THE Department of the Director-General of Lands and Mines (JKPTG) will cancel the lease on land formerly occupied by SK Danau Perdana in Taman Danau Desa in Kuala Lumpur.
JKPTG director-general Datuk Mohd Fauzi Mohd Yatim said the prospective tenant, a used car dealer, was considered to have breached the lease conditions after Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) rejected its planning application to build sports facilities at the site.
“JKPTG will proceed with the cancellation once it received official notification from DBKL.”
JKPTG oversees the matter because the former school site, Lot 54836, is owned by the Federal Lands Commissioner (PTP), placing all matters relating to its lease and use under the department’s jurisdiction.
The site had been leased for three years, from Feb 1 this year until Jan 31, 2029.
Meanwhile, a senior officer from the Federal Territories Lands and Mines Office (PTGWP), who declined to be named, said government agencies generally avoided leaving land idle because vacant sites often became overgrown and would result in other problems.
The officer said temporary leases enabled the government to generate revenue while ensuring the land was maintained until it was needed for its intended purpose.
“Used car businesses are often preferred because they typically require minimal site preparation and do not build permanent structures.
“However, any development on the land remains subject to approval from the relevant authorities, including DBKL,” he said.
In its July 7 article “Sports hub plan on school site denied”, StarMetro reported that DBKL’s One-Stop Centre (OSC) committee had rejected the leaseholder’s application to develop seven pickleball courts and a gym on the former school site.
DBKL executive director (Planning) Rosli Nordin had said the proposal was rejected because the land remained reserved for educational purposes and the local authority had to consider the additional traffic and congestion such a development would cause.
The issue sparked concern after residents discovered the land had been leased to a used car company when a signboard was erected at the site.
It also drew criticism from Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who questioned why land reserved for future educational use had been leased for commercial purposes.
She said the decision contradicted the Education Ministry’s earlier rejection of a proposal to relocate SMJK Confucian to the site because the land was needed for future educational development.
She had written to Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, urging the Federal Government to review the lease and retain the site for educational purposes.
Residents also questioned why the site, which has been abandoned for more than two decades, was leased for commercial use instead of being restored for its intended purpose.
Welcoming JKPTG’s decision, Taman Desa Residents Association (TDRA) chairman Wong Chan Choy said: “We are happy they will cancel the lease.
“We hope the land will be preserved for its intended purpose as a future school site.”
The former SK Danau Perdana was built in 2003 at a cost of RM14.5mil but closed two years later after structural defects caused the building to crack and sink.
The school buildings have not been demolished since then.
