TREES in Taman Rimba Kiara have been cleared to make way for the construction of a sales gallery.

Save Taman Rimba Kiara working group coordinator Leon Koay said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) gave its approval for the sales gallery to be built only recently.

“They have gotten approval to build a sales gallery. Although we don’t know the dates when the piling work will be carried out, we don’t think they can work on (constructing) the actual building yet,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

In June 2016, DBKL had approved the development of a 29-storey block of affordable housing, comprising 350 units, and eight blocks of high-end apartments (between 42 and 54 storeys, comprising 1,766 units), on a 4.86ha plot of land in Taman Rimba Kiara, which is designated as a public open space under the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020.

Koay said it is disappointing that despite there being an ongoing court case pertaining to the proposed development, the developer has proceeded with clearing work.

“This is what we discovered today, and it is disappointing that Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan and Malton Sdn Bhd decided to proceed, even though there is a court case ongoing.”

“We asked for a freeze order to prevent any work pending a full hearing of the case, but the court denied us the request last December.”

Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd, a unit of Malton, is building the apartments, while Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan is the landowner.

“We can see that we have lost some trees. It looks like the destruction has begun,” said Koay.

“We spoke to the onsite supervisor. They uprooted trees in the upper section, behind the guardhouse, and transplanted them to the lower section. But, not all the trees were relocated. Some are gone.”

He said case management for the stay order will be on April 18, and that he hopes everything will go smoothly.

“Case management will be on April 18. It is still a long way to go.

“All the parties involved in the suit are still exchanging affidavits.” – March 14, 2018.