KUALA LUMPUR – As the battle for Titiwangsa heats up, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Seri Johari Ghani has taken a swipe at his opponent, Khalid Samad of Pakatan Harapan (PH), accusing the latter of neglecting a wide range of problems faced by constituents due to his purported obsession with land issues in Kg Sg Baru.
In an interview with The Vibes, Johari explained that the Titiwangsa seat is not limited to Kg Baru as it also includes, among others, Kg Pandan, Kg Datuk Keramat, Taman Maluri, and parts of Setapak – all of which have separate predicaments that need to be dealt with.
“If you look at Khalid, it’s all about Kg Baru because it’s the best subject to twist and turn,” Johari said, accusing the former federal territories minister of confusing the public on the situation in Kg Baru.
In Kg Sg Baru, a neighbourhood within historic Kg Baru, some residents are facing eviction under the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to make way for a mammoth mixed-development project. The use of the act came about after five years of negotiations between residents and the developer failed, with a handful of owners refusing to give up their land.
Khalid, who was federal territories minister under the PH government, has been outspoken on the matter, promising to reverse the land acquisition were PH to conquer Putrajaya, something that Johari calls “nonsense”.
To debate or not to debate
Last week, NGO Arus Anak Muda organised a debate between the two candidates titled Debat Wilayah, scheduled for November 13. However, a video later surfaced on social media showing Johari declining to participate, saying “if you want to debate, you debate in Parliament”.
Johari explained that he did so as the organisers announced the event before sending him an invite, which he described as “the wrong way to do it”.
The Vibes can confirm that Arus Anak Muda had publicised the event through an Instagram post before Johari had received an official invitation.
In a separate interview with The Vibes, Khalid attributed his opponent’s reluctance to the fact that Johari was “afraid to lose as he’s never been able to face anybody on a level playing field”.
Johari rubbished this claim, saying that he did not want to argue with Khalid because “he has no substance and he will start talking rubbish”. He cited an example of the valuation of land acquired in Kg Sg Baru.
Claiming that Khalid had conflated the valuation of low-cost flat units and terrace houses, Johari said the two were completely different as with the four-storey flats, the assessment would have to consider the cost of demolishing the entire block and not just individual units.
“What he tries to do is argue about the Land Acquisition Act... (not comparing) apples with apples because he doesn’t understand,” Johari said.
More than just Kg Baru
Meanwhile, Johari asserted that his opponent, a three-term Shah Alam MP, did not understand Titiwangsa’s local issues.
Having held the seat from 2013 till his defeat in 2018 at the hands of Datuk Seri Rina Harun, Johari says that he has identified four primary issues that require immediate attention, with Kg Sg Baru being just one of them.
One such issue is the delayed redevelopment of the Chow Kit and Kg Datuk Keramat markets, where projects initiated years ago have yet to reach completion.
In Chow Kit, Johari says the appointment of inexperienced contractors had stalled the project.
In contrast to greenfield development, where everything is built from scratch, he said redevelopment requires contractors with the expertise and not just “any Tom, Dick, and Harry”.
As for the Kg Datuk Keramat market, he believes that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) decision to sell the land to a private developer has caused major troubles for tenants.
Providing the example of a recent fire at the market, he said that when the stall owners approached DBKL to help with repairs, they were told that the area was no longer under its jurisdiction. This situation, he says, has been going on for six years.
As for a solution, Johari proposed that DBKL must do more to assert itself with the developer.
“I’m telling DBKL, if the developer is ‘cap ayam’ (incompetent), return the money and take back the land, let them sue you! If they sue you, you’ll definitely win because it’s already been six or seven years (and the project isn’t complete).”
On November 19, Johari and Khalid will go up against Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan of Pejuang and Perikatan Nasional’s Dr Rosni Adam for the support of Titiwangsa’s 80,747 registered voters. – The Vibes, November 18, 2022.
