No evidence to lodge MACC report over condo collapse, says Kok

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok says she has no basis to lodge a report over the collapse of a partially built condominium block in Taman Desa.

KUALA LUMPUR: Seputeh MP Teresa Kok says she has no proof that there were any shady dealings involved in the approval of a partially built condominium block in Taman Desa which collapsed on Friday.

Maxim Holdings, the developer of the 37-storey condominium block, confirmed on Friday evening that part of the swimming pool on the 6th floor had collapsed – trapping two Bangladeshi workers who were rescued and sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for treatment.

During a press conference yesterday, Protect Taman Desa Coalition working committee member Philip Phang said that the land on which the condominium was built on had been gazetted as a green lung under the 2020 Kuala Lumpur Master Plan.

The group, which has protested the development since 2017, has sent multiple letters to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and memorandums to the federal territories minister and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to look into the project’s approval.

When pressed by the area’s residents about whether she would lodge a report over the project’s approval, Kok said she had no basis to do so.

“Do you have any proof this is an invalid deal? If you want to lodge a report with MACC, you need to have proof that corruption took place,” said Kok when visiting the site today.

“I don’t have evidence that corruption took place, and I will be held accountable if I lodge a MACC report that corruption took place between the developer and DBKL.

“That was a decision made between DBKL and the FT minister in those days. I definitely did not agree with a lot of projects and approvals made by (former federal territories minister) Tengku Adnan (Tengku Mansor), like what I have said in Dewan Rakyat about excessive development.

“But to link it to a MACC report, I need to be responsible and show evidence that there had been some transactions,” added Kok, who is also the primary industries minister.

A stop-work order has been issued to the contractor of Friday’s collapsed condominium. Housing and local government minister Zuraida Kamaruddin last week said the condominium’s sales licence would be suspended until investigations are completed.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is probing the cause of the collapse. The probe is expected to take about a month. - FMT