“This Friday, I will bring this issue up in our consultative council meeting with the Kuala Lumpur MPs. All of the MPs and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall mayor (Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz) will be there.
“I will ask for their clarification. Following this, I will arrange for a meeting with the concerned residents the following Sunday,” Khalid told FMT.
Khalid chairs regular meetings with all 11 Kuala Lumpur MPs and Amin Nordin since he became the FT minister.
Last week, the residents association of Bukit Bandaraya, had complained about earthworks underway at the project site located within a 20-hectare (51 acres) plot of land which houses the National Institute of Health (NIH).
The land was acquired in a land swap deal in 2012 by a joint venture between property developer SP Setia and a company linked to prominent billionaire Syed Mokhtar Albukhary.
Bukit Bandaraya Residents Association adviser Mumtaz Ali had asked why there had not been any engagement with the local community before the deal was approved.
“Fundamentally and in principle, the NIH land is institutional land. As such, it must only be used for institutional purposes, not for mixed development.
“Assuming changes were made for the use of this land, did the authorities go through a transparent and open procedure engaging the local community?
“The NIH land must be restored to what it was originally meant for, that is institutional purposes,” he said.
He added that Federal Hill was one of the few green lungs left in Kuala Lumpur suburbs, and had historical housing for government personnel.
Earlier today, FMT quoted Mumtaz asking Khalid to join him on a walkabout in the Federal Hill area this Sunday to see for himself the effects the project was having on the area and its vicinity.
Khalid told FMT that he would not be able to accept Mumtaz’s invitation this week, but promised he would visit the project site on July 27.
Federal Hill, a 20-hectare plot of land near KL Sentral, was acquired in 2012 by SP Setia Bhd in a land swap. This was in return for building a replacement facility for the NIH in the developer’s township in Setia Alam, Shah Alam.
SP Setia is 77% owned by government entities.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil had urged the new government and the federal territories ministry to reverse the land swap deal.
“This deal should not have gone on,” he said. “From the very beginning, I was against the project. Right now we want to know how the land deal was settled.”
Khalid previously told FMT he would consider reversing the controversial deal “if the reasons are good enough”.
“Obviously, a reversal of any agreement, especially one made more than five years ago, is a serious matter and cannot be done without good reason.
“There may be adverse consequences,” he cautioned.
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