KUALA LUMPUR – The ongoing Kg Sg Baru land acquisition may face yet another stumbling block following the filing of a police report against embattled Kg Bharu Development Corporation (KBDC) chairman Datuk Affendi Zahari.
The report was lodged at 10am today at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters by a representative from the Kg Sg Baru Flat and Terrace House Owners’ Action Committee.
The report claims that Affendi, who is also Titiwangsa Umno deputy chief, was declared bankrupt by the Shah Alam High Court on October 11, 2021.
This follows an earlier report by The Vibes that reproduced a copy of an Insolvency Department search result stating that an “Affendi bin Zahari” was insolvent.
The MyKad numbers listed in both the police report and Insolvency Department statement match.
Besides claims against Affendi, the report also named three individuals who allegedly made misleading statements.
The individuals are Ritzy Gloss Sdn Bhd director Abdul Hadi Ahmad, Kg Sg Baru Landowners’ Welfare Association chairman Zulfakar Wahid, and a reporter from the Federal Territories Ministry mouthpiece Wilayahku.
Accompanying the residents today was Federal Territories Pejuang chief Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan.
Speaking to reporters outside the Dang Wangi police station today, he claimed that the land acquisition process was a violation of existing laws, namely the Land Acquisition Act (LAA) 1960.
“How can privately owned land be taken using the LAA for the purposes of commercial development?”
He also repeated calls for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to stay true to his word from 2019, where the then-opposition leader said the government acquiring Kg Baru land for commercial purposes was against the law.
The Kg Sg Baru acquisition began in 2021 after five years of failed negotiations between developer Ritzy Gloss and more than 100 residents, who believed they would be short-changed by the deal offered to them in return for their land.
Following this, Ritzy Gloss applied to acquire the remaining land under the LAA, which the government later approved.
Besides sending residents into an uproar, it was also revealed by The Vibes that compensation awarded to residents was, in some cases, 310% lower than that recommended by a private valuation. – The Vibes, June 23, 2022
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