KAMPUNG Sungai Baru has never been gazetted as part of the Malay Agricultural Settlement (MAS) or designated as Malay Reserve Land, based on official land office records, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa clarified in Parliament today.
Responding to public confusion regarding the land status of the settlement, Dr Zaliha said checks with the Federal Territories Land and Mines Office confirmed that Kampung Sungai Baru lies outside the 219.91-acre MAS boundary in Kampong Bharu.
“Kampung Sungai Baru emerged in 1967 after the Selangor government undertook river straightening works along Sungai Klang to address flooding,” she said.
“This created approximately 16 acres of new land. That land came to be known as Kampung Sungai Baru, but it was never part of the MAS area.”
Dr Zaliha explained that the land was later developed by the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) to expand Malay settlements in the vicinity, but no official record identifies the area as part of the MAS.
Addressing suggestions that Kampung Sungai Baru should now be gazetted as MAS or Malay Reserve Land, she stressed that any such move would require unanimous agreement from all titleholders, including developers.
“The entire Kampung Sungai Baru land is now under private ownership — including developers and individual unit owners. The government cannot initiate a gazettement process unless it is proposed and agreed to by the landowners,” she said.
Dr Zaliha also rebutted claims that the government was involved in selecting the developer for the area’s controversial redevelopment project.
“The residents themselves, who agreed to the redevelopment, formed the Kampung Sungai Baru Property Owners’ Welfare Association in 2010. This association, which represented 328 units — 264 flats and 64 terrace houses — signed a memorandum of understanding with Ritzy Gloss Sdn Bhd,” she said.
The project was later taken over by Suez Capital Sdn Bhd in 2016.
Responding to allegations that the developer is Singaporean, Dr Zaliha dismissed the claims as unfounded, confirming that Suez Capital is fully Malaysian-owned, as verified by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).
She added that the association has, over the past 15 years, been chaired exclusively by terrace house owners in the neighbourhood.
Tensions in Kampung Sungai Baru have escalated in recent months, particularly following eviction proceedings linked to the redevelopment project. On 11 September, a standoff was reported after several residents refused to vacate their homes.
The redevelopment involves 67 terrace houses and 14 apartment blocks under the name Pangsapuri Sungai Baru, with land acquisition first initiated in 2016. - October 9, 2025
