DAP Bukit Bintang parliamentarian Fong Kui Lun will table a emergency motion at  the next parliamentary  sitting to demand that the government explain its flip-flop over the land acquisition on Jalan Sultan.

jalan sultan land acqusition press conference 280811 group photo Fong ( third from right ) said he wants the government to explain the reasons it is acquiring the land in the Bukit Bintang constituency for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project, in the form of a white paper.

"The recent statements of the trio, (MCA president) Chua Soi Lik, Public Land Transportation Commission (SPAD) chairperson Syed Hamid Albar and Minister in Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala have been confusing," he said.

"Chua said the traders can keep their land, (while) Syed Hamid  said the land needs to be acquired," Fong told a press conference at Jalan Sultan, before he meeting some 20 local traders and owners over the matter.

Idris, meanwhile, said there is a need to acquire the land for development purposes.

Fong said traders in the area were confused with what the government actually wants and whether it will allow them to keep the buildings.

The motion, said Fong, would be tabled on Oct 3,when the new session of Parliament starts.

'We want our lands'

KVMRT is a government-initiated project under the 10th Malaysia Plan that envisions a new MRT being built, connecting Sungai Buloh with Kajang.

jalan sultan land acqusition press conference 280811 press conference Land within the city centre will be acquired for the building the stations and for alignment.

Fong reiterated the demands of the traders that they keep their shoplots and that only the land below their premises be acquired by the government.

The traders had also suggested the MRT alignment to be shifted away to the car park area at Jalan Panggung and Jalan Polis.

"We also have a counter-proposal (for th area of) Jalan Tan Cheng Lock. This is the best route to connect Bukit Bintang and Plaza Rakyat,"he said.

‘Angry ghosts’

Also present was Jalan Petaling and Jalan Sultan action committee chairperson Steven Yong.

"If the worst comes (and) I can't save my property, I will never excuse the government for the rest of my life," Yong said.

jalan sultan land acqusition press conference 280811 steven yong He said many other members of the Chinese community  shared his feelings about the impending demolition of their Jalan Sultan lots.

An angry Yong ( left ) also said the pioneer traders who had struggled to develop Jalan Sultan would "jump out of their graves" if they knew what would happen to their hard-fought work.

Following the meeting between both parties, which lasted an hour, both sides agreed to:

1. Enhance cooperation with non-government organisations to save the old buildings;

2. Table a motion in Parliament demanding an explanation on the proposed acquisition of land in the Bukit Bintang parliamentary constituency;

3. Get a million signatures from members of the public to save shoplots in Jalan Sultan; and

4. File a lawsuit as a last resort, should all else fail to keep the shoplots in Jalan Sultan.