New plan for Kg Baru, after only 61% agree to sell

Kampung Baru was set up as a Malay agricultural settlement in 1900 to allow Malays to retain their village lifestyle within the capital.

PETALING JAYA: A new development plan is being drawn up for the Malay settlement of Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur, as not all landowners have agreed to sell their land, a government agency said today.

The Kampung Baru Development Corporation, which comes under the federal territories ministry, said only 61% of landowners had agreed to an offer to sell their plot of land at RM1,000 per square foot.

A new approach for the settlement’s next 20 years will be laid out in the Kampung Baru 2040 Development Master Plan, the corporations said.

“The new direction of the (Kampung Baru) development is more realistic and can be implemented through a more focused approach, according to priority areas and taking into account the complexity of an area to meet the development needs in Kampung Baru,” Bernama reported.

Among immediate action to be taken would be the upgrading of main roads including Jalan Raja Uda, Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Jalan Mahmud, the proposed bypass of Jalan Raja Alang to Jalan Raja Uda and the realignment of Jalan Datuk Abdul Malik.

Other proposals include the construction of a slip road from the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway to Jalan Hassan Salleh and Jalan Sungai Baru, as well as the construction of the DUKE Phase 2A entering Kampung Baru.

The development will be implemented in phases according to the priority of the development blocks identified by taking into account the land lots that have the consent of the landowners.

“The development either involves direct involvement of the government through government-linked companies or joint ventures by the landowners with private developers or self-developed by landowners organically with certain incentives,” the corporation said.

On Sept 21, last year, the Pakatan Harapan government offered to buy land in the area at RM1,000 per sq ft in the form of RM850 in cash and RM150 via shares in a “special purpose vehicle” company.

It was the highest rate assessed by the Valuation and Property Services Department after taking into account the factors of maintaining the condition to retain Malay-only ownership. - FMT