KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s offer for Kampung Baru land owners is a fair proposal as it is commensurate with the population and land area there, according to Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.
“There are 853 lots here (Kampung Baru) and the total compensation for land owners is RM43.5m per acre. This works out to roughly RM1,000 per sq ft,“ Khalid said in a press conference after attending the hand over of 2019 back to school aid vouchers by the Federal Territories Foundation in Tamu Hotel and Suites, here today.
Khalid attributed recent opposition to the government’s offer to confusion among land owners.
“They are more used to quoting prices based on per acre, so when we quoted per sq ft they may have been confused.
“We are offering a very good price irrespective of what people are saying,” he added.
The minister said the government wanted to realise the Kampung Baru redevelopment plan so that the Malay presence in the city will be more prominent.
“Kuala Lumpur has grown so the number of residents has increased. At least, by right, we have to develop Kampung Baru so that the number of residents in that place will also increase.”
When asked on when negotiations will end, he said the ministry expects to end discussions by the middle of next year as that will give a clearer vision for the government to proceed with the redevelopment.
“Hopefully by the end of this month we will get the final feedback and after that we’ll go for one last round to meet the 853 lot owners or their family members to hear their views.
“Hopefully, I can get the approval from everyone,” he said.
Khalid, however, pointed out a dilemma the government was facing where there are cases of one lot owned by a number of people.
“Sometime, we may get the approval of say three owners but the other two may disagree. So this is another problem we have to overcome,“ he added.
On Oct 24, the government made an offer to the Kampung Baru land owners to buy their land at a cost of RM1,000 per sq ft, compared to RM850 previously.
Earlier, Khalid, who is also the Federal Territories Foundation (YWP) chairman, handed over RM120 school-aid vouchers to 20,000 students.
“The programme aims to ease the burden for primary school students from the B40 families in the Federal Territory for the school opening earlier this year.”
