Residents groups are pleased that the PM listened to their voices and postponed the gazettement of the KLSP 2040. – Filepic
THE move to postpone the gazettement of Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan (KLSP) 2040 for further public engagement is a step towards inclusive nation building, say city stakeholders.
Kuala Lumpur Residents Association Coalition+ (KLRA+) comprising 55 residents associations and Selamatkan Kuala Lumpur (SKL) have lauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s move to delay gazetting the plan until May 31.
“We thank the Prime Minister for listening to the people, and we appreciate his positive response to our plea.
“SKL will scrutinise the documents thoroughly and provide feedback to the Prime Minister, because any slip up will have serious implications on Kuala Lumpur’s development,” said SKL chairman Datuk M. Ali.
“The period given is less than two months and we have not received the revised draft plan from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
“Time is of the essence. We hope DBKL can highlight the changes that it has made in the revised draft plan,” he said.
On Saturday, Anwar said he would delay gazetting the plan, to allow for further engagement sessions as per the Malaysia Madani concept.
Last week, KLRA+ and SKL had asked for the gazetting of the KLSP 2040 to be postponed as they had found new changes to it that were not made known to the people.
They wanted the additional changes, policies and strategic directions to the revised draft plan to be made public so that they can give their feedback.
KLRA+ Inclusivity Task Force steering committee secretary BC Tan said that in the past, the authorities would have bulldozed through and gazetted the plan without holding further engagement with the public.
The inclusivity task force, she said, would also liaise with the transparency and open data task force.
“We will look into the statistics and explore issues such as hillside development, public transportation and flood mitigation, to name a few,” she said.
He added that the group would work with SKL to come up with a systematic approach to provide feedback on KLSP 2040.
Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, who has been championing sustainable development in Kuala Lumpur via the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM) – Sustainable Development Goal, said Anwar’s decision was a fine example of a caring government.
“The 55 RAs came together and studied the plan as the objective is gearing towards sustainability for Kuala Lumpur.
“It is evident that when the people’s voice gets louder, the authorities will have to act.
“We want a city that develops into a place that is not just liveable but also in line with the environmental, social and governance (ESG) concept,” he added.
Kok Wai said a resolution adopted during the UN General Assembly last year stated that access to a healthy environment was a universal human right, and this was the request of residents’ groups – that KLSP 2040 adopted a people-first planning strategy.
He said that he was interested to see the planning done for the Central Business District (CBD).
“In the plan, seven cemeteries of historical and heritage value including Kwang Tung Cemetery are included in the CBD area.
“The authorities had promised that the cemeteries would not be affected in planning for the CBD,” he said, adding that KLSP 2040 should be amended and the cemeteries removed from plans for the CBD.
Based on all the stakeholders pleas, DBKL, in a statement yesterday said the revised draft plan for KLSP 2040 was ready and can be viewed via www.dbkl.gov.my from tomorrow.
There will also be engagement sessions with the public and stakeholders on the matter later.
