Kepong residents question City Hall methods in Taman Metropolitan land sale

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): The Kepong Citizen Network (KCN) has demanded that Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Federal Territories Ministry put a halt on the mixed development project in Taman Metropolitan, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur.

In a statement released yesterday, KCN demanded City Hall and the ministry justify the purpose of the conversion of part of Taman Metropolitan Kepong public recreational land to residential status.

“Putrajaya has set a target of 50,000 (affordable housing) units in Kuala Lumpur. However, the mixed development project has three components,” the statement said.

The three components were two blocks of 1,514 units of affordable housing, four blocks of 1,472 units of condominiums sold by a developer to the open market, and 35 units of commercial shop houses also sold by a developer to the open market.

“Can City Hall justify the conversion of public recreational land to affordable housing, since only a fraction of the said land is used for that purpose?” the statement said.

KCN said that the 88.56ha Taman Metropolitan Kepong recreational park was gazetted for public use on November 19, 2009, under section 64 of the National Land Code.

“By law, adjacent residents should be notified of its change in status to fulfill the requirement under Section 433 of the National Land Code.

“However, there were only two notices on the notice board at the City Hall office in the park and the land office’s notice board on Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin for the public to send in their objections between April 20 to April 30, 2015,” the statement said, adding that authorities had made no announcements in national newspapers.

Due to this, KCN said City Hall claimed it received no public objection, thus allowing the authorities to de-gazete 8.47ha of land on June 15 this year to make way for the mixed development project.

“Why did City Hall put up the two public notices at insignificant places? Was it done purposely to avoid being notified by residents?” the statement said.

KCN also demanded that City Hall and the ministry clarify a number of questions such as to who the current landowners were, and the price paid by the current landowner for the land.

“KCN urges the authorities to halt the high density development in Taman Metropolitan Kepong until all questions are answered. Otherwise, the project will be perceived as another land grab scenario whereby state-owned land is being sold at unknown prices to a developer,” the statement said.

The Malaysian Insider previously reported that residents of Taman Fortune in Kepong, had staged a protest at the Federal Territories Lands and Mines Office and Kuala Lumpur City Hall to get the authorities to stop the project.

They had claimed that the land was the only “green lung” in their neighbourhood and therefore, it should not be used for the highrise project.

Despite the objections from residents, Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz had said that the project would proceed as planned. – The Malaysian Insider

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