‘RM10b to acquire land in Kg Baru’
IT has been estimated that some RM10 billion will be required to acquire up to 60.7ha land located within the seven villages in Kampung Baru, says Zulkarnain Hassan, chief executive of Kampung Baru Development Corp (KBDC) .
“If the government wants to get all the 60.7ha from the owners, that is the estimated price. However, this is just an idea and the figure is only an estimate. No decision has been made. We do not know yet the option on how we want to get the land.
“If we acquire, the value will be based on the Valuation Department. If we decide to buy, then we have to give an indication on what is the price we are looking at but it is all subject to agreement from landowners. The land deal will be based on willing-buyer-willing-seller (basis),” he said.
Zulkarnain said, however, the biggest challenge in acquiring the land in Kg Baru is the number of owners for every plot.
He said one plot may have 20, 50 or 70 owners. “It will be difficult to get all the land owners to agree at the same time. The other challenge is that some owners, whose names are still on the title, have passed away while others have moved overseas and it’s difficult to locate them. These are some of the issues we are facing currently.”
Zulkarnain said owners in Kg Baru may have an option to get cash or an apartment in return for their portion of land.
“What each person gets will depend on how much land they own in Kg Baru,” he said.
MINISTER TO HOLD TALKS WITH LANDOWNERS
The Federal Territories Ministry is willing to hold talks with all Kg Baru landowners on the sale of land to the government for redevelopment.
Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said recently it was necessary to meet with the landowners to resolve the issue as there were many misconceptions about the matter.
He said there were some people who claimed the government is looking to buy the land at a cheap price to drive Malays out of Kg Baru.
“This is not true. We only want to find a solution to retain Malay ownership of land in Kg Baru while, at the same time, develop the area into a modern and integrated settlement.
“We do not want Kg Baru to be left out of the rapid development in Kuala Lumpur... if we allow it to not be developed, people will say we have ignored the needs of the Malays in the area, so we want their assets to be developed,” he said.
Last month Khalid had said the government needed RM10 billion to acquire land in Kg Baru, which could be developed into a modern and integrated settlement of the Malay community in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
He said a RM10 billion fund was required if all landowners in Kg Baru agreed to accept cash for their land to be developed by the developer to be appointed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
Khalid said the whole plan is to develop Kg An aerial view of Kampung Baru.
Baru in a well-organised and integrated manner and according to a comprehensive plan, instead of developing it gradually as previously implemented.
He added that his ministry would find the best way to secure funds, including by allowing City Hall to issue municipal bonds or sukuk as practised in developed countries.
The minister had also reportedly said if all the landowners want cash instead of an apartment (in exchange for their land), this would probably be the worst-case scenario where the fund that is required will be between RM6 billion and RM10 billion.
NO RENAMING OF KG BARU
Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun said the name Kg Baru should be retained even if the government intends to rebuild the area which has historical value and uniqueness.
“With the area reaching over 100 years, the identity of Kg Baru should be maintained without rebranding it with another name. Do not lose the name of Kg Baru by renaming it Hill and so on. Keep the name even though there is development. Kg Baru has a lot of historical value. I do not want it to be like Kampung Kerinchi where it was ‘named’ Bangsar South,” she said at a recent Buka Puasa event.
Rina said a thorough investigation is being conducted to identify the actual number and status of each resident in Kg Baru.