Talk to us first, Kg Sg Baru house owners urge govt

KUALA LUMPUR: Negotiate with us instead of using the Land Acquisition Act 1960, Kampung Sungai Baru house owners are urging the government.

“Although the majority of those living in flats have agreed, those who own terrace houses are largely opposed to the redevelopment,” said their representative, Azlan Mustafa, 35.

He added that redevelopment cannot proceed without taking the input of the terrace house owners.

This area is made up of two housing areas, namely the terrace houses and a low-cost PKNS flat.

He said that 72 of the 98 house owners have yet to agree to the redevelopment.

They had previously complained about the low offers of RM200,000 to RM250,000 to vacate their houses to make way for a project involving 64 terrace houses and 264 high-rise units.

Azlan said discussions about the compensation were still ongoing.

He said that a developer had approached residents in 2016 with an offer, but this was rejected.

“Every homeowner was to get a new unit based on their current floor space but we were not keen. They should have improved the offer and come back to us. We are open to discussion,” said Azlan.

“Instead, we were shocked last year to learn that our land was being acquired by the developer,” he added at a press conference involving some 30 residents.

Former Federal Territories minister Khalid Abdul Samad, who moderated the session, called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to intervene.

Khalid said Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim had told him that an independent consultant would be appointed to value the land.

“I was told that this process would be completed in a week,” he said.

Khalid said that using the Land Acquisition Act to acquire the land had set a dangerous precedent for developments in Kuala Lumpur.

“This means the government can work with a developer and use the Act to undertake a commercial development,” he said.

Asked why he did not stop the redevelopment during his stint, Khalid said discussions between the developer and residents were ongoing at the time.

“We also had no plans to use the Act. We should respect the residents as they have ownership of the land,” he said.

Read: QuickCheck: Is the Kg Sungai Baru development project the same place as the cancelled Kg Baru redevelopment?