PLAZA Rakyat lot owners are angry that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has “washed its hands of” the matter of compensation over the project that was stalled 20 years ago.

Their pro tem committee secretariat Ng Pang Wah, 69 said they were not informed that DBKL is no longer involved.

“Why is DBKL claiming that they have nothing to do with us? When we bought the property, they were the land owner.

“How, can they say that they are not involved?” he told The Malaysian Insight.

DBKL said the new developer, as the landowner, did not have any legal obligation towards the lot owners.

Mayor Md Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said there was a separate arrangement between the developer and lot owners, and DBKL was not involved in negotiations between the two.

If the developer gets the approval, it can go ahead with the project even if it has not compensated the lot owners and it is then up to the lot owners to take whatever actions against the developer, he said.

Ng said all they want is to look at the new sales and purchase agreement between the developer and DBKL.

“We were informed in the new S&P, there is a clause for compensation. All we are asking is for a fair deal.

“The developer definitely bought the property at market price, but they are offering the lot owners a refund of the sum they invested 20 years ago, which is not fair.

“Our investments had depreciated over the years. If we would have bought other properties in the city, it would have appreciated by now.”

The developer has also been given until the end of September to settle its outstanding payments to DBKL, failing which its contract will be terminated.

The project in Jalan Pudu was abandoned in 1998 following the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

In 2015, a new developer, Profit Consortium Sdn Bhd, signed a S&P agreement with DBKL to take over the 6.2ha site for RM740 million.

Ng said they contacted DBKL but to no avail and are now seeking the intervention of the new government.

“All we are asking is for a meeting with the developer. We are not asking for a fair compensation. We are all old and some have died.

“We don’t want to drag this matter to court and get tangled in a legal tussle.”

The lot owners have sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Department and hope to meet Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad soon.

Plaza Rakyat is a mixed development comprising a 79-storey office tower, a 46-storey condominium block, a 24-storey hotel, and a seven-storey shopping centre.

Since January, 104 of the 211 original buyers have been issued offer letters by the new developer and negotiations are ongoing. – September 3, 2018.