The government is planning to build a temporary detention centre in Bukit Jalil due to over population at the Kuala Lumpur Remand Centre (formerly Pudu Jail).

A Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Public Affairs Department spokesperson, who declined to be named, said the project is still in the planing stages.

"Initially, the government announced that the site would be a reserve land, and there was a plan to turn it into a cemetery," she added.

However, she said the government has now allocated a portion of the land to build the temporary detention centre.

"Since the project involves the Land Office and other agencies, it will be a lengthy process," she added.

Posh residential areas

Malaysiakini was alerted regarding the detention centre by a resident of Bukit Jalil estate.

S Thiakarajan, 53, said he saw a group of men surveying a vacant plot of land at the estate on Saturday and when he questioned them, he was told that a prison would be built in the area.

They also told him that signboard will be erected on the site over the next few days informing the public about the proposed project.

Thiakarajan, who works in the entertainment industry, said he could not understand the government's rationale in building a detention centre on 'prime living land'.

"The construction will be an eye sore. The land is in the middle of posh residential areas, with houses ranging from between RM300,000 to RM700,000 and just 3km away from Bukit Jalil Sports Complex," he said.

"Why build a detention centre just three kilometers away from Bukit Jalil Sports Complex. Wouldn't it reflect poorly on the government?" he asked.

Instill fear

Furthermore, he added, the detention centre would instil fear among the residents who have not been notified of the project.

"Not many people go to that part of the estate as it is vacant. I just happen to come across the project by chance," he said.

Thiakarajan said he had asked for a meeting with DBKL to discuss the future of the estate residents, and the meeting has been scheduled to take place in early July.

"We want to be fairly compensated like the neighbouring Kinrara estate residents. We want terrace houses instead of low cost flats offered to us," he added.

Kinrara estate residents received alternative houses from the private developer who developed the estate into a residential area.

However, Bukit Jalil estate - the last remaining estate in Kuala Lumpur - which was bought over by the government in 1980 for development, did not receive any facilities.

According to Thiakarajan, more than 30 families are still staying in the estate despite the poor living conditions.

Watch a short video clip on Bukit Jalil estate below: