Buy it or lose it, owner of building on Medan Imbi land told

KUALA LUMPUR: The owner of the buildings built on government land in Medan Imbi have been given an ultimatum to buy the land or the title will revert to the rightful owners.

Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said abuse of power in the previous administration enabled a company to build a six-storey office building and a restaurant on two plots of land.

"The owner has until the end of the month to contact us and suggest a solution.

"If there is no response, we assume that the owners are not interested in the buildings and the land owners can proceed to reclaim their properties," he said.

The plots involved are Lot 568 and Lot 716, which have a combined area of 0.145ha with an estimated market value of about RM20mil.

Khalid said in March 25, 2015 that the company applied to rent Lot 568 from the Federal Lands and Mines office for eight years to build a two-storey building, but it was rejected.

"In Dec 4, 2015, minutes showed that the former Federal Territories minister instructed the former Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) economic planning and development director to 'handle the matter immediately (sila uruskan segera)'.

"DBKL issued a development order (DO) in June 17, 2016 for a two-storey restaurant. The One Stop Centre approved the building of a six-storey building in Sept 23, 2016.

"An amended DO to build the six-storey building was issued on Dec 15, 2016 and the building was completed on Feb 8 last year," he said.

For Lot 716, Khalid said the company proposed to upgrade the green area and build a durian kiosk in March 14, 2016.

"The next day, the then Federal Territories minister again instructed DBKL officers to "handle the matter (sila uruskan)".

"On June 10 the same year, DBKL gave planning permission to the company for a temporary kiosk. Once completed, the company managed and rented the place for RM16,000 per month," he said.

Khalid said a report would be made to Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission to investigate all those involved.

"The DBKL Integrity Department submitted their report … it is clear that there was abuse of power at the ministry and DBKL level.

"Two MPs, Fong Kui Lun and Lim Lip Eng highlighted the matter, so it is unfair for anyone to claim that they were unaware of it. The issue was also highlighted in The Star on March 6, 2017.

"I foresee the staff involved to defend themselves by saying that they were merely following orders," he said.