KUALA LUMPUR – The Kg Bharu Development Corporation (KBDC) warned that Putrajaya will have to bear steep compensation costs if development plans in the Kg Sg Baru area are cancelled.
The corporation pointed out that Putrajaya must pay millions in reimbursement to residents who have accepted the deal offered by developer Ritzy Gloss Sdn Bhd if the government decides to halt the land acquisition process.
“The government must be prepared to compensate agreeing landowners and the developer, if it refuses to proceed with the process based on the Land Acquisition Act 1960,” KBDC said in a statement today.
Defending the legality of the previous agreement, the corporation said that Ritzy Gloss would suffer huge losses if the government issued a cancellation order.
Besides a RM50 million deposit payment to the Land and Mines Department, the developer will also have to undertake the task of relocating residents currently living in provided temporary accommodation to their original homes in Kg Sg Baru.
KBDC added that the developer had spent RM30 million to provide temporary accommodation to residents who agreed with the project, until the completion of their replacement homes.
As the mediator between relevant stakeholders, the corporation claimed it has held numerous engagement sessions between Ritzy Gloss and residents who refused to transfer their land titles.
“As a result, the developer had on numerous occasions improved their offer to residents who turned down the (initial) agreement, but they (new offers) were rejected,” KBDC alleged.
The KBDC is an agency tasked with the responsibility over the development planning in the historic Malay enclave around Kg Baru, in line with the KBDC Act 2011, which mandates the “implementing of policies, directives and strategies for the development of Kg Baru”.
Situated near the iconic Saloma Link, Kg Sg Baru consists of seven blocks of low-cost flats and 98 terrace houses that sit on 5.23ha of leasehold, non-Malay Agricultural Settlement land.
In 2016, Ritzy Gloss entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Kg Sg Baru Landowners Welfare Association to develop the area through joint venture agreements.
However, some locals have objected to the project and accused the association of not representing the interests of the majority.
Yesterday, the association’s chairman Zulfakar Wahid urged the remaining residents in his former neighbourhood to accept the deal offered by Ritzy Gloss.
He said residents who refuse to partake in the arrangement are unnecessarily delaying the much-awaited “balik kampung” (homecoming) of landowners, some of whom have been living in temporary accommodations provided by the developer for up to five years. – The Vibes, June 15, 2022
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