When the Federal Court quashed the appeal to reinstate the Taman Rimba Kiara redevelopment project, the environment was the winner. Specifically the 4.86ha green lung.
And there was a clear loser: City Hall, specifically the Kuala Lumpur mayor, who the apex court censured for inexplicably applying the outdated Comprehensive Development Plan instead of the gazetted KL Structure Plan 2020.
Had it been allowed to proceed, the joint venture between Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan and developer Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd would have seen the construction of a 17-storey block of 204 affordable apartments for Bukit Kiara longhouse residents and 1,082 condominiums in four blocks of 41 to 45 storeys high. And this was a scaled down version of the original development proposal.
The seven-year legal saga to stop the project began when the Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents' Association filed a suit, which eventually got the backing of their member of parliament, Hannah Yeoh, who represents Segambut.
City Hall, under the ambit of the Umno-led federal government then, had come up with several controversial urban development and redevelopment projects, that were opposed by residents' associations. This brings to mind another project in which City Hall ignored residents' protests: the redevelopment of Pusat Bandar Damansara, previously a federal government complex turned into a sprawling high-rise commercial, residential and hotel development. T
he Federal Court's decision may have dampened City Hall's enthusiasm to approve however amount of land as possible for commercialisation, even if they destroy the environment or ignore their own building codes.
The legal victory for Taman Rimba Kiara should embolden residents seeking to protect other green lungs by resisting the rampage of over-urbanisation. The weapons of resistance, as exemplified by the plaintiffs, are simple: an adequate kitty to hire competent legal counsel, the willingness to slog for years and the help of a very conscientious and tenacious wakil rakyat.
The Federal Court's decision, besides rebuking City Hall for subverting its own rules to develop Taman Rimba Kiara, is a timely warning to the little Napoleons that they can't wield absolute power, particularly under the thumb of a powerful politician.