KUALA LUMPUR – A group of frustrated Kg Sg Baru landowners has urged the remaining residents in their former neighbourhood to accept the deal offered to them by developer Ritzy Gloss Sdn Bhd.
The group stressed that 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 the temporary accommodation provided by the developer for up to five years.
Kg Sg Baru Property Owners Welfare Association chairman Zulfakar Wahid alleged that the current residents who were holding on to their land titles are being “selfish and greedy”.
“Those who are preventing our return home are not the developer, but those who are opposing the project,” he told a press conference this evening.
“Some of us have family members who have already died before we could move into our new homes.”
Located a stone’s throw away from 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 landowner’s association to develop the area through joint venture agreements.
The project was opposed by some locals who accused the association of not representing the interests of the majority.
However, Zulfakar claimed that residents who have signed the developer’s agreement far outnumber those who are up in arms over the development attempts, with only 37 units holding out, while 89% of residents have already inked agreements.
“Not only are the numbers on our side, but we also have laws backing us,” he said, referring to the government’s approval through the Land Acquisition Act 1960 (LAA), which allows land to be lawfully acquired.
Pleading for Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim to expedite the project, he lambasted Shahidan’s predecessor, Khalid Abdul Samad, as being selective in his defence of the people.
“None of us here have ever met him (Khalid). If he is serious about being a middleman, he should speak to both sides of the issue and not just give misleading statements based on those who reject the project,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ritzy Gloss director Abdul Hadi Ahmad insisted that the project aims to benefit the people, calling it a “good thing” and that it was done with “sincere” intentions.
“If residents get RM1, those whose land is acquired under the LAA will only get RM0.50. But we (Ritzy Gloss) are generous, we want the project to continue, so we gave them the original deal,” Hadi said.
Citing the company’s track record in developing the KL Gateway and Residensi Kerinchi projects in the Pantai Dalam area, he said the government takes into consideration the applicant’s capability of successfully executing a project when approving the use of the LAA. – The Vibes, June 14, 2022
Additional reporting by Lancelot Theseira
