Opposition party PRM has submitted a memorandum objecting to the Petaling Jaya 1 Local Plan Draft to the Selangor menteri besar, voicing concern that thousands of residents may be threatened by forced land acquisition.

The memorandum dated April 18, a copy of which was sent to the PJ Town Council (MPPJ), claimed that the plan was illegal and anti-people as it was not in line with the PJ and Klang District Structure Plan gazetted on Feb 15, 1996.

Designed more for the development of Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang, the 1996 structure plan clearly prohibits redevelopment for most parts of PJ, as opposed to the current proposal by MPPJ.

PRM president Syed Husin Ali said the partys legal advisers are looking into the plan which allegedly contravened the National Land Code and Federal Constitution.

The Petaling District Office appears to be attempting to acquire land by other means, said Syed Husin in the four-page memorandum..

The people were promised during the last election that their land lease would be extended. But now some of them have been asked to hand over their lease, pay between RM100,000 and RM150,000, or the lease will lapse, he added.

Over the last few weeks, MPPJ has been holding numerous briefings seeking public feedback on its PJ1 Local Plan Draft which is a proposal for development and redevelopment in the Bukit Gasing and Damansara Utama constituencies.

Once the draft plan is adopted and PJ gazetted as a development action area, the MPPJ is empowered by law to acquire, by purchase or by compulsory acquisition land to develop.

A number of residents have been receiving unsolicited letters from the Land Office since 1999, asking them to surrender their lease at a time when many have at least 30 to 60 years more before expiry.

Profit for a handful

They have to pay a hefty premium ranging from RM100,000 to RM150,000 within three months of the notice if they want to retain the lease, and some have unfortunately settled the premium at a discounted rate believing that their land is safe.

About 100,000 people out of the almost half a million population in PJ are expected to be affected by the controversial plan which spans 13 years from 1997 to 2010.

Meanwhile, Syed Husin said the party was not against development provided that it was clearly for the interests and welfare of the people at large and not for the profit of a handful as it can breed corruption.

With so many projects to build houses and commercial centres, roads and overhead bridges, and plant trees, the plan will provide wide opportunities for a small number of people, especially contractors in connivance with politicians and serving or retired senior town council officials, to make money, he said.

Syed Husin said the redevelopment projects do not guarantee better quality of life as social crimes like murder, robbery, rape and gambling are on the rise.

As a result of poor planning, he added, the problems pertaining to water supply, flash floods, drainage and sewerage, traffic jams and parking, garbage collection, pollution and environmental destruction have become worse.