Government-linked companies (GLCs) can take the lead role in developing Kampung Baru here rather than opening it up to non-Malays, said former Kuala Lumpur mayor Elyas Omar.  

He said the government should place its trust in GLCs to do this so as to protect the interests of Kampung Baru landowners.

The proposal to use a 60:40 ratio (Malays/Non-Malays) to develop the Malay settlement in the city was not necessarily the best solution, he told Bernama in Kuala Lumpur today.

He stressed that he was not rejecting the involvement of non-Malays in the re-development of Kampung Baru, only that development of the settlement should be planned and implemented carefully.

Elyas was mayor of Kuala Lumpur from 1981 to 1992.

Yesterday, Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin had said that re-development of the area would not be opened to non-Malays without the consent of the landowners there.

- Bernama