A STORM of public outcry is erupting in Kuala Lumpur’s posh neighbourhood of Desa ParkCity (DPC) as parents and residents condemn the approval of the 46-storey ParkCity Tower which is located just eight metres from The International School @ ParkCity (ISP)’s primary campus.
Despite the move been deemed as “reckless and dangerous”, excavation works for the maiden office tower in DPC is already in full swing.
The tower is feared to eventually overshadow the five-storey primary school block, prompting concerns for child safety, classroom disruption and invasion of privacy.
A parents’ committee – Parents For Safer Schools – has actively demanded to know how this was allowed to happen.
It has tried to engage with the developers, school leadership and local authorities – yet its efforts have been met with silence and resistance.
Fuming parents, residents
Over 1,400 concerned voices have signed a fast-growing petition urging the relevant authorities to immediately halt and review the project.
Below are the key community concerns raised by Parents For Safer Schools:
- Unacceptable proximity: The tower is separated from school grounds by a mere eight metres, thus placing construction noise, dust and risk within striking distance of children as young as five years old.
- Disruption already felt: Excavation noise is echoing through classrooms. Dust clouds and heavy vehicles are already compromising both pupils’ well-being and pedestrian safety.
- Massive privacy invasion: Upon its completion, the 46-storey tower will look directly into classrooms, playgrounds and common areas – turning the school into a fishbowl.
- Traffic nightmare looming: With over 800 parking bays planned, the development is set to choke an already congested area, worsening peak-hour chaos.
- Opaque approval process: Parents are demanding transparency on how a development of this scale was approved so close to a school while questioning how come the new school primary block (opened in 2023) was designed to face the tower directly in the first place.
Ironically, Desa ParkCity has won multiple awards for sustainable development – a reputation now called into serious question.
“This is clearly a failure in terms of embracing sustainability,” one parent who also resides in Desa ParkCity hit out in a media statement. “What kind of sustainable development ignores the safety, health and well-being of schoolchildren?”
In the same light, the community is also demanding the following accountability from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) whose planning oversight allowed such an ill-conceived development to move
“We’re not anti-development,” lamented a long-time Desa ParkCity resident. “But this isn’t development – it’s a safety hazard disguised as progress.” – May 20, 2025
