Residents council seeks referendum on Kampung Baru fate

The Malay enclave lies almost within the shadow of the Petronas Twin Towers. — All pictures by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — The main Kampung Baru residents council wants a referendum to determine if landowners agree with Putrajaya’s redevelopment plans for the Malay settlement just a stone’s throw from the world’s tallest twin towers.
 
Kampung Baru Malay Agricultural Settlement Administrative Board (MAS) honorary secretary Shamsuri Suradi said such a poll was needed if the government “really wanted to know” the type of development residents here want.

He told The Malaysian Insider that the Election Commission (EC) was ideal to carry out the task as they were seen as neutral by both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
“They have authority to do all these elections. It (referendum) is sort of like an election, only the method is different,” he added.

Shamsuri suggested a spokesman be appointed for every lot to convey the decision of co-owners after discussing it among themselves.

Residents have begun flying banners to protest the planned redevelopment.

He said this was to prevent any open bickering between siblings who might support opposing political parties.
 
The referendum proposal comes on the heels of a new bill to regulate development in the 111-year-old settlement in the capital city, where it is hemmed in by newer buildings and towers built over the last two decades. Parliament is expected to debate the bill by June.

Most of the land in the settlement is under multiple ownership due to Islamic inheritance laws and cost a fraction of the land across the Klang River, where the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers dominate the city skyline.
There are more than 4,000 Kampung Baru landowners spread across seven villages in the settlement measuring 90.2 hectares.

An average of five co-owners share each lot now, although some lots have many more.

Shamsuri, however, said a referendum would not be easy and would likely take up to a year to complete.

He noted that Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo’ Lo’ Ghazali was trying to canvass the area for opinions now, but pointed out the difficulties the PAS lawmaker would face as she had not approached MAS for assistance.

MAS keeps records of landowners in Kampung Baru dating all the way back to the settlement’s inception in 1900 that are crucial to such an endeavour.

Masjed Jamek will undergo a RM20 million renovation.

“They can do it but it’s not an easy task, let’s put it that way,” Shamsuri said.

 
However, he was quick to point out that Lo’ Lo’ only got involved due to the government’s failure to engage with residents here from the start.

Shamsuri said the government should instead allow residents to choose from a few development options rather than build “castles in the air”.

Kampung Baru lies within the Titiwangsa federal constituency, which has always been an Umno fortress but fell to PAS in Election 2008.

PR has been quick to capitalise on the growing anger of residents unhappy with the Najib administration’s plans to develop the area into an icon of Malay ownership in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Several houseowners have already put up banners opposing the new law or plans to redevelop the settlement, which has an LRT station and is popular among tourists and city residents as a street cuisine spot.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak kick-started the redevelopment of Kampung Baru by getting a RM20 million allocation recently to renovate the iconic Masjid Jamek in the middle of the settlement.