because we are a repair shop, so by right we can still open,” he told Malay Mail.
It’s unclear if Kampung Baru Ampang falls under the Gombak or Hulu Langat district. The page on MPAJ’s website that provides a list of areas in Ampang that falls under the latter district excluded Kampung Baru Cina.
MPAJ was not reachable for comment at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Ampang district OCPD Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Farouk Eshak said the ability to barricade the two mukim will hinge on a clear map of the districts.
But even so, guarding Ampang’s porous borders will pose a huge logistical challenge.
“I think we need to have a clear map first,” he told Malay Mail.
Most of Selangor and 15 localities in Kuala Lumpur will be under the EMCO for two weeks starting from July 3 in a bid to rein in the high Covid-19 infection rate.
The districts in Selangor and several areas in Kuala Lumpur have reported cases of Covid-19 exceeding 12.1 per cent or 100,000 population.
The EMCO will, among others, restrict those in areas affected to their homes with only one from each household allowed to buy essential goods, along with a curfew after 8pm.
