MRT row: Tee Keat moots town hall meeting
Published: Sep 2, 2011 11:46 AM | Updated: Sep 3, 2011 10:54 AM
Former transport minister Ong Tee Keat has suggested that the federal government organise a town hall meeting to deliberate over the acquisition of buildings along Jalan Sultan for the MY Rapid Transit (MRT) project.
Former transport minister Ong Tee Keat has suggested that the federal government organise a town hall meeting to deliberate over the acquisition of buildings along Jalan Sultan for the MY Rapid Transit (MRT) project.
Ong (right) said that such meetings were conducted during his tenure as transport minister when there was a proposal to extend the LRT line to Subang.
“All views expressed verbally or in written form as well as those via the new media must be properly recorded and displayed for public scrutiny.
“This should be done over and above what is being done under the provision for public displays under the Railways Act,” said Ong in a statement posted on his blog today.
Ong also proposed for the establishment of a committee of experts to look into alternative solutions to the problem, such as possible re-routing of the MRT line.
He also suggested that the relevant authorities must address every concern raised by the public three months after the meeting in an open and transparent manner.
“Any ambiguity and hesitation in addressing such concerns would readily be construed as reducing the town hall-like dialogue engagement with the stakeholders to a mere political ploy,” he said.
Nibbling at Chinatown
Owners of affected properties along Jalan Sultan are crying foul after they found out that their properties are being acquired to make way for the MRT project.
They claim that they were not consulted prior to being served with an acquisition notice and argued that the buildings have heritage value.
Along with Jalan Tun HS Lee and Jalan Petaling, the Jalan Sultan area constitutes what is popularly known as Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, which is a popular tourist destination.
Currently, the affected property owners are planning to seek a judicial review to stop the acquisition.
Meanwhile, Ong also alludes that there is wide scepticism over the authorities’ purpose of acquiring the buildings, given that government-owned UDA had acquired several buildings in the 1970s and used them for commercial purposes.
He said that currently, there is a nagging perception that the latest attempt at acquisitions was a ploy designed to “nibble at Chinatown”.
Swipe at successor
Ong also took a swipe at MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, who had claimed that the acquisition would be called off, only to be embarrassingly refuted the next day by the Land Transport Commission (Spad).
Ong, who was Chua’s (right) predecessor, said that the tripartite dialogue between the latter, Spad and property owners had led to various ambiguous claims.
“The affected community is now expecting a clear-cut answer as to whether their property ownership rights would in any way be jeopardised, in view of the conflicting and confusing statements issued by both Chua and Spad chairperson Syed Hamid Albar,” said Ong.
Chua had famously announced after the Aug 23 meeting that residents only have to vacate their buildings for six months for tunneling works.
“The shops along Jalan Sultan will remain. They will keep their ‘Chinese identity’... the MRT will continue to be developed, while Chinatown stays,” he explained further.
Ong (right) said that such meetings were conducted during his tenure as transport minister when there was a proposal to extend the LRT line to Subang. “All views expressed verbally or in written form as well as those via the new media must be properly recorded and displayed for public scrutiny.
“This should be done over and above what is being done under the provision for public displays under the Railways Act,” said Ong in a statement posted on his blog today.
Ong also proposed for the establishment of a committee of experts to look into alternative solutions to the problem, such as possible re-routing of the MRT line.
He also suggested that the relevant authorities must address every concern raised by the public three months after the meeting in an open and transparent manner.
“Any ambiguity and hesitation in addressing such concerns would readily be construed as reducing the town hall-like dialogue engagement with the stakeholders to a mere political ploy,” he said.
Nibbling at Chinatown
Owners of affected properties along Jalan Sultan are crying foul after they found out that their properties are being acquired to make way for the MRT project.
They claim that they were not consulted prior to being served with an acquisition notice and argued that the buildings have heritage value. Along with Jalan Tun HS Lee and Jalan Petaling, the Jalan Sultan area constitutes what is popularly known as Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, which is a popular tourist destination.
Currently, the affected property owners are planning to seek a judicial review to stop the acquisition.
Meanwhile, Ong also alludes that there is wide scepticism over the authorities’ purpose of acquiring the buildings, given that government-owned UDA had acquired several buildings in the 1970s and used them for commercial purposes.
He said that currently, there is a nagging perception that the latest attempt at acquisitions was a ploy designed to “nibble at Chinatown”.
Swipe at successor
Ong also took a swipe at MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, who had claimed that the acquisition would be called off, only to be embarrassingly refuted the next day by the Land Transport Commission (Spad).
Ong, who was Chua’s (right) predecessor, said that the tripartite dialogue between the latter, Spad and property owners had led to various ambiguous claims. “The affected community is now expecting a clear-cut answer as to whether their property ownership rights would in any way be jeopardised, in view of the conflicting and confusing statements issued by both Chua and Spad chairperson Syed Hamid Albar,” said Ong.
Chua had famously announced after the Aug 23 meeting that residents only have to vacate their buildings for six months for tunneling works.
“The shops along Jalan Sultan will remain. They will keep their ‘Chinese identity’... the MRT will continue to be developed, while Chinatown stays,” he explained further.
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