NO PLANS FOR DEMOLITION: Heritage buildings in Jalan Sultan will be dismantled and rebuilt
KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no land acquisition of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang buildings for the Klang Valley MY Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project.
The project owner, MRT Corporation, will instead dismantle and rebuild the original buildings a fter construction has ended.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said he was told by MRT Corporation CEO Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid last Monday it would bear the cost and replace any materials broken during the process.
“He told me MRT will not acquire the land but during the construction period, it will have to bring down the present buildings but they will rebuild once the project is completed, which means the issue of acquiring the land does not arise,” Nazri said at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) yesterday.
“During the period when construction is ongoing, MRT will compensate the traders for whatever income they have lost. I have been told by Datuk Azhar that he has met them and MRT is actually waiting for the groups’ response to this.”
Nazri said the buildings would be dismantled and stored so that the same materials could be used in rebuilding the historical shops.
MRT Corp yesterday also issued a statement, stressing there were no plans to acquire or demolish any buildings except for land needed to build an underground tunnel.
“We will compensate for any loss of business in the interim and for any demolished buildings,” said the statement.
“Further, we are open to an agreement where we will re-build shops for the owners to return to in return for acquisition.”
MRT Corp also said it would not realign its route despite strong objections by the traders in Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang.
“We have conducted in-depth research and looked at all the various options, even the ones being bandied around by uninformed parties. We don’t make decisions such as this without through, proper evaluation. The alignment is the most optimal and we will not change it,” it said.
In an immediate reaction, the Committee of Preserving Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang said it was not convinced the tunnel could be completed in six months, and was also sceptical on how MRT Corp planned to rebuild the demolished buildings.
MRT Corp will begin its tunneling process for its underground line in the second quarter of 2014 and the a ffected tenants will have to move out for six months.
On Wednesday, Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang traders formed a committee to pressure MRT Corp into considering realigning the MRT’s Sungai Buloh-Kajang line.
Called the Committee of Preserving Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang, it is supported by former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and DAP Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun as advisers.
The committee wants the MRT line re-routed from Jalan Sultan to Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and for the new route to be integrated with the LRT Pasar Seni station and KTMB line and the Puduraya bus terminal.
Ong had said committee members met with MRT Corp last week but the o fficials “shot down” the owners’ realignment proposals.
Nazri, however, said the MRT realignment had become a non-issue as the demands by the traders were met in the new proposal.
“They are protesting against the alignment because they were worried that their land will be acquired. Now their land will not be acquired. Two, they were worried about what is going to happen because their business is there.
“But Datuk Azhar told me he is prepared to pay them compensation until the time the station is ready. So the issue of realignment does not arise.”
Traders to stay put
Committee unconvinced by new proposal, insists MRT line be realigned
TRADERS have given a resounding "no" to the Klang Valley MY Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project owner’s latest proposal and insisted that the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) MRT line be realigned.
The Committee of Preserving Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang’s chairman, Tan Yew Sing, was sceptical if the latest proposal was studied or a "quick fix" by MRT Corporation.
“We are concerned over whether MRT’s proposal is a quick fix or not and it will not be easy to convince the stakeholders who are not limited to shop owners but the KL folk in general," Tan told The Malay Mail.
“We are not convinced the tunnel can be completed in six months. We are also sceptical about how they plan to rebuild demolished buildings by using the original materials. The buildings will not be authentic. We need more convincing."
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said yesterday MRT Corp would not acquire any land but would instead dismantle and rebuild the original buildings after construction had ended.
MRT Corp also released a statement yesterday stressing there were no plans to acquire or demolish buildings except for land needed for an underground tunnel.
It said it would not realign its route despite objections by traders in Jalan Sultan and Jalan Bukit Bintang.
Tan said the committee would no longer entertain any more meetings with MRT Corp.
“MRT has made their stance clear. We will gather support and come out with a memorandum to the highest authority (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak),” he said.
The committee is campaigning for the MRT line to be re-routed from Jalan Sultan to Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and for the new route to be integrated with the LRT Pasar Seni station and KTMB line and the Puduraya bus terminal.
The committee is supported by former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and DAP Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun (pic), who are its advisers.
Fong asked why MRT Corp was adamant in refusing to consider the proposed realignment.
"Jalan Tan Cheng Lock is better alignment compared to Bukit Bintang and the new alignment would not affect traders. I don't know why they still prefer the Jalan Sultan route. They must have a hidden agenda," he said.
Fong also asked how MRT Corp was going to calculate the losses suffered by the traders during the six months.
He said the buildings would lose their historical value even if it they were dismantled and rebuilt using the same materials.
“Those affected are not stall owners but property owners who inherited the stake from their forefathers a century ago. My concern is whether the building structures, old as they are, can withstand the vibration of tunneling.
“Of course, we can rebuild the structuresbut would you still call them heritage buildings?”
