KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — The government is stepping up efforts to safeguard Kuala Lumpur’s green spaces with the gazettement of nine additional open areas, aimed at ensuring city development remains balanced while preserving public recreational areas.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said the latest gazettement was carried out by the Federal Territories Department and the Federal Territories Director of Lands and Mines Office, covering a total area of 5.15 hectares or 51,502 square metres.

She said the move means 552 open space lots have now been gazetted across Kuala Lumpur, spanning 468.36 hectares (4.68 million square metres), an area comparable to around 655 football fields or almost 1.4 times the size of Perdana Botanical Gardens.

“Gazettement goes beyond an administrative exercise. It reinforces the protection of open spaces so they can continue serving as public areas for recreation, leisure and community activities, while minimising the risk of future land-use changes,” she said in a Facebook post today.

Hannah said every gazetted area represents more space for children to play, families to spend leisure time, senior citizens to exercise, and communities to enjoy a greener, healthier and more comfortable urban environment.

The nine newly gazetted open spaces include Lot 82448 in the Batu sub-district, near Desa ParkCity Lake (6,607 square metres or 1.632 acres); Lot 82443 in the Batu sub-district, also near Desa ParkCity Lake (22,000 square metres or 5.436 acres); Lot 202030 in the Setapak sub-district, near Bayu Sentul Condominium (13,882 square metres or 3.430 acres); and Lot 38500 in the Petaling sub-district, near Residensi Jalil Mas (529 square metres or 0.130 acres).

Other newly gazetted open spaces include Lot 25119 in the Setapak sub-district, near Masjid Salahuddin Al-Ayubbi in Taman Melati (1,456 square metres or 0.359 acres); Lot 39399 in the Petaling sub-district, near East Bukit Jalil Condominium (1,658 square metres or 0.409 acres); Lot 39397 in the Petaling sub-district, also near East Bukit Jalil Condominium (185 square metres or 0.045 acres); Lot 56219 in the Batu sub-district, near United Point Mall (3,679 square metres); and Lot 482950 in the Kuala Lumpur suib-district, near Padang TURF Tasik Permaisuri (1,505 square metres or 0.371 acres).

Hannah said members of the public can access details of gazetted open spaces via the MyHijau portal on the Federal Territories Director of Lands and Mines Office’s official website, enabling Kuala Lumpur residents to play a role in monitoring and safeguarding the city’s green areas.

“The gazettement of the nine additional areas reflects the MADANI Government’s ongoing commitment to balanced urban development in Kuala Lumpur, while safeguarding public recreational spaces, community well-being and the city’s climate resilience,” she said. — Bernama