KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is demarcating a portion of land belonging to the local authority outside the disputed Taman Rimba Kiara area, said Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa.

According to Annuar, Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP) said DBKL is erecting boundary fencing based on land title documents in its possession.

“However, even if they want to demarcate the land, the public must be allowed to use the park,” he said after a site visit to Taman Rimba Kiara today after Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh said that work must not be allowed on the Taman Tun Dr Ismail site while the controversial development project is still disputed in court.

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.

Annuar said DBKL would not erect any hoarding or trying to start any construction until the court rules on the dispute.

“However, they (DBKL) have to stick to my instructions (today) that no work (demarcation) must start until the court has made a decision.”

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

When asked if the park will shrink based on demarcation, he said it is based on the land title, where there is the legal ownership boundary.

On the name change, Annuar said that it is merely a suggestion by DBKL. 

“I told DBKL if they want to change the name then there are certain procedures to follow.

“And the submissions must be made to a special committee chaired by the Federal Territories Ministry secretary-general.”

He said, so far, no submissions have been made.

“Certainly, DBKL will follow the name changing process.

“When it comes to name change we will also listen to the voice of the people. This is not a big issue,” he said.

DBKL 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, then 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 called for work to build affordable housing for the nearby longhouse community to proceed, but not for the high-rise condominiums. – July 30, 2020.