Promise to gazette Bukit Kiara remains unfulfilled

IN October last year, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad, in a radio interview, promised to gazette Bukit Kiara (BK), Kuala Lumpur, as a green lung before the end of the year. One year has passed and nothing has happened. There has been no news from the minister why his promise cannot be fulfilled. The rakyat has been very patient for the past 11 months; silence, unfortunately, is not golden in this particular case.

A little background information would help. In the 1960s, the federal government acquired 648ha of rubber estate land in BK for recreational and “open space” purposes. Over the years, portions of the acquired land have been handed out to individuals and private companies. The remaining available area now amounts to 188.9ha or about 30% of the original.