KUALA LUMPUR: The remaining Kampung Sungai Baru residents who will have to make way for redevelopment of the Malay enclave in the heart of the federal capital here should be given six months to find new homes, said Titiwangsa member of Parliament Datuk Seri Johari Ghani.

For this purpose, he has urged the residents who needed more time to move out to submit a letter to the lands and mines department and the developers to appeal for a grace period.

Johari assured that he would support every application made by the remaining residents.

He had also met with the Kuala Lumpur mayor to help those who had yet to find new homes to be placed temporarily in units owned by City Hall.

Johari also said his office would appoint a lawyer to represent the 90 per cent of residents who had moved out to ensure they would receive their new units.

He said residents who had been compensated by the developers should also be offered new units if they expressed interest in the homes once the housing project was completed.

He blamed the lack of coordination among the developers, the elected representatives and the federal territories ministry for the complications in the issue, which he described as “complex”.

“Such issues should not crop up in future development projects.

“We must ensure that developers do not take advantage of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 and use it against homeowners who do not agree with the redevelopment of an area,” he told FMT.

He was responding to reports that the remaining group of Kampung Sungai Baru residents that opposed the proposed redevelopment project have been told to vacate their homes by the middle of January.

According to a report, the village’s action committee said they were served with a Form K notice by the director-general of the lands and mines department, giving them 30 days to vacate their homes.

Source : NST