Anwar’s political secretary Azman Abidin, who manages matters related to KLSP2040, said some objections were rejected after considering the importance of development in Kuala Lumpur and balancing this against the call for more recreational areas in the city.

He pointed out that public hearings were conducted twice, including before the unity government came to power.

Save Kuala Lumpur, an NGO that advocates greater environmental protection in the capital, yesterday claimed that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had failed to effectively engage communities when drafting the KLSP2040 which outlines the development of the city over the next 20 years.

In response, Azman said that after the unity government took over, another round of public hearing was conducted as NGOs, including SKL, were dissatisfied with the first session.

“Some objections were accepted, and some were rejected,” Azman told FMT.

“The process has been completed, and we have heard their (NGOs’) objections.

“(DBKL) is following the rules. For me, (we) cannot please everyone…”

Azman previously said there were more than 1,000 objections from various NGOs regarding KLSP2040, and the government had gone through them and included some of the recommendations in the final plan.

Anwar approved the plan on Oct 4 while the gazette was published on Oct 19.

Azman was responding to a report in FMT yesterday in which SKL chairman M Ali claimed that DBKL had failed to provide feedback on the previous public hearing, where the group had highlighted the draft’s shortcomings such as its failure to address the lack of open spaces in Kuala Lumpur.

“We have repeatedly highlighted that whenever there is an engagement, they should come back to us with effective feedback on what input has been accepted.

“And if these (the recommendations) are not accepted, what are their reasons? There must be an explanation to the public. Why are they trying to be so secretive about it?” Ali said, adding that they had yet to receive an official response from DBKL.