KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — Klang Valley landowners affected by the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) today expressed disappointment with MRT Corp for putting up boards inviting feedback on the project in Jalan Sultan which, they said, were set up “at a very bad time”.
Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) secretary-general Steven Yong said MRT Corp’s move just before the Chinese New Year holidays was “humiliating” and “insufficient for the public to air their views”.
“We are very disappointed with the MRT display, which was put up before Chinese New Year. During the holidays, there are not many people around,” he told The Malaysian Insider today.
“At the same time, the board is small. Many people want to write their opinions, but there is no space,” he said, adding 90 per cent of messages left on the boards were against the tunnelling along Jalan Sultan.
Yong stressed the urgency of the matter by reiterating the warning by the director-general of the Department of Land and Mines that the authorities would forcibly acquire their lots if both parties could not arrive at a “mutual agreement” by month’s end.
“This is ridiculous as it is over the Chinese New Year period, there is not enough time to (arrive at a mutual understanding),” Yong said, adding that several issues had to be considered.
“We’re looking at compensation, the period of evacuation and permanent losses for these landowners. It is very difficult to compute. We need time to account for these,” he added.
Yong said he had already sent a letter to the authorities requesting more time, “but have not heard from them yet”.
Judy Tan, whose family runs a hotel in the area, accused MRT Corp of false sincerity.
“They want to impress the public. They want to show they listen, but the fact that they put it up days before Chinese New Year (when people are away) on purpose shows they are not sincere,” she said.
The Malaysian Insider reported last month that landowners in Imbi have agreed to surrender a portion of their underground land rights to MRT Corp for tunnelling work.
The agreement appears to be a coup for MRT Corp chief executive Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid, who is under pressure to resolve ongoing land acquisition issues which he has warned may delay the completion of the MRT by up to six months.
The dispute began soon after landowners in Chinatown, Imbi and Bukit Bintang were informed in mid-2011 that the government would acquire all lots lying above the MRT tunnel as owners’ rights extend to the centre of the earth under the law.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chief executive Mohd Nur Kamal said landowners could then apply for stratum titles but added there was no guarantee Putrajaya would re-alienate the surface land back to them.
Critics have questioned the need for compulsory acquisition of both surface and underground land as the National Land Code 1965 was amended in 1990 to allow underground land to be acquired without affecting surface rights.
Unhappy landowners have mounted a high-profile campaign marked by numerous protests, signature drives and accusations that Putrajaya was conducting a “land grab” in order to defray project costs.
The RM40 billion MRT, meant to ease traffic congestion in the Klang Valley, is Malaysia’s most expensive infrastructure project to date.
Construction of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line of the MRT will begin in the second or third quarter of next year and is scheduled to be completed by end-2016, with services commencing in January 2017.
The SBK line will cover a distance of 51km, of which 9.5km — including seven of the 31 stations — will be underground.
