PUTRAJAYA: The owner of two disputed buildings in Medan Imbi has offered to buy over the land but this doesn’t absolve it from any wrongdoings, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad (pix) said today.
The owner of the six-storey building and fruit stall would be held accountable and subjected to fines for constructing them without the land owner’s permission, he said.
The landowner is the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Lands and Mines Office (PTG).
“The owner of the buildings has written a letter to the landlord, the mayor and the Federal Territory Ministry,” Khalid said after the launch of Placemaking@Putrajaya Lake Side Trail programme in Putrajaya.
“We are only trying to resolve the fact that the land and the building belong to different owners. It is either the building owner buys the land or PTG takes over the building. These are the legal options.
“Any settlement will not absolve the building owner of wrongdoing. We are not legalising the owner’s wrongdoing. The owner will still need to pay the fines and what is due.”
Khalid said PTG could take over the building if no settlement is reached.
On Jan 16, he revealed that a private company was able to develop a six-storey office building and several durian kiosks on two plots of government land valued at RM20 million in Medan Imbi, Bukit Bintang in 2016, without paying “a single cent”.
He said, “hidden hands” were at play behind the project, which it suspects is linked to several figures from the previous administration.
Since the matter occurred under the previous tenure, with the district office and approvals signed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers and department heads who have retired, Khalid said he will leave it to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to determine the extent of what happened.
A report on the land encroachment was lodged by the Federal Territories Ministry on Jan 22.
