KUALA LUMPUR – A Kg Sg Baru landowner, part of a group of residents claiming to be the majority voice supporting a contentious redevelopment project in the area, has lodged a police report against alleged slander from a separate homeowners association.
According to a copy of the police report a source shared with Scoop, the report was made by Mohd Adam Abd Aziz, who identifies himself as the Kg Sg Baru Redevelopment Project (Majority) Action Committee chairman.
The report was filed at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters at around 10am on November 11.
The report cites two articles by Scoop, published on October 29 and November 8, which featured statements made by Kg Sg Baru Terrace Homes and Flat Owners Action Committee chairman Lele Suzana from two separate press conferences.
In the report, Adam claimed that Lele’s statements, as published by Scoop, were “slanderous lies” that could “confuse and incite” anyone who read them.
“On behalf of the majority of Kg Sg Baru landowners and their legitimate heirs, (I) hope that police can investigate statements by (Lele), who should stop issuing baseless statements and confusing people while disrupting the redevelopment project’s continuity.”
Attempts by Scoop to contact Adam have been unsuccessful over the weekend.
Scoop’s October 29 article mentioned in the police report was based on a press conference by the Kg Sg Baru Terrace Homes and Flat Owners Action Committee on the same day, during which Lele revealed that development firms had come forward expressing their willingness to take over the project from private property developer Ritzy Gloss Sdn Bhd.
She also said the firms were willing to offer a compensation of RM950 per sq ft to all terrace and flat owners, a much higher value than the RM450 per sq ft compensation offered by the Valuation and Property Management Department.
The article on November 8, meanwhile, is also based on a press conference by the same action committee, during which Lele said residents had placed their hopes on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to ensure that negotiations arrive at a conclusion which would benefit the residents.
Previously, Scoop reported that multiple police reports have been lodged by Kg Sg Baru landowners involved in the majority action committee against former federal territories minister Khalid Samad for allegedly issuing slanderous and false statements concerning the project.
The redevelopment project in the Malay enclave made headlines in 2021 when local residents raised concerns over how Ritzy Gloss’s application for the Land Acquisition Act (LAA) after facing pushback from residents was granted by the then-Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.
The approval allowed the government to take formal possession of land in the area and issue eviction notices to residents in order to proceed with the project.
A total of 27 terrace house owners and 192 flat unit owners took up Ritzy Gloss’s initial offer, while 37 terrace house owners and 72 flat unit owners were subjected to the LAA.
Landed property owners argue that since the acreage ratio of their lands should be considered of a higher value, their vote in the matter should take precedence over flat unit owners in strata housing.
The ‘majority versus minority’ issue has been a longstanding debate in the Kg Sg Baru redevelopment saga, with defiant residents who insist on remaining in the area claiming that the developer and government bodies have misinterpreted the figures for their own interests.
Local government expert Derek Fernandez previously told Scoop that Section 3(1)(c) of the LAA, which was used by the government to take control of Kg Sg Baru land, must be read with other sections of the legislation for eviction orders to be legally viable.
Failure to do so, he said, would raise doubts over whether residents are compelled to adhere to eviction notices issued by the Kuala Lumpur Land Administrator on various occasions.
It is believed that residents’ eviction has now been pushed back to an undetermined date, pending the playing out of the land ownership acquisition processes, as conveyed to Scoop by Anwar’s political secretary Datuk Azman Abidin.
Scoop previously spoke to Kg Sg Baru residents, Khalid and a lawyer representing the action committee on their ongoing ordeal. – November 13, 2023