Sustainable progress: Kuala Lumpur residents fear that the character of their neighbourhoods is being changed due to development. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
SEVERAL residents groups in Kuala Lumpur say development in the country’s capital city is becoming unsustainable.
They are calling for local government elections to be reinstated as they feel this will help address issues like overdevelopment and lack of consultation with stakeholders.
They believe that a local authority formed through an election would prioritise the needs of Kuala Lumpur folk, and reduce political influence when deciding on and approving projects.
To this end, 19 residents associations (RA) in Cheras organised a roundtable in December under the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 initiative.
Spearheaded by Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, the meeting served as an initial approach to gather like-minded RAs to highlight the change they wish to see in Kuala Lumpur MPs.
They urged the MPs and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to work together in addressing three major areas, namely that future development be in line with the SDGs, institutionalise public participation as well as promote open data, in reference to information that is accessible to anyone.
A second roundtable was held in January to discuss a workable action plan with Kuala Lumpur MPs before solutions to address overdevelopment are presented at a sustainable city conference planned for Feb 18.
Residents groups are worried about overdevelopment in Kuala Lumpur, leading to higher density and more traffic-choked roads. — Photos: CHAN TAK KONG and LOW LAY PHON/The Star
During the second meeting, short, medium and long-term action plans were drawn up with the revival of local government elections being the ultimate goal.As part of the public participation aspect, they want MPs and stakeholders to be involved in the DBKL One-Stop Centre board which approves new development projects.
They are also calling for inclusivity and transparency in tabling Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan (KLSP) 2040 and Kuala Lumpur City Plan (KLCP) 2040 as well as the reinstatement of Rule 5.
Rule 5 is a legal provision that requires the mayor to refer to registered owners of land adjacent to a proposed development, through advertisements in newspapers and exhibitions, to obtain feedback for an application.
It is part of the Planning Development Amendment Rules 1994, a bylaw under the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982 or Act 267.
Public objection hearings under Rule 5 for proposed developments in the city is not practised anymore after KLCP2020 was gazetted in 2018.
Former Federal Territories minister Khalid Abdul Samad was quoted as saying that with a gazetted plan to guide development, such public participation would only be required if the proposed project contradicted the plan.
Phang says greater transparency in the decision-making process, especially for proposed development projects, is needed.
Without the practice of Rule 5, property owners may not be aware of a new development project in their surroundings until physical work commences on site.
The group also wants DBKL to cap population density in certain areas to prevent public facilities, infrastructure and utilities from being overwhelmed.
Roundtable discussion moderator Jeffery Phang said the aim was to make Kuala Lumpur a liveable city with good governance.
“We emphasise partnership between residents, residents’ representatives and the authorities that promotes transparency in the decision-making process, especially for proposed development projects.
“This can also be achieved through the appointment of a special committee comprising Kuala Lumpur MPs as members for development plans and policies.
“Besides, an independent panel of experts should be appointed to look into the KLSP and KLCP as well as all Public Accounts Committee and Auditor General’s recommendations and steps taken to address weaknesses identified,” said Phang.
Time for local elections
The group, which has now garnered the support of 46 Phang RAs, wants local government elections to be revived to fill the posts of mayor and councillors.
Tan said bringing back polls would ensure DBKL was more people-oriented.
“We had our first local government election in 1955 during British rule but it was suspended in 1965 during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation.
“We should have local government elections again because at present, we have taxation without representation.
“We should make Kuala Lumpur the launch pad for representative democracy,” he said.
Tan said that as a start, proposed development projects involving public land in Kuala Lumpur had been frozen indefinitely and would be reviewed.
Taman Segar resident BC Tan talking at the roundtable about the need for City Hall to share information like project details, among others.
“This was an instruction given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to DBKL during a meeting with Kuala Lumpur MPs and DBKL officers on Dec 22.
“We are also going to form a secretariat of Kuala Lumpur MPs in the unity government and have routine townhalls with the people and mayor to discuss community issues,” he said.
Tan added that he had sent a memorandum to Anwar on APPGM’s agenda to address overdevelopment in Kuala Lumpur.
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said local government elections were brought up by Khalid when he was minister but nothing came of it.
She said APPGM should look into bringing small-scale changes to improve governance in Kuala Lumpur.
“I suggest that we get KLCP2040 and KLSP2040 tabled first by DBKL and stick to it.
“This is so that we have a development framework and do not divert from it,” she added.
Previously, NGOs and residents had highlighted that KLCP2020 was finalised in 2012 but not gazetted and constant changes were made to it over the years.
This caused frustration among stakeholders as every year, several amendments were made without going through due process.
They want the tabling and approval of KLCP2040 and KLSP2040 to be led by a special committee comprising members who are not politically appointed.
Property mismatch
Wangsa Maju MP Zahir Hassan said there was a big mismatch in property supply and demand in the market.
He said National Property Information Centre (Napic) statistics showed that 30,664 units of new residential property were unsold in 2019, among which 32.4% was affordable housing.
“In the same year, 1.29 million families did not own a home. This shows that there may be too many expensive units in the market that people cannot afford.
“If developers and stakeholders have access to this data, they can build the type of units that the market needs,” he said, adding that open data should be used to benefit stakeholders.
Zahir said Wangsa Maju was the most densely populated parliamentary constituency, with 13,745 people per square kilometre.
“KLSP and KLCP are being drafted with certain objectives in mind but the problems will happen during implementation.
Zahir (left) talking about disparity in supply and demand for housing during the second roundtable with residents groups in January.
“For example, a development with a plot ratio of 1:4 is acceptable in the city.
“But some projects were approved with much higher densities without upgrading of city infrastructure.
“This is also happening in the Bandar Tun Razak and Cheras constituencies,” he noted.
Zahir highlighted that parking facilities provided in a development were often insufficient to cater to residents.
“Housebuyers are commonly offered one parking bay each but most households have more than one car.
“This results in vehicles parked haphazardly along public roads,” he said, stressing that all such matters needed to be looked into.
RAs that attended the roundtable gave examples of how unplanned development had affected their neighbourhoods.
Taman Supreme RA deputy chairman Lee Lit Heng said Rule 5 was important so that people would know about projects in their neighbourhood.
“For example, a mixed development project planned on a hillslope in Taman Supreme was stopped in 2016 after residents objected to it, thanks to a notice board erected under Rule 5.
“However, the project was revived in 2021 without our knowledge because Rule 5 was not practised anymore,” he pointed out.
Happy Garden and Continental Park RA secretary Evelyne Low said poorly executed development along Jalan Kuchai Lama would worsen traffic conditions and flash floods in the area.
“The flash floods in March last year where motorists were stranded on car roofs showed our infrastructure had reached a tipping point.
“We are faced with a lot of development along the road and added population density will worsen traffic,” she said.
