Majority of owners and MRT Corp to pursue mutual agreement

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CONTINUOUS talks between MRT Corp and property owners affected by the My Rapid Transit alignment seem to be yielding positive results with the signing of a memorandum pledging to pursue a mutual agreement together.

MRT Corp told StarMetro that 16 out of 23 lot owners in Jalan Sultan, as well as 20 out of 21 lot owners in Jalan Inai, have signed the memorandum on various dates beginning this week.

“Solutions have been found to address issues of concerns in both areas and we are ready to talk with their lawyers to work out the agreement details in the next few days,” chief executive officer Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said.

While a number of the affected owners have expressed willingness to cooperate with MRT Corp on the basis that no acquisition of land or property will take place and compensations be made, another group was adamant about a realignment.

An owner, who did not want to be quoted, said the committee representing the affected owners and traders in Jalan Sultan no longer existed because they had different views.

“As a businessman here, the business has to go on. A way must be worked out and I do not think the realignment is possible even if we bring the case to the Prime Minister.

“They have promised to give what we have wanted, we consider the case settled,” he said.

Another owner said his family was fatigued by the many months of negotiation, and would be willing to facilitate the project as long as there was no demolition or acquisition. He said they were waiting for MRT Corp to draft the agreement details and would move on from there.

On the other hand, another group of owners insisted on realignment.

“We have been asking for the feasibility and social impact studies from the very beginning, but where are they?” asked Judy Lam whose family owned Hotel Lok Ann, adding that the century-old buildings cannot sustain the impact of tunnelling.

She said about two bus loads of owners from Jalan Sultan and Bukit Bintang handed in a memorandum at the Parliament on Tuesday to bring the realignment proposal to the Prime Minister’s attention.

On her claims, MRT Corp clarified in a written statement that the Social Impact Assessment was done as part of the Environment Impact Assessment and the report was displayed by the Department of Environment for the public for one month from Feb 14, 2011. This report is available at the DOE’s office should the public require it.

“The feasibility study of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang alignment has been done and the findings on why the station has to be located at PasarSeni and Merdeka, and the justification on why the alignment is running along Jalan Sultan has been explained to the relevant landowners each time an engagement session takes place,” read the statement.

They added that the project engineers had confirmed that tunnelling could be carried out below Jalan Sultan buildings without damaging them structurally.

Such arrangements have been successfully done in Singapore and other places.

Meanwhile, chairman of Bukit Bintang Protem Action Committee Datuk Chong Peng Wah said the group had agreed on further discussions on the matter after a meeting with MRT Corp and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chuo Soi Lek on Monday.

“There’s no question that the structures in Jalan Bukit Bintang will be rebuilt but will we get back the land unimpaired? That’s our concern, it’s premature to say that we’ve agreed on the terms, but we’ve opened up a window for discussions to continue,” he said.