STANDING THEIR GROUND:Committee for the Preservation of Jalan Sultan is not budging from its position that the Mass Rapid Transit line must be realigned
THE Committee for the Preservation of Jalan Sultan will continue with its efforts to get the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line realigned.
Three property owners in Jalan Sultan and Jalan Petaling are adamant about staying put in the area.
Hotel Lok Ann spokesman Judy Tan said the three property owners were not keen on having the MRT station here; as such, they would not be moving out.
"KL Gospel Hall, Yan Keng Benevolent Drama Association and Hotel Lok Ann are not budging.
"We want to have a public meeting with MRT Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) and the community.
"MRT Corp can present its points and we will bring our experts to present as well. We will let the community decide whether they want the MRT to pass through here," she said.
Tan said MRT Corp should explain to the people how it came up with a route that sees the MRT passing through Jalan Sultan.
"We are still hopeful that MRT Corp will have a public meeting here. That is the only platform for the issue to get a fair hearing and not discussed behind closed doors," she said.
Tan said property owners were shaken by the demolition of three government-owned properties in Jalan Sultan.
"The demolition of Plaza Warisan, UDA Ocean and the Klang bus station will change the cultural landscape. We are worried that we will suffer the same fate," she said.
Tan said the mutual agreement and points of agreement presented by MRT Corp were flawed and benefited the corporation.
"MRT Corp had said there would be no land acquisition and the issue had been resolved. Then why did it ask us to sign the mutual agreement before appealing to the government to stop the land acquisition? This shows the land acquisition is still in progress.
"We have also yet to receive a letter from MRT Corp to confirm that there will be no land acquisition. As owners, we are not prepared to just sign away our properties," she said.
Tan said the committee had exhausted all avenues trying to have the MRT realigned.
"We have written numerous letters to all relevant parties and there seems to be no solution to the issue," she said.
Committee for Preservation of Jalan Sultan representative Stanley Yong said there was no guarantee by MRT Corp that the buildings would be safe after the construction of the tunnel.
"MRT Corp asks the owners to move out for six months so that it can proceed with the tunnelling work. It said that will strengthen the buildings. After the six months, the owners can move back in, if the buildings are safe.
"What if MRT Corp were to say then that the buildings were not safe and that the owners could not move back? What is going to happen then?" Yong asked.
The 51km MRT line starts in Sungai Buloh and ends in Kajang, passing through Kuala Lumpur city centre in the process. It will have a 9.5km underground tunnel between Jalan Semantan and Taman Maluri.
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