Tan pointing to the pavement being built as part of the road widening works along Jalan Tun Razak which is affecting the Labis MCA office and his service centre. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
A ROAD expansion for a double-tracking project in Labis has been built too close to the local MCA office and does not meet Public Works Department (JKR) guidelines.
To make matters worse, the dispute over the compensation offered by the government for acquiring the land next to the four-storey building has been with the High Court for the past two years because of technical issues.
Bekok assemblyman Tan Chong said they were never told about the land acquisition.
When a previous branch chairman heard about a hearing at the land office last year, he rushed over there but was not allowed to intervene as the acquired land was under the names of three other individuals.
“Subsequently, there was another hearing and the three individuals were also not called.
“Then compensation cheques were issued to the three individuals,” he said.
Tan said the trio were veteran party members who were just trustees appointed when the building was put up in 1986.
“Why did the government issue the compensation cheques under their names?
“One of the trustees had actually passed away,” he said, adding that the cheques were still at the Muar High Court.
Tan, who is also Labis MCA division deputy chairman, added that because of the acquisition, at least one-third of the land totalling about 2,249 sq ft had been acquired by the government for the expansion of Jalan Tun Razak from two to four lanes.
Total size of MCA’s land was more than 6,534 sq ft.
“To make matters worse, I just found out that because of the expansion, half of my service centre’s road frontage will be taken up.
“How can they carry out such infrastructure projects when it affects others?
“I have also written to JKR and they informed in writing that there should be a 6m buffer between the pavement and the building,” he said, adding that construction did not meet the minimum guidelines.
Tan said he was not against the road expansion work, but wanted Transport Ministry, the contractor and local authority to look into the matter immediately.
“I hope to find an amicable solution to this problem.
“Besides acquiring our land, other parcels are also affected along the 300m stretch,” he said.
He said Jalan Tun Razak was a major road leading into Labis town under the changes made to the road system there because of the double-track project.
Tan added they have sought legal advice to help rectify the records for the ownership of the land.
He said they did not even know how much compensation was offered.
“We as landowners were never consulted in this process,” he said.
Tan said they were also worried about flooding in the area because of the project.
When contacted, a JKR official said it was aware of the matter and stressed that all infrastructure projects would require a road reserve for future road widening works.
