Fernandez was responding to reports of outcries from several Kuala Lumpur residents over project developments happening or slated to happen next to their housing areas.
These housing areas include Taman Desa, Taman Tiara Titiwangsa, and Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI).
Speaking to FMT, Fernandez, who is also legal adviser to the Coalition to Save Kuala Lumpur, said well-connected developers were able to push their interests as there was no local plan to protect those living in the city.
“Having a plan protects the people of Kuala Lumpur against unsustainable development: you know what your land is worth, what is allowed to be done on it and the surrounding area and what the future holds till 2020.
“The consistent refusal of several different administrations to gazette the plan is a betrayal of the trust of people who look to their local councils to protect them,” he said.
The Coalition To Save Kuala Lumpur was set up in 2008 to pressure Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Federal Territories Ministry to withdraw the Draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020. It is made up of 35 residents associations.
Fernandez pointed out that the nearly 10-year delay in gazetting the plan was in itself a violation of the Federal Territory Planning Act 1982 which required such a plan to be gazetted within a “reasonable” time.
“Section 108 of the Interpretation Act 1967 also requires the draft plan to be passed after a public hearing with ‘all convenient speed’. Nine years and counting is a clear breach.”
Asked why he thought the plan had still not been gazetted even though it was conceptualised in 2007, Fernandez said the current situation made every development project “negotiable”.
“There’s no standard, no plan, so today if the density is low I can ask for the density to be increased, everything is ad hoc. Unfortunately, ad hoc planning is also the best place for corrupt practices to thrive.
“When you have a plan it is harder for corrupt practices to seep into the system because when you buy land you already know how high you can build your building, what’s the density, what’s the plot ratio and what it can and cannot be used for.There is no negotiation. But without a plan there’s higher risk of corruption since things are so subjective.
“Even if you want to change the plan there’s a process and a public hearing but without a plan you don’t give the public the right to be heard. Now it’s only the neighbouring owner who has the right so if they want to make any changes only the neighbours come to a hearing and even then some of the hearings are farcical because there’s no standard, there’s no plan.”
A news report last month said Taman Tiara Titiwangsa residents were unhappy with a hearing they had with DBKL on Feb 27, where they had hoped to get answers to their concerns over planned projects in their neighbourhoods.
According to the residents, the hearing became nothing more than a dialogue session because the relevant officials, including DBKL’s planning department deputy director, were absent.
Fernandez said a public hearing was important because developments in one area could affect the surrounding areas, especially in terms of traffic congestion.
“I can say this will affect the traffic at my area, I can question how big the road is and whether or not the road can take this new development.”
Fernandez said the lack of a gazetted plan had resulted in density in parts of the city having been raised without the accompanying infrastructure as well as ignoring sufficient public amenities and carrying capacities of the land.
This he said had resulted in what appeared to be a commercial property overhang (oversupply) and a gross lack of public amenities.
He claimed even multinational companies and other business entities were pulling out of the city because of the “horrendous” traffic conditions.
“Without a gazetted plan, what you’re finding is that the city is suffering badly because it is unplanned. You’re talking about floods, you’re talking about businesses leaving because the traffic is unbearable, all of this because there is no plan.
“Parks and amenities and green areas are being taken away in the area of development while in the plan all of this are accorded a place. If you’re not going to follow the plan then why have it?
“Instead of stimulating economic growth, not gazetting the plan is in fact harming the economic potential of the capital. All this reinforces the argument that planned development is the way to go and having a detailed development plan, like the city plan, cannot be compromised.”
Yesterday, Kuala Lumpur mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz told reporters the 2007 plan would expire in three years’ time.
“Common sense tells us that gazetting the plan will not make sense at this point, and we are exploring alternatives,” he had said. “Our planning department is working on a new blueprint for 2050, which we have started looking at and are working on.”
Fernandez, however, said in the meantime this would just continue to allow for ad hoc development.
“It appears what they are saying is that it is better to have an unplanned city than a planned one. No reason has been given as to why the draft plan was not passed immediately and the failure to pass it is now being used as an excuse not to at all, with a promise to pass another one in the future.
“Meanwhile, all manner of ad hoc approvals continue to give great hardship to KL residents,” he said.