Putrajaya orders temporary closure of KL Tower, says past concessionaire's stay 'unlawful'

• In a statement, the ministry also said that the building will be temporarily closed starting Thursday “in the interest of visitor safety and comfort, and to provide space for the new management to carry out maintenance and improvement works”.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): The Kuala Lumpur Tower debacle involving its past and present concessionaires has taken another turn, as the Ministry of Communications deemed Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd’s (MKLSB) occupation of the premises after March 31 as “unlawful”.

In a statement, the ministry also said that the building will be temporarily closed starting Thursday “in the interest of visitor safety and comfort, and to provide space for the new management to carry out maintenance and improvement works”.

The ministry stressed that the KL Tower belongs to the government. It did not state the tower’s reopening date, which would be announced later.

“Beginning April 1, operations, management and maintenance of KL Tower has been taken over by LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd,” it said, referring to the tower’s new concessionaire, a unit of Lim Seong Hai Capital Bhd (KL:LSH).

"The occupation of the Kuala Lumpur Tower site by MKLSB after March 31, 2025 is unlawful.

"The Federal Land Commissioner has issued two eviction notices to MKLSB via letters dated April 3 and 9, 2025. Therefore, any operations and transactions still being carried out by MKLSB to date are without the government's authorisation," it said.

LSH and MKLSB’s parent Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd have been at loggerheads over the KL Tower concession.

After LSH said in March that it had signed a 20-year concession agreement with the government, the group was brought to court by Hydroshoppe, seeking RM1 billion in damages.

In the process, Hydroshoppe, which bought MKLSB from Telekom Malaysia Bhd (KL:TM) in October 2022, failed to get an interim injunction to halt the concession award, but it has continued to operate the premises, with the latest event being the KL Tower Hari Raya open house on April 13, which was attended by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was there to open a 28-year-old time capsule.

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