The construction of a mass rapid transit station in the Kuala Lumpur city centre, which began on Thursday with the demolition of the old Klang bus station and two other buildings, has riled activists seeking to protect heritage buildings.

Petaling Street Community Art Project (PSCAP), an art activists' group, has issued an urgent call for a street protest outside the Klang bus station at noon on Sunday to save the buildings.

NONE The group hopes to see at least 1,000 people, who are urged to dress in black, at tomorrow's rally, said Committee to Preserve Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang (PJSJBB) chairperson Stanley Yong ( left ).

His group works closely with PSCAP to save Jalan Sultan, a road which has a collection of heritage buildings.

"It's important to save the Klang bus station, Plaza Warisan and the UDA-Ocean supermarket, for this will also stop the tunnelling work for the MRT project beneath Jalan Sultan," Yong said.

Both UDA-Ocean and Plaza Warisan are pre-war buildings that belonged to entrepreneurs Cheong Yoke Choy and Chua Cheng Bok respectively, but are now owned by the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

The Klang bus station was once an important transport hub, serving city commuters for some 40 years.

NONE A check in the city centre showed a few excavators have began demolition work at the old bus station.

Yong also appealed to the government to step in to save the heritage buildings.

"The contractor should not have embarked on the construction when there are still doubts over the safety of tunnelling for the MRT tracks below Jalan Sultan," he said.

'Negotiations with MRT Corp to stop'

"PJSJBB has also decided to stop negotiation with MRT Corp on the tunnelling project," Yong told a press conference yesterday.

He said the decision was arrived at after MRT Corp erected a giant billboard with misleading facts about a meeting between the building owners and the project contractor.

NONE Yong claimed that the board, erected in front of the UDA-Ocean complex, implied that the owners of properties on Jalan Sultan had accepted the six proposals made by MRT Corp.

The six proposals included one stating that the building owners would move out for a period of six months and accept compensation for their relocation.

Yong insisted that not one of the proposals from MRT Corp was agreed to by the owners during a meeting held last week when they were asked to attend a soil-test briefing.

NONE "These facts are misleading... it will be meaningless to continue to meet with MRT Corp," he said, and urged the government to review its decision to give the RM50 billion MRT project to the company.

He also complained that during the eight months of negotiations with MRT Crop, the company had consistently refused to listen to the property owners and the local community.

"The owners want a hearing to be held - a platform where the owners, shop operators and residents can speak their minds," he said.

The shop owners were also adamant about not moving out and not accepting any compensation, Yong added.