Gov't mulls 99-year leases in Kg Baru redevelopment
The government is mulling long leases – of up to 99 years – to overcome the challenge posed by the redevelopment of Kampung Baru on its reserve land status, says Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.
"We are exploring several mechanisms to manage the Malay reserve land status of Kampung Baru.
"One of the mechanisms mentioned by the cabinet was to issue long leases...
The government is mulling long leases – of up to 99 years – to overcome the challenge posed by the redevelopment of Kampung Baru on its reserve land status, says Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.
"We are exploring several mechanisms to manage the Malay reserve land status of Kampung Baru.
"One of the mechanisms mentioned by the cabinet was to issue long leases, for instance, 60-year or 99-year leases.
"The land will ultimately be returned to the original landowners," he said in a special meeting with the media in Putrajaya today.
As Khalid noted, his ministry aims to figure out a solution by year-end to preserve the status of Kampung Baru amid its planned redevelopment, so that its residents would not be marginalised.
He added that a survey showed that up to 88 percent of residents agreed that the Malay enclave in Kuala Lumpur should be redeveloped.
'Kg Kerinchi never renamed'
On another matter, Khalid said that Kampung Kerinchi had never been officially renamed 'Bangsar South.'
Bangsar South, he explained only refers to a development project within Kampung Kerinchi – meaning that the issue of 'reverting' to its original name does not arise.
Kampung Kerinchi was said to have been renamed Bangsar South in 2012 amid its gentrification, with its name alluding to the nearby affluent neighbourhood of Bangsar.
Earlier this month, PKR Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil said he had fulfilled his 14th general election campaign promise to revert the name of the area back to Kampung Kerinchi.
Khalid added that authorities will put up more signs, along with billboards and posters, so that more people will be familiar with the name of the area.
Stop-work order in BBCC
On the construction accident that occurred last Friday at the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) – where the Pudu Jail was formerly located – Khalid said that DBKL has slapped developer Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) with a stop-work order.
"We conducted an inspection with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) and the Occupational Safety and Health Department (Dosh) after the construction accident.
"We have set rules and regulation for them to follow, but as construction went on, things became slack," he said.
Images of the construction accident had gone viral earlier this week.
EcoWorld had reportedly acknowledged a “localised failure of a slab” at the project site.
BBCC is a mixed development project worth RM8.7 billion that comprises a shopping mall, entertainment hub, service apartments, hotel and three office blocks.
