There seems to be no end to the tiff between the landowners and MRT Corporation, as this time the company has been accused of issuing false statements that the ongoing land dispute has been settled.

mrt land acquisition forum 070911 yong yew wei In a statement today, Committee for the Preservation of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang chairperson Yong Yew Wei ( right ) denied reports that they have “signed a simple memorandum to work out the terms for a mutual agreement”.

MRT Corp’s chief executive officer Azhar Abdul Hamid had reportedly said that the dispute with the landowners on Jalan Inai and Jalan Sultan has been officially resolved, except for disagreements from a “minority group” who have refused to budge from their realignment stand.

“The committee condemns Azhar for making the false and misleading statement to media as only a small number of landowners have agreed over the land acquisition but not the majority. The minority landowners’ views could not reflect the majority’s stand,” responded Yong.

“As a group of landowners who are affected by the acquisition, we are pleading to the government to hear our voice and re-route the MRT track alignment away from Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang,” he appealed.

Yong insisted that the committee is united in their stand to push for an realignment of the MRT’s Sungai Buloh-Kajang line.

 

“The land acquisition issue has been dragging on for more than two months; MRT Corp has earlier said there not were no plans to acquire land, but made no promises that the land will be given back to the land owner upon completion of the MRT. We are seeking an explanation from the company on this matter,” said Yong.

He also urged MRT Corp to conduct a public hearing to discuss the construction of the rail line in detail with the affected parties.

“For the sake of transparency and respecting the citizens’ right to information, MRT Corp should disclose the social impact assessment report and technical feasibility studies report to the public,” said Yong.