‘CABINET PAPERS READY IN A MONTH’
A-G will be given a copy, says Khalid
FEDERAL Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad has accused the Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents’ Association (TTDI RA) as being a “pushy” bunch who behaved as if they owned Taman Rimba Kiara Park.
He also expressed disappointment with his cabinet colleague Hannah Yeoh over the issue.
Khalid said Yeoh, who is Segambut member of parliament, should have talked to him before going to the media.
Yeoh, along with Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) executive director Cynthia Gabriel, human rights advocate Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and
TTDI members had on Wednesday criticised Khalid for not acting in the best interest of residents to stop the project.
Khalid said he was disappointed as they had not met him even once before hitting out at him.
“To Ambiga and Cynthia, this is my comment... I don’t know how many times you have gone to meet the residents but you have not met me for even one minute.
“I respect you both so I am not going to embarrass you by pointing out which part of your ‘facts’ are wrong,” he said.
Khalid said the TTDI residents’ association should know where to draw the line before making all kinds of demands.
“You don’t own the park and there is already another park just 1km away which is the Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara.”
In an immediate response, TTDI residents’ association chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar said residents had every right to voice out against overdevelopment.
“We also have every right to highlight the need for good governance in Kuala Lumpur, especially after years of abuse under the previous administration.”
The development plan at the park became a contentious issue after it was revealed that the project comprised eight blocks of high-end serviced apartments and one block of affordable housing for Bukit Kiara longhouse residents.
However, following an outcry, the project was scaled down to a 17-storey block of 204 affordable housing units for the Bukit Kiara longhouse folk, and four blocks of 41-storey to 45-storey condominiums, comprising 1,082 units in total.
Khalid said papers for the revised proposal were expected to be completed within a month before being presented to the cabinet.
He said it would then be up to the cabinet to decide if the project should go on.
According to him, the government would have to pay more than RM100 million in compensation to the developer if the project was cancelled.
“Certain quarters have said that the A-G should be consulted and I would like to clarify that he will have a say on this as he too will be given a copy of this paper.”
Elaborating on the revised plans, he said half of the planned condominium project would be built on a parking space at the park while the other half would be built on the longhouse land.
“Half of the six-acre land for the luxury condominium involves a car park. The other half of the condominium will be built on the site of the longhouse and it stops at the entrance of Taman Rimba Kiara.
“Once the condominium is built, the developer will do landscaping work to make it better.
“We are just replacing a car park, so what is the issue now?” he asked.