3 questions for Shahidan, DBKL on legal expenses against KL residents

 

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad wants to know why DBKL persists in appealing the court decision that has been won by the residents.

KUALA LUMPUR: Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has posed three questions to federal territories minister Shahidan Kassim and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) on taxpayer money being used for legal cases against residents of Kuala Lumpur.

One of the cases involved Taman Tiara Titiwangsa residents who were against a mixed commercial development project in the area, he said.

“How much has been spent on legal costs for the Taman Tiara Titiwangsa case?

“How much has DBKL spent on private lawyers in other legal cases?” asked the PKR MP in a Twitter thread today.

Nik Nazmi demanded that DBKL disclose the amount of taxpayer money it had spent on the case against Taman Tiara Titiwangsa residents.

“The residents have so far won at the Court of Appeal against the city council on the proposed development in the area, yet DBKL is appealing the decision,” he said.

He also pointed out that DBKL had spent RM1.1 million from 2018 to 2021 on legal fees against KL residents in the Taman Rimba Kiara case, where the residents opposed a proposed development of a 29-storey apartment block, comprising 350 affordable housing units, a serviced apartment and parking facilities.

The expenses were outlined in a parliamentary reply by the ministry to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh on March 21.

“Of this amount, RM433,000 is said to have been spent to retain a former judge and a senior lawyer to argue DBKL’s case at the Court of Appeal.

“The court unanimously sided with the residents in the dispute. Yet, DBKL has appealed the case to the Federal Court, where it has reportedly spent RM340,000 to date,” he said.

Nik Nazmi also wanted to know why DBKL persisted in appealing the court decision that had been won by the residents.

He stressed that city residents, unlike the city council, were private citizens with limited funds to spend on legal cases, adding that the amount of taxpayer money spent on the cases against them could be better used to help marginalised communities in the city. - FMT