Reinstate Taman Rimba Kiara as city park, TTDI folk tell Putrajaya after apex court win

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) residents today called for Taman Rimba Kiara to be enshrined as a city park and public green space in all existing and future city planning, after the Federal Court ruled against the reinstatement of a development order on the park’s land.

Save Taman Rimba Kiara Working Group resident coordinator Leon Koay said both the Federal Court and the Court of Appeal’s rulings made it clear the KL Structure Plan 2020 was legally binding.

Under the KL Structure Plan gazetted in 2004, Taman Rimba Kiara was meant to be a public park.

With the development order being declared null and void by the courts, Koay said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) should now work with the residents to preserve Taman Rimba Kiara for the future generations.

Anwar retained oversight of the city’s administration via the Federal Territories Department under the Prime Minister’s Office, after he abolished the Federal Territories Ministry.

“We call on the mayor and the prime minister to ensure that all necessary action is now taken to demonstrate compliance with the KL Structure Plan 2020.

“All administrative actions that have attempted to change the zoning/land use status of Taman Rimba Kiara (known as PT 9244) including via the KL Local Plan 2020 are, by virtue of the Federal Court decision, null and void.

“PT 9244’s status as a city park and public green space should be restored, both in the KL Local Plan 2020 and in all KL planning documents (whether current or future) including the KL Structure Plan 2040,” he said in a statement.

The statement was also undersigned by Persatuan Penduduk Rumah Panjang Bukit Kiara and Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents’ Association.

Koay said the apex court’s decision was a landmark victory for the community who fought unwaveringly to preserve Taman Rimba Kiara, as it put an end to the dispute that has lasted almost six years.

He also called on the government to provide permanent housing for the existing longhouse families without having to destroy the adjacent recreational park.

Earlier, a three-person Bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, along with Federal Court judge Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan and Federal Court judge Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang delivered their unanimous decision after finding no merit in the appeal filed by Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP), DBKL and developer Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd.

In their judicial review application filed in 2017, the residents sought to quash the development order for the proposed development project — consisting of a 29-storey apartment block with 350 units of affordable housing, as well as eight blocks of service apartments and eight storeys of parking facilities.

The proposed project was first introduced during Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s tenure as federal territories minister in 2016.

They claim that the 10.08-hectare Taman Rimba Kiara is a public park located in TTDI and Bukit Kiara area, and the proposed development would increase the density of TTDI and irreversibly degrade Taman Rimba Kiara as a green lung.

The residents initially lost their case in the High Court on November 28, 2018, but filed an appeal.

The Court of Appeal then ruled in favour of the residents on January 27, 2021. They are listed as the management bodies of Trellises Apartment, Kiara Green Townhouses, Residence Condominium, TTDI Plaza Condominium, The Greens Condominium, TTDI Residents Association and four TTDI residents and house owners.

But the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, together with the developer Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd and land owner Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan appealed against the appellate court’s decision to reinstate the development order for the project.