WORK must not be allowed on Taman Rimba Kiara in Kuala Lumpur while the matter of development in the park remains a matter for the court to decide, said Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh.

She was referring to a portion of Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) which is slated for development.

“The matter is still in the Court of Appeal but a few days ago we saw a surveyor coming to do work there.

“I have raised this issue in parliament (and said that) the court process should be respected,” Yeoh said during a visit to Taman Rimba Kiara today.

TTDI residents are appealing against a lower court’s dismissal of their application for a judicial review to challenge the development approval.

Yeoh said she decided to visit the park with residents today after videos and pictures surfaced showing construction work taking place on the football field.

“The residents spoke to the workers who said they are putting up a boundary. That was all they said.

“We went and checked with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) but the offices also do not seem to know what is going on.”

Videos of work being carried out on the park next to the football field showed about 20 metal poles measuring 1.5m high being erected a few days ago.

Yeoh said the developer Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP) had said that the park would not be encroached upon.

“They (YWP) went on a public relation exercise to say they will not touch the park.

“They did this (because it’s) the long weekend (Hari Raya Haji) when everyone is going away.

“Can you imagine if we didn’t know about it and when we come back on Monday, the planks are up.

“To the new FT minister (Annuar Musa), we have been fighting for this for so long and we will not back down.”

TTDI residents’ association chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar said the residents are angry that their football field has been destroyed.

“This issue is in court, so please respect the law process.

“We want the authorities and those involved to remove the metal poles immediately

“This field is for children but it has been encroached on.”

On the name change from Taman Rimba Kiara to Taman Awam Bukit Kiara, Yeoh said she will raise the issue in parliament.

Yesterday, the TTDI residents’ association had accused authorities of attempting to alter the status of the park by renaming it.

City Hall, in a notice, said the name change was necessary to avoid the people confusing the park with another park nearby which was under the purview of the National Landscape Department.

Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil asked Annuar to explain the name change.

“They (FT Ministry) should get the views of residents and those who have been living here for decades. 

“Annuar should come and meet the people and do a town hall session.”

City Hall in 2014 approved a plan to develop part of the park with nine blocks of high-rise condominiums as well as affordable housing. Barisan Nasional’s Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was Federal Territories minister at the time. 

The project, a joint venture between YWP and Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of developer Malton Bhd, has from the start been dogged by allegations of corruption.

Under the previous Pakatan Harapan government, Federal Territories minister Khalid Abdul Samad negotiated for the project to be scaled-down to four blocks of service apartments and 204 units of affordable housing, but this was rejected by the group Save Taman Rimba.

The group calld for work to build affordable housing for the nearby longhouse community to proceed, but not for the high-rise condominiums. – July 30, 2020.