SUNGAI PETANI: There is no reason for the government to use the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to acquire Kampung Baru land if all landowners understand and agree to the development plan.
Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad (pix) said the government would make every effort to persuade all landowners to agree with its proposal for re-development of the area, which was deemed to be very good.
“There is no reason (for landowners) to protest, the price offered is good, the development goals are great and a lot of problems can be solved.
“Now, one land lot has 50 names, (while) some have up to 150 names. If this issue is not addressed now, we would not be able to solve it ever.
“The names of lot landowners will increase, which will make it impossible to sell and develop because there are so many names in it,” he told reporters after officiating the Ujana Perbandaran Sungai Petani (a public recreational park) here today.
Khalid was commenting on whether the government would use the Act to acquire the lands.
Meanwhile, he said Nov 30 was the dateline for the Kampung Baru landowners to fill up and submit feedback forms for the development plan of the area, and so far, over 2,000 or almost 50% has done so.
“After Nov 30, we would create a team to meet with a small group of owners to discuss and explain the purpose of the development we wanted to do,” he explained.
On another development, Khalid said the government through the National Landscape Department planned to build at least one large scale public park for each state through the department’s action plan.
“The public park, covering at least 250 acres in each state, aims to combat global warming and climate change,” he said.
Sprawled about 11.8 hectares, the RM11 million- Ujana Perbandaran Sungai Petani is the largest public recreational park in Sungai Petani, developed by the National Landscape Department. It will be a green lung for all to pursue a healthy outdoor lifestyle. — Bernama
