This is our land

 

(The Sun Daily) - The Tourism and Culture Ministry will take SRK (C) Chin Woo – located in Jalan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur – to court if it cannot get its land back from the school.

Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the ministry has made a firm stand on the matter.

"It is our land, and it is the right of any land owner to take their land back. They would do the same if we encroached on their land," he told a press conference today.

Nazri was commenting on a stalemate over a 0.13ha (15,000 sq ft) plot of government land, which has been occupied by the school since 1938.

"We have held many discussions and I have made the decision that if this issue is not resolved, we will take the school to court and let the court decide," Nazri said.

The ministry wants to use the land as part of its RM32.5 million Kota Warisan Kuala Lumpur project as a cultural village.

The cultural village project, approved in concept by the cabinet in 2007, involves the building of an auditorium, a six-storey complex and a restaurant on 3.24ha of land.

The Kota Warisan project is a joint development venture between the Tourism Ministry and Enfiniti Productions Sdn Bhd.

However, the project met with strong objections from the school board on grounds that it would have to give up land for the project construction.

The Chin Woo board reportedly argued that the school had received the approval of the then British government of colonial Malaya to occupy the land on which stands its school walls, two basketball courts and its garden.

The ministry, however, claims the school was encroaching upon government land.

The school has been in talks with the Kota Warisan project developer since last year to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, Nazri announced that there was an increase in the number of tourists arrivals in the first quarter of this year compared to 2012.

"Malaysia recorded an overall growth of 15.9% with 6.4 million tourists in the first quarter of this year compared to 5.6 million tourists in 2012.

"Tourist spending for 2012 also grew by 16.7% generating RM14.99 billion in revenue for the country as compared to RM12.84 billion in 2011," said Nazri.

The higher tourist volume was atttributed to the increased number of flights, especially long-haul flights, by low-cost airlines.

Nazri also announced the third annual "Magic of the Night" event to be held in Putrajaya from June 22 to 30, in conjunction with the Putrajaya Flower and Garden Festival.

It will feature 14 lighted boats from organisations and state governments each featuring tourism attractions of their respective bodies. Also to be featured is an entry from Suzhou, China.

"We will use this event to promote tourism in Malaysia by inviting media and organisations from other countries, in preparation for Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

"As for (opposition-run states) Selangor, Penang and Kelantan which are not taking part in the event, it is their choice. We have invited them," he added.