Pakatan Rakyat is mulling appeals to the Agong and Selangor sultan to intervene in its last-ditch effort to block the Kampung Baru Development Corporation Bill 2010, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said.

NONE "This matter needs to be given attention by the Agong and the Selangor sultan, to delay this Bill because it concerns Malay rights," Anwar told some 500 people at a briefing session on the Bill in Kampung Baru last night.

The move appears to be an attempt to take the fight against the plans for Kampung Baru, which many residents oppose, beyond Parliament, after Pakatan had failed to block the Bill from being tabled on Oct 5.

Under the Draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020, Kampung Baru has been earmarked as a commercial centre and the Bill seeks to create an authority to facilitate its development.

However, many residents are not happy with the plan, arguing that the settlement is their heritage and should be maintained.

Also present at last night's session were Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub and PKR vice-president Tian Chua.

Anwar took the government to task for describing Kampung Baru as a "slum", accusing it of failing to improve the quality of life of the local people there through proper development.

If you want to improve the infrastructure, by all means do it. There is a Little China and Little India, why do you want to take away Little Malay (and replace it with condominiums)?" he asked.

The Opposition Leader also called on the Selangor government to assist the residents of Kampung Baru, which was formerly a territory of the Selangor, and said he expected state officials to offer assistance to the residents by this week.

Selangor to provide professional help

Echoing this, Khalid told a press conference after the briefing that a committee is being set up to give the Kampung Baru residents a voice in the development.

NONE "I have agreed to set up the committee, which will include the Menteri Besar's Office, and we will recruit expertise from the Selangor Development Corporation and Selangor State Capital Bhd, which can assist with funds.

"The committee will also comprise other professionals to provide assistance in legal, town planning and project analysis matters."

This, Khalid said, is essential to keep the locals in Kampung Baru informed and better prepared to face the development authority when it is formed.

The Selangor government will also provide legal assistance on how the new development law for Kampung Baru can be checked under the existing Malay Agriculture Settlement (MAS) Enactment.

When the BN government updated the Kampung Baru Development Corporation Bill, Khalid said, it removed a provision that would make the MAS Enactment ineffective on the Kampung Baru development, perhaps due to pressure.

"As I understand, the Kampung Baru Development Corporation Bill must be read together with the MAS Enactment," he said, adding that the Kampung Baru Malay Agriculture Administrative Board, which is currently in charge of the village, was created under the MAS Enactment.

NONE Batu MP Tian Chua deflected criticism against Pakatan that the Bill, tabled with the support of 72 MPs and 28 against, could not be rejected because Pakatan did not have full attendance of its 75 MPs.

"Other than Supply Bills or the Budget, there is no way for the minority to reject the (Kampung Baru) Bill because, according to parliamentary rules, if the government does not have enough numbers, it can re-table a Bill for voting the next day.

"So, the issue of a minority being able to defeat a Bill does not exist in a parliamentary democracy, unless the component parties in BN break ranks and vote with the opposition," he said.

The BN has 137 MPs and there are also seven Independents and three from minority parties.

Kampung Baru was gazetted by the British in 1900 as Malay agricultural land to allow the Malays retain their traditional identity in Kuala Lumpur, which was then seeing rapid development.

PAS, led by the late Titiwanga MP Dr Lo' Lo' Ghazali, spearheaded the campaign against the first Bill on the development of Kampung Baru and called for its terms to be renegotiated with the Kampung Baru residents and landowners.

Bowing to pressure, this Bill was withdrawn last week and replaced with a new one, with representation by Kampung Baru landowners in the development boards proposed to be increased from two seats to five.

However, opponents argue that the spirit of the new Bill still does not preserve the heritage of Kampung Baru.

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