Bukit Bintang traders protest MRT land grab

Bukit Bintang traders protest MRT land grab

By Melissa Chi

September 17, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Several traders in Bukit Bintang, the capital’s main shoppingdistrict, affected by the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project staged a protest today against the proposed acquisition of their properties for the project.

The Bukit Bintang traders and DAP MPs hold posters to register their protest over the MRT project on September 17, 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Among the 30-odd protestors were DAP MPs Tony Pua, Tan Kok Wai, Lim Lip Eng and Fong Kui Lun, who is also Bukit Bintang MP.

Datuk Chong Peng Wah, 74, chairman of the Bukit Bintang Protem Action Committee, told reporters that two MRT stations were proposed to be built at both ends of Jalan Bukit Bintang on existing vacant plots, known as BB West and BB East, near the Pavilion mall.

“We are not anti-development, we are not anti-establishment, we are only seeking and pleading with the government that our legitimate grievances, our interests, are adequately reflected in that decision,” he said, describing the 30 affected shops the heart of business in Bukit Bintang.

“Since land is a constitutional right, it should not be taken from us without adequate consideration of the actual need to acquire.”

MRT operator Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (Prasarana) had said on August 22 that 20 lots in Bukit Bintang will be acquired for the MRT to make way for tunnelling work and an underground station.

Prasarana project development director Zulkifli Mohd Yusoff had said the lots along Jalan Bukit Bintang, Jalan Imbi, Jalan Jati, Jalan Inai, Jalan Kamuning, Jalan Kampung and Jalan Utara would be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act 1960.

Zulkifli, however, denied that the government would develop the prime land in the Golden Triangle, citing “the safety of the tunnel”.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the lots include two fast-food restaurants — McDonald’s and KFC — a Porsche car showroom, a batik gallery, a private club, offices and residential properties.

Chong said the traders were the ones ‘who made Bukit Bintang what it is today’.

Landowners told reporters that their properties were not included during the three-month public display of the MRT project in February, while some of them had yet to receive official notices.

“We are the people who made Bukit Bintang what it is today. Bukit Bintang became a market place for tourists long before mega projects and malls were established in this area.

“Now with one stroke of a pen, the government is adopting a flip-flop policy where in the name of mega projects they are going to reduce us to nothing,” Chong said.

He told The Malaysian Insider that he was still trying to meet SPAD (Land Public Transport Commission) to discuss an alternative.

The National Land Code 1965, which was amended in 1990, allows the acquisition of underground land without affecting surface property.

According to Prasarana, work on the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line would begin this November.

The multi-billion ringgit project is expected to be completed in 2016 and will begin operations in January 2017.

The SBK line will cover a distance of 51km, of which 9.5km will be underground. Seven of the 31 stations from Semantan to Maluri will also be underground.