WHAT initially started off as a safety initiative by residents to make their houses more secure, or in the words of one resident, “the robber will think twice before entering my house”, has not only put Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in a tight spot, but has divided communities and inconvenienced residents to the point they feel like an outsider in their own neighbourhood.

Two years after the Federal Court legalised the placing of boom gates across public roads and guardhouses in residential areas, the walls have literally gone up in every neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur.