KUALA LUMPUR – Transport Minister Anthony Loke has stressed that his ministry has never directed or pressured for the relocation or vacation of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s (KTMB) headquarters, as claimed by some parties.
Loke stated that instead, Railway Assets Corp (RAC), as the owner of the over-century-old building, offered KTMB a move to Menara RAC completed last year on Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, free of charge.
“We are aware of the various problems with the old building, hence RAC offered to relocate without rent, free of charge. There is no question of RAC forcing KTMB to move because it’s merely an offer. If KTMB refuses, RAC can lease it to private parties and generate rental income.
“There has never been any suggestion that if the building is vacated, it will be handed over to any private company like YTL. That is a heritage building, a historical building of the nation, undoubtedly owned by the government through RAC,” he said.
He said this when winding up the debate on the royal address for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Regarding Menara RAC, he said it was built in collaboration with YTL Corp, a plan long in the works initiated in 2018 during his previous spell heading the ministry.
Meanwhile, Loke said, currently there was no process of relocation from the building constructed by the British during the heyday of railways in Malaya.
“The offer, whether accepted or not, has not been decided, if KTMB does not want to accept it, it is up to the KTMB board of directors, MoT will not force relocation,” he said, adding that all assets and properties under KTMB were placed under RAC.
He said if the heritage building were to be vacated, conservation and restoration projects – similar to those undertaken by Khazanah Nasional Bhd on the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and the National Mosque – could be carried out.
According to information shared on KTMB’s Facebook page, the KTMB building, completed on September 29, 1917, has twice suffered major damage to its northern wing due to bombings during World War II and a fire on the second floor of the same section on November 14, 1968. – March 11, 2024