Hearing for Taman Rimba Kiara appeal rescheduled to Sept 1

 

The Federal Court has rescheduled to Sept 1 the hearing of an appeal for the development of a portion of the Taman Rimba Kiara public park.

Lawyer B Thangaraj confirmed that the apex court postponed the initial hearing date from June 14 to the new date during case management of the appeal today.

The lawyer, who acts for Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), said the rescheduling was due to the imposition of the full movement control order (MCO) for two weeks, from June 1 to 14.

“The matter has been fixed for hearing on Sept 1 due to the MCO,” Thangaraj said when contacted this afternoon. DBKL is one of the four appellants in the matter.

The other two appellants, Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan and developer Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd are appealing to reinstate the development order (DO) to jointly develop a portion of Taman Rimba Kiara.

Also appealing to the apex court is an association representing longhouse residents in Taman Rimba Kiara.

Back on Jan 27, the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) residents to quash the DO for the development of part of Taman Rimba Kiara.

The TTDI Residents’ Association then hailed the Court of Appeal's decision as a major victory in the fight to preserve the public park.

DBKL issued the DO on July 13, 2017. The project was first proposed by former federal territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor in 2016.

The proposed project comprised four 40-storey luxury service apartments (1,082 units) and one 17-storey affordable housing block (204 units).

Several protests were held in 2016 and in subsequent years against the proposed development of Taman Rimba Kiara.

During the Pakatan Harapan federal administration, then federal territories minister Khalid Samad proposed a scaled-down development and called it a “win-win solution” as it saved the ministry from having to compensate the developer RM150 million if the project was cancelled.

The project was reduced from 4.9ha to 3.2ha. Taman Rimba Kiara spans 10.1ha. - Mkini