Parts of Kinrara school face relocation due to apartment project, says DBKL
Parents, teachers and board members of SJK(T) Ladang Kinrara at the school on March 24 following a town hall meeting over the proposed demolition of part of their school.
PETALING JAYA: The land and mines department and the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MBSJ) have been instructed to identify suitable areas to relocate parts of a Tamil school in Kinrara that will be affected by an apartment project in the area.
In March, FMT reported that SJK (T) Ladang Kinrara in Puchong refused to hand over part of its land to a developer unless it was compensated properly.
In a letter sighted by FMT, the developer requested SJK (T) Ladang Kinrara to hand over 3,000 sq ft of the school’s compound for the expansion of Jalan Mas in return for a compensation of RM50,000.
The road expansion would mean that several of the school’s buildings, including a kindergarten and canteen, would have to be demolished, thus affecting the 700 students enrolled at the school.
Parents, teachers and board members of the school held a town hall on March 24, where the chairman of the school’s board, Gobi Gurusamy, said they were shocked at receiving the developer’s letter on March 4 without any prior notification.
In a statement yesterday, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) explained that an amended development order was granted to Fajarbaru Land Sdn Bhd to develop 1,604 units of Residensi Wilayah apartments on Lot 101895, Jalan Mas, Petaling district, Kuala Lumpur on 27 Sept 2021.
The traffic impact assessment report submitted by the project’s consultant proposed that Jalan Mas be upgraded to four lanes due to the expected increase in traffic volume once the apartments are built.
DBKL said the proposal to upgrade Jalan Mas will involve the demolition of several structures built on road reserves, among them a temple and several buildings belonging to SJK (T) Ladang Kinrara.
It added that the proposals on relocating parts of SJK (T) Ladang Kinrara must be referred back to the land and mines department, MBSJ, and the education ministry.
DBKL has also been told to refer the issue of the Hindu temple’s location at Jalan Kinrara to the federal territories non-Muslim places of worship committee (RISI) and Batu MP P Prabakaran for further instructions.
According to DBKL, the matters were decided at a meeting on June 7, which was chaired by federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa and attended by Prabakaran, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Kinrara assemblyman Ng Sze Han, and representatives from SJK (T) Ladang Kinrara, the Hindu temple, government agencies, and the relevant departments in DBKL.