KUALA LUMPUR: Residents at a housing estate here are claiming that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has acted in bad faith by approving the construction of a show house unit on a disputed site which is the subject of an impending court hearing.
The residents of Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) claim that the controversial show house construction was approved by DBKL on Nov 6, despite an impending hearing at the High Court on Dec 13.
They also claim that just three days before the approval for the show house was given, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor agreed to meet with them on the issue in a Bicara Rakyat dialogue.
TTDI residents association chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar told the New Straits Times that residents are angry and disappointed that this was allowed to happen.
“It seems that the hue and cry of the rakyat is being totally ignored by the authorities. It has come to this, that the rakyat have to resort to going to court to have this matter, which is very important to us, be heard by the authorities,” he said.
High Court Judge Datuk Wira Kamaluddin heard the applications to intervene, submitted by land-owners Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan; JV property developer Memang Perkasa; and the Sunderam longhouse residents association.
He then proceeded to fix Dec 13 as the stay application hearing date.
The judge, however, decided against any interim stay order, with the view that the date for the stay application is not far away.
According to TTDI residents, there has yet to be any response from Tengku Adnan regarding his announcement to meet them on the issue.
The law suit was filed by the TTDI residents association against DBKL for opposing the construction of eight blocks of 42 and 52-storey, high-end service apartments and a 29-storey affordable housing block, which would provide 350 units of affordable housing for former TTDI longhouse residents.
It was reported that the longhouse residents had been promised affordable housing units to replace their cramped quarters since 1982. However, they have refused to move and had rejected offers of flats and public housing.
A six-lane highway and a flyover are also planned for the site to cater to the increase in population density in the area.