RESIDENTS at the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) Jalan Tun Razak flats in Kampung Baru agree with redevelopment of the area but are still waiting for the compensation offer to be finalised with their agreement.

Chairman of the PKNS flats action committee, Mohd Yusoff Yahya, said they are eager for new homes as the five-storey residential block is over 50 years old and is no longer suitable for living.

“The place is waiting to collapse. More than 80% of the unit owners agree that the area should be developed, but we want to know the developer’s offer first,” Yusoff told The Malaysian Insight.

The buildings to be torn down are seven apartment blocks on 1.49ha of land right next to Jalan Tun Razak. There are 242 residential units, measuring either 705 sq ft, 550 sq ft or and 450 sq ft, and shoplots on the ground floor. 

The RM1.2 billion redevelopment plan involves a new 52-storey apartment tower that will house the current owners of the PKNS flats. Three more towers will be built for mixed development comprising residential and retail units.

The compensation options given by the developer, Menara Rezeki Properties Sdn Bhd (MRPSB), at a meeting with residents in January included cash of RM888 per sq ft for owners.

Yusoff said the owners, however, want this sum raised to RM1,000 or up to RM1,200 per sq ft.

Another offer from the developer is temporary transit homes, and owners who agree to take this up will also be given RM10,000 cash.

Yusoff said the owners want another option, which is to be given RM2,000 per month by the developer if owners opt not to take up the transit home offer.

The redevelopment of Kampung Baru, iconic for being a Malay heritage area in the middle of Kuala Lumpur’s towering skyscrapers, has proved difficult as residents have opposed previous redevelopment plans. The issue of what is adequate compensation has also been a sticking point.

Yusoff said MRPSB has now opened an office in block F of the flats so that residents could go to ask questions and get immediate answers.

Residents and owners, however, are in the dark as to the latest status of the developer’s offer after making their preferences known.

A unit owner, Zulkifli Ishak, 68, questioned the developer’s claim that more than 80% of owners had agreed with the options presented by the developer, as there has been nothing in writing, and no follow-up since the meeting in January.

“We owners have not received a single offer letter, we have not given any final say on any offer. I hope there are no bad intentions to mislead the community and flat owners.”

Zulkifli said one issue that has still not been resolved involves owners who do not want replacement transit homes but want to build their own homes on their own land.

He reiterated that residents are not rejecting the redevelopment plan but adds that it is hasty to say more than 80% had given the green light when the compensation offer had not been agreed on.  

“We just want a fair offer,” he said.

In the new high-rise apartment block for the PKNS residents, each unit will be worth between RM1 million and RM1.2 million, and the current flat-dwellers can take possession of them within three to four years.

The new units will be far bigger in size than their current cramped flats, at 1,000 sq ft, 1,200 sq ft or 1,500 sq ft.

MRPSB is a joint venture company between developer Jiankun International Bhd and Menara Rezeki Sdn Bhd. – July 26, 2022.