According to the group, a company identified as GPL, the slot machine operator at the RSC, submitted plans to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) on March 10 for the proposed facility.
The 0.5-acre facility, off Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, would include a bar, restaurant, pickleball courts, and slot machine or gaming room for non-Muslim RSC members.
RSC currently operates a sports annexe in Bukit Kiara, while its main clubhouse is the historic colonial-era building at Dataran Merdeka.
The residents questioned the logic of placing a gaming operation so close to a residential neighbourhood, law enforcement quarters, and a religious institution.
“In the gazetted Kuala Lumpur Local Plan 2040 (KLLP2040), this plot is zoned as commercial and its use under the A8 Classification (Betting & Gaming) shows that this activity cannot be allowed. Why?” said the statement issued by RA spokesman Khairudin Rahim.
Khairudin said the residents wrote to KL mayor Maimunah Sharif and the executive director of planning, Zulkurnain Hassan, on June 16 to formally object to the application and urge the authorities to reject it.
“We look forward to DBKL making the right decision in compliance with the KLLP2040,” he said.
As an alternative, the association proposed that DBKL consider building a multi-storey public car park on the site to help reduce the long-standing shortage of parking in TTDI.
“It is the last available plot of open land for public parking,” Khairudin added.
Khairudin also took note of a June 21 circular issued to RSC members informing them that the club and GPL had agreed “in principle” to reconsider the application in light of community and NGO concerns.
“To date, it is only an ‘in principle’ statement and not an affirmative act of withdrawal for this application.
“Irrespective, we are earnestly awaiting confirmation from DBKL that this application has been rejected,” he said.
In the June 21 circular to members, RSC president Rizal Edi Effendi Sahbudin clarified that the proposed building was not initiated or undertaken by the club.
He said the idea to relocate the club’s gaming room was first approved at the RSC’s AGM in December 2023, but that delays prompted its business partner to propose a new site earlier this year.
Rizal said RSC became aware of the residents’ objections during a recent town hall session.
“Given the current scenario, as stewards of RSC, it is the general committee’s responsibility to consider the sentiments expressed by stakeholders,” he added.
FMT has reached out to DBKL, RSC, and GPL for comment.