Jalan Sultan landowners are unfazed by MRT Corporation’s (MRT Corp) acquisition of Jalan Inai for construction of light rail tunnels, insisting that the route be realigned.

Committee of Preserving Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang (CPJSJBB) chairperson Stanley Yong said there are still landowners struggling to hammer out an agreement with MRT Corp, while others have refused to negotiate and insist that the underground tunnels be diverted.

“As long as there are a few owners who object to it, I do not think MRT Corp can do anything unless they exercise the Acquisition Act to acquire our property,” he said when contacted yesterday.

NONE Yong ( far right in photo ), who is also the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) secretary-general, added the committee was indifferent to the Jalan Inai acquisition.

“As far as KLSCAH is concerned, (Jalan Inai) consists of properties of non-heritage value, unlike Jalan Sultan where all the shops are old and we want to maintain the old buildings,” he said, adding that Jalan Inai landowners agreed to the land acquisition at an earlier stage and had not sought KLSCAH’s help.

He claimed that there has not been any new developments in MRT Corp’s plans to acquire land for tunneling under Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan, and action is ongoing to oppose the proposed route.

KLSCAH is organising several activities, he said, to lobby other NGOs and “gather a big protest objecting to the MRT tunnel coming into Jalan Sultan”.

The current MRT route would affect over 30 shoplots once the area is closed for tunneling works, scheduled to begin in 2014 as part of the 51-km rail project.

Residents in the area are concerned that their plots of land would not be returned after the construction, or that vibrations from the tunneling works would damage their old buildings.

NONE Opposition to the construction works had resulted in an arts festival involving 500 people, and a banner campaign with over 20 banners placed in the area.

This is despite reassurances from MRT Corp the status quo of the land would remain, and that it would repair and compensate any losses resulting from their action.

The committee of landowners had previously proposed an alternative route, promising a smoother ride and integration with the existing Plaza Rakyat LRT station, but MRT Corp has insisted that the current alignment is “most optimal”.