Expedite Taman Rimba Kiara probe, residents urge MACC
The MACC has been urged to expedite its investigation into possible abuse of power and conflict of interest in the proposed development of the Taman Rimba Kiara public park.
Four reports have been lodged with the commission on the development, Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents Association (TTDI RA) spokesperson Khairudin Rahim said today.
“(But) there have been no updates yet from the MACC...
The MACC has been urged to expedite its investigation into possible abuse of power and conflict of interest in the proposed development of the Taman Rimba Kiara public park.
Four reports have been lodged with the commission on the development, Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents Association (TTDI RA) spokesperson Khairudin Rahim said today.
“(But) there have been no updates yet from the MACC.
“TTDI RA wishes to publicly request the MACC to provide updates to the public on the status of its investigation into the Taman Rimba Kiara development.
“(And to) take all efforts to expedite the investigation,” he said at a press conference on behalf of TTDI RA, which has long opposed the development.
TTDI RA and then-Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng lodged reports against the project in 2017. Current MP Hannah Yeoh made two further reports this year.
According to Save Taman Rimba Kiara (STRK) working committee member Leon Koay, there is a conflict of interest in how the public park was approved for development.
Last year, former Federal Territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and former KL mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz approved a development order for the project.
At the time, both Tengku Adnan and Amin also sat on the Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP) board, which has a stake in the project.
“To our understanding, there are ample provisions in the MACC Act 2009 that could apply to the circumstances of the Taman Rimba Kiara development,” Koay said.
Section 23 of the act, he pointed out, allows public officers who use their office or position for gratification to be prosecuted.
We will not compromise
TTDI RA is set to meet Yeoh, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad, KL mayor Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan, and other RAs as part of the first-ever joint working committee to review the project.
Representatives from Malton Bhd will also attend the meeting. Malton holds a 51 percent stake in Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd, the developer for the project.
When asked if residents would agree to have a smaller section of the park developed, TTDI RA chairperson Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar vehemently opposed the idea.
“The premise is very simple: it is a public park and you don’t build anything on a public park,” he insisted.
In 2013, Taman Rimba Kiara was rezoned from a public park to an area for mixed development and given to YWP.
YWP entered into a joint venture with Memang Perkasa the following year to build 350 units of affordable apartments and eight 50-storey luxury service apartments blocks on 4.85ha of the 10-acre park.
The gross development value is estimated to be at least RM3 billion.
Khalid previously admitted that the agreement signed between YWP and Malton was legally binding, and the project could not be cancelled without the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) forking out RM155 million in compensation.
However, Khalid also said that the proposed development would be axed if MACC could prove that there were elements of corruption.
