Shahman: MPS only has supportive role in land matters.
SELAYANG Municipal Council’s (MPS) role in the former Kampung Kuil Sikh squatter issue is only supportive, as certain land issues fall under the district land administrator.
MPS president Shahman Jalaludin said land and squatter resettlement matters fell under the jurisdiction of Gombak Land and District Office.
This is in line with Selangor Land and Mines Office (PTGS) Circular No.1/2008, which formalises the land office’s role in coordinating government land affairs.
Shahman was responding to StarMetro’s report titled “Former Selayang squatters in the dark over status of promised homes” on Sept 30.
In it, the former squatters said they were promised homes two decades ago following demolition of their houses.
They have been waiting ever since.
The interviewees said the squatter area had 25 houses built in the 1980s, and they were demolished in December 2005.
Shahman said the squatter issue was linked to Selangor’s “Zero Squatter” initiative from 2000 to 2005, which aimed to enable all Selangor citizens to own a home by 2005.
To achieve this goal, the then state government had planned to build more affordable houses – sold or rented – to those who lived in squatter settlements.
Shahman said the land in question was originally alienated to a developer under Section 76 of the National Land Code.
“The permitted building types approved at the time included 16 units of 1½-storey townhouses and 20% low-medium cost houses on a 1.35ha site,” Shahman said after chairing the MPS full board meeting at its headquarters in Bandar Baru Selayang.
He said 0.44ha of the land was set aside for construction of SMK Taman Selayang.
“This decision by Selangor government in July 2007 reduced the developer’s effective land to 0.88ha.
“The Gombak Land and District Office was later instructed to identify a replacement site, but this further delayed progress,” he elaborated.
With rising costs and pressure from the squatter families affected, the developer was unable to continue the project, he said.
In 2014, the developer appointed another company to take over.
According to Shahman, the second company submitted new planning permission in 2015, proposing a high-rise development comprising one 17-storey apartment block with 242 units, a floor of shared facilities, a six-storey carpark and a sewage treatment plant.
The plan received approval in May 2019, with validity until July 2021.
“However, no building plan application was submitted, and the planning permission has since expired,” said Shahman.
“To date, the company has not applied for an extension,” he added.
