KUALA LUMPUR – The Federal Territories minister and Kuala Lumpur mayor should not be chairman and member, respectively, of the FT Foundation (YWP) board of trustees so as to avoid conflict of interest in land sales, said a non-governmental organisation.
Save KL (SKL) chairman Datuk M. Ali said the group has called on successive governments to review the roles of the ministry and KL City Hall (DBKL) in this matter, but its appeals have fallen on deaf ears.
His remarks come as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday revealed that 97 transactions of DKBL-owned land were done without the standard operating procedures being observed since 2011.
“All transactions must be reviewed by independent groups comprising DBKL officers, along with representatives from NGOs, stakeholders, concerned community representatives, et cetera,” he told The Vibes.
He said it would only be “appropriate” for PAC, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and auditor-general, among others, to be involved in scrutinising land deals to ensure they are above board and transparent.
“The Integrity Department should review the transactions so that the KL community would not doubt the integrity of DBKL.
“Let DBKL be transparent, open and accountable to achieve its objective of making ‘Kuala Lumpur a City for All’.”
In a statement yesterday, PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh revealed that YWP is not monitored by any authority, including the National Audit Department, despite being registered under the Companies Act 1965.
The committee also noted that the approved KL City Plan 2020 (KLCP 2020) draft did not match the plan tabled to the public in 2008, and has yet to receive feedback from all stakeholders in the city.
Ali said Save KL, in July 2018, urged then FT minister Khalid Abdul Samad not to gazette KLCP 2020.
“We requested that the draft KLCP 2020 be displayed for public viewing and feedback since it was not the correct document presented to the then FT minister.
“This request was denied, but we were assured that KLCP 2020, which was going to be presented to the FT minister for gazetting, would be shown to a group of concerned stakeholders who had been following right through for viewing and comments.”
However, he said, this, too, was not honoured.
He said the matter is pending at the high court for a judicial review, as some Kuala Lumpur residents have taken up the dispute.
He noted that KLCP 2020 was gazetted with more than 400 addendums at the time of gazetting.
“Subsequently, another round of amendments is under way, with some public hearings deferred due to the present (movement curbs).”
He said SKL believes there could be another 300 amendments to the plan.
“We at SKL have repeatedly informed the authorities that the draft KLCP 2020 is full of flaws, hence, should not be used as the basis even for future plans.” – The Vibes, November 19, 2020
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