Judge Mary Lim ruled that there is an “appealable error that warrants an appellate intervention”.
“We now set aside the High Court order on Nov 28, 2018,” she said, referring to its decision to reject an appeal by the residents to overturn the conditional planning permission and development order by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
The other judges who sat with Lim were Has Zanah Mehat and M Nantha Balan.
The residents had appealed against the proposed development of the Taman Rimba Kiara 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 project was to be undertaken by property developer Malton Bhd, through its subsidiary Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd, and Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP), a foundation chaired by the federal territories minister.
The court also ordered DBKL to pay RM60,000, and YWP and Memang Perkasa RM80,000 in costs.
In delivering the unanimous decision, Lim said the residents’ groups had the legal standing to file the judicial review against the local authority on grounds that they are aggrieved parties over the proposed development in the neighbourhood.
“It is undeniable that the development will directly and indirectly affect them in terms of the value of their properties, traffic condition and the magnitude of development that has an impact on the population density,” she said.
Besides that, she said, the mayor owes a duty under the common law to notify and hear objections by residents on any proposed development under his jurisdiction.
“There can only be proper effective town planning if residents are consulted and heard before a decision on the proposed development is made.
Lim said the mayor needs to show that the local council had adhered to all laws and regulations before coming to a decision on development.
“His decision ought to be communicated to the residents at the time he has decided on it. Timing is material for the residents so they can be informed and proceed with the next course of action”.
On the justification of “relocating longhouse residents living around Taman Rimba Kiara” cited by the mayor in approving the development order, Lim said the court could not agree with his reasoning.
“We do not see how the longhouse residents’ matter can be taken into consideration by the mayor. It is a legacy from politics.
“This proposed development in reality is purely a commercial joint venture between YWP and Memang Perkasa,” she said.
The residents were represented by Gurdial Singh Nijar, Christopher Leong and Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi. B Thangaraj appeared for DBKL, and Cecil Abrahim for YWP and Memang Perkasa.
Harpal Singh Grewal represented the Taman Rimba Kiara longhouse residents.
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