Fed Court to decide April 18 on judicial review sought by TTDI residents over Taman Rimba Kiara project

• The upcoming Federal Court decision will once and for all decide whether the land should be developed or not.
• The development order was issued by DBKL in 2017 for the construction of eight blocks of luxury service apartments, comprising 52 storeys each, one block of affordable housing, together with an eight-storey podium car park.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): The Federal Court will deliver its decision next Tuesday (April 18) on an appeal brought by a developer and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) against the judicial review application filed by Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) residents over the development order granted for a multi-storey housing project on a plot of land in the Taman Rimba Kiara recreational park.

The residents' judicial review application was filed in 2017, and the High Court on Nov 28, 2018 rejected their bid for a certiorari order to quash the development order and conditional planning permission issued by DBKL for the luxury service apartment project. That decision was then overturned by the Court of Appeal (COA) on Jan 27, 2021.

Subsequently, DBKL, together with the developer Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd and Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP, who owns the land), appealed against the COA's decision to reinstate the development order for the project.

The upcoming Federal Court decision will once and for all decide whether the land should be developed or not.

The development order was issued by DBKL in 2017 for the construction of eight blocks of luxury service apartments, comprising 52 storeys each, one block of affordable housing, together with an eight-storey podium car park.

TTDI's resident associations had objected to the development, claiming it would significantly increase the density of TTDI and irreversibly degrade Taman Rimba Kiara as a green lung.

To develop the land, YWP entered into a joint venture (JV) with Memang Perkasa, under which YWP granted Memang Perkasa the rights to develop the plot in return for RM160 million, to be paid in stages. The YWP-Memang Perkasa JV then secured approval from DBKL for the project, which was first proposed during Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s tenure as federal territories minister in 2016.

The COA, in delivering its decision, had observed that there was a conflict of interest in the case as both the minister and the mayor both sat on YWP's board, which meant the applicant and approving body were the same.

The Federal Court will deliberate on four legal issues, namely: the locus standi or legal standing of the TTDI residents who filed the legal action, whether there is a conflict of interest as mentioned, the legal impact of the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan on the development, and whether the government has a duty to explain its planning decision to those who object to it.

The decision will be delivered by a three-person bench led by Federal Court judge Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, with the other two members being judges Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.

The residents are represented by Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar, while B Thangaraj appeared for DBKL. Memang Perkasa was represented by the late Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, who passed away in January this year, while Tan Sri Cecil Abraham is representing YWP.