THE office of Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh is in talks with several developers to create permanent housing for longhouse residents in Taman Awam Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.
“Now that the legal battle to protect Taman Rimba Kiara is settled, my office is working on a solution to house the longhouse residents,” said Yeoh.
“We want to build housing that provides dignity and integrity. We hope to create a solution that allows them to remain here, can accommodate at least two generations, and is not low-cost housing.”
She added that the challenge is to ensure the housing project is sustainable and does not inconvenience Taman Rimba Kiara, a popular park with only one access road frequented by thousands of visitors.
“My office has engaged with the current developer to discuss permanent housing for the longhouse community, but progress has not been forthcoming,” said Yeoh.
“We are in talks with several developers and are working closely with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif to resolve the matter.
“Meanwhile, my office has been helping the longhouse community with maintenance costs and long-standing utility issues such as sewerage and leaking pipes.”
On April 18, 2023, the Federal Court issued a ruling to quash the development order for Taman Rimba Kiara in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), Kuala Lumpur.
The verdict marked the end of a seven-year legal struggle by TTDI residents to protect their green space.
However, the issue of permanent housing for residents relocated from the Bukit Kiara Estate to the longhouses remains.
Yeoh spoke after officiating at an Earth Day event organised by Friends of Bukit Kiara (FoBK) at Taman Rimba Kiara.
The Youth and Sports Minister also officially unveiled a ninth firefly species rediscovered early this year at Bukit Kiara.
Firefly taxonomist Dr Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh and her team from Monash University Malaysia found the Pteroptyx gombakia, also known as the Gombak bent-winged firefly, in Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara in January 2025.
According to their research, it was last seen in the Klang Valley over 100 years ago.
FoBK president Leon Koay said the organisation is running a citizen science project with two research agencies to learn more about the fireflies of Bukit Kiara and lobbying for the gazettement of the remaining 126 acres (51ha) of land to be part of Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara.
“The whole of Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara is supposed to be about 400 acres (162ha) in size; 274 acres (111ha) of it was gazetted in 2020 as the first federal park in Malaysia.
“The remaining 126 acres (51ha) is currently subject to a lease to a private party that is set to expire in 2027.
“We were told that the Federal Government will not renew that lease and will gazette the remaining portion as a federal park,” said Koay.
Yeoh said she is pledging an annual RM20,000 grant from her MP’s allocation and a RM10,000 allocation from the Youth and Sports Ministry under the Rakan Bumi initiative to support FoBK’s advocacy work.
