Selamatkan KL (SKL) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman (fourth from left) and vice-chairman Datuk M.Ali (fifth from left) studying a a copy of the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 with other members.
A COALITION of Kuala Lumpur residents is prepared to take Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to court if the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 (KLCP2020) is not gazetted.
Selamatkan KL (SKL) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman said continued inaction by DBKL meant it had failed in its duties by not gazetting the draft plan as per the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982.
He added that the group would consider taking legal action against DBKL should their requests continue to be ignored.
“We will be meeting our members in two weeks to discuss the next course of action,” he said after a meeting with DBKL planning executive director Datuk Mohd Najib Mohd yesterday.
Based on the Act, a general structure plan and a more detailed local plan must be drafted and gazetted.
The Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 was gazetted in 2004 and outlined the goals, development strategies and policies of the development of Kuala Lumpur while the the draft plan is meant to be a blueprint for development in the city.
However, despite a plan to gazette the KLCP2020 draft in 2013, it remained a draft until last year when Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor announced that it would not be gazetted in its present state.
“Both the structure plan and local plan are needed to administer Kuala Lumpur. The structure plan only details policies, while the latter details the use of each plot of land.
“Since the country achieved its independence in 1957, there has not been a local plan for the development of the city
“How can Kuala Lumpur become a ‘world-class city’, which city officials have been advocating, without a sustainable plan? The mayor must execute the law,” said Abdul Aziz.
During the meeting, he said they were told that DBKL used the draft plan as a guideline for development but still used its discretionary powers when it came to land use.
The group added that the absence of a local plan had forced residents to protect their residential areas and green spaces from the encroachment of commercialisation.
Most notably, TTDI residents filed a judicial review against DBKL for allowing the construction of luxury condominiums in Taman Rimba Kiara park while Taman Desa residents also took DBKL to court for allowing the construction of a high-rise residential tower close to the Tiara Faber Condominium.
