KUALA LUMPUR – After being offered compensation for land acquisition by the Lands and Mines Department that they deem not commensurate, the residents of Kg Sg Baru’s terrace homes have refused to take the matter lying down.
Kg Sg Baru Terrace Homes and Flat Owners Action Committee’s lawyer Khairul Shahrizan Hamizi said the committee will be filing an objection to the Lands and Mines Department using the N form (“borang N”) as the residents are not satisfied with the measly recompense.
“The hearing before the land administrator ended last week from August 24 to 26 and compensation was also offered, but all the owners do not agree to it and consider the amount to be very low,” Khairul said yesterday.
“The next step is for the residents to file an objection via the N form with the land administrator.
“This case will then be referred to the high court to determine the appropriate amount of compensation to be given to the residents,” he told reporters.
Also present were the committee’s president Lily Suzana, PKR communications chief Fahmi Fadzil, and Federal Territories Pejuang leader Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan.
The residents, Khairul said, have 42 days to file the objection from the date of the hearing. “It’s not an appeal, but an objection to the offer they were given,” he stressed.
He expressed hope that the court will increase the compensation after looking into the aspect of assessment by the government and the Valuation and Property Services Department, as well as taking into account the private assessment made by the homeowners.
Meanwhile, Lily said the compensation value of RM500 per sq ft offered is scant, and a far cry from the private assessor’s valuation, which is between RM1,500 to RM2,000 per sq ft, not including the building.
Recalling an offer made by the government to landowners in 2019 via the Kampung Baru Development Corporation, which was at RM850 per sq ft, Lily said the land should be worth more, being a Malay agricultural settlement.
She pointed out that Kg Sg Baru is not accorded protection enjoyed by residents of the adjacent heritage village of Kg Baru.
Kg Baru has the status of “Malay Agriculture Settlement” and is subject to restricted interest (“sekatan kepentingan”), in contrast to Sg Baru which does not have this status.
“Sg Baru was originally taken from a plot of land under Yap Kwan Seng (a philanthropist who was the Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur from 1889 to 1902),” she said.
This means that the ownership of the land can be transferred to outsiders.
“How is it possible that the land, assessed by the Valuation and Property Services Department in 2019 and priced at RM850 per sq ft, drops to RM500 per sq ft in 2022?
“Isn’t the price of land in the middle of Kuala Lumpur skyrocketing instead of going down?” she asked.
In 2016, property developer Ritzy Gloss Sdn Bhd entered a memorandum of understanding with a Kg Sg Baru residents’ association (RA) to develop the area through joint venture agreements.
However, some locals claim that the RA in question – the Kg Sg Baru Property Owners Welfare Association – does not represent the interests of the majority of residents.
In June, the association’s chairman Zulfakar Wahid urged the remaining residents in the neighbourhood to accept the deal offered by Ritzy Gloss.
He alleged that the current residents who were holding on to their land titles are being “selfish and greedy”.
Additionally, Ritzy Gloss director Abdul Hadi Ahmad, in an interview with Federal Territories Ministry news organ Wilayahku, said the RA invited Ritzy Gloss due to its track record in developing Kg Kerinchi.
The proposed development consists of luxury condominiums, commercial units and apartment blocks. Units in the proposed apartment blocks were offered to owners in return for their land titles.
Ritzy Gloss also promised to cover the cost of relocation during construction, and in certain cases – depending on the size of land in question – owners were also offered lump sum compensation.
Despite protracted negotiations, the offer has failed to attract the owners of 37 terrace houses and 72 flat units some five years on.
Following this, Ritzy Gloss applied to acquire 37 terrace houses and the remaining flat units under the Land Acquisition Act, while 34 terrace houses were excluded from the move.
In total, there are 98 terrace houses and 264 flat units. – The Vibes, August 29, 2022
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