Minister: We have to gazette KL City Plan 2020 to protect green lungs

FT Minister Khalid Samad says the KLCP 2020 has more ‘rights’ than ‘wrongs’. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad has urged critics of the Kuala Lumpur City Plan (KLCP) 2020, which was gazetted recently, to move on.

He said it was necessary to gazette the plan despite some objections as otherwise, there will be areas, such as green lungs, which will be left unprotected.

Concerned members of the public and non-governmental organisations had questioned why the ministry gazetted the plan despite knowing that it did not fulfil earlier recommendations made since 2008.

Selamatkan Kuala Lumpur (SKL) deputy chairman M Ali said Khalid had agreed in July to engage with SKL and relevant stakeholders before gazetting the KLCP 2020.

However, Ali said, the city plan had been gazetted without consulting SKL.

“My answer to that is, the plan has more ‘rights’ then ‘wrongs’, so I have to go with those which are ‘right’ because if I don’t do it, things like open areas (green lung), which were still not gazetted, will be left unprotected.

“So let’s look at the whole KL, what is right we do first, and what is not right, we will discuss them next year when we prepare the 2040 plan,” he said at the DBKL headquarters today after a meeting with Kuala Lumpur MPs.

When asked why the plan was not displayed to the public prior to it being gazetted, Khalid said most of the re-zoning had been carried out.

“Some buildings have already been built. If we display, it’s as good as displaying a historical document.

“If we open it for debate, it (gazetting of the plan) will have to wait another two years. Let us gazette this and move forward,” he said.

Work on the Kuala Lumpur City Plan began in 1998 and it was finally finalised in 2012.

But it was not gazetted, causing development to continue haphazardly.

In the past, Kuala Lumpur MPs had raised concerns over the failure to gazette the plan, saying this could cause the city to become the most unplanned and congested urban centre in the world.

Last year, DBKL said it was pointless to gazette it as it was due to expire by 2020. It said it would instead look at the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2050.

Meanwhile, Khalid said an additional document is being drafted for the KLCP 2020 to include amendments made between 2012 and 2015.

The document is being prepared by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

“What was gazetted was the 2015 plan, and this includes additional amendments made from 2015 to 2018,” he said.

KLCP 2020 will be on public display at the DBKL on Jalan Raja from Nov 12. - FMT