Land Acquisition Act turns legal owners into squatters - Khalid

KUALA LUMPUR – The use of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 in the redevelopment of Kampung Sungai Baru had resulted in legal landowners being treated as though they were squatters.

Former Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad alleged that this approach was initiated during the tenures of Tan Sri Annuar Musa and Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim as Federal Territories Ministers, despite prior agreements being negotiated amicably with landowners.

"I opposed the use of this Act from the beginning and raised objections in Parliament. This issue stemmed from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government and unfortunately, was continued by the current Unity Government.

"During my tenure as minister, this was not an issue because developers were still negotiating with owners and some had agreed and signed agreements," he told Sinar on Monday.

Khalid was responding to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that land in Kampung Sungai Baru, Kampung Baru, involved in the redevelopment project should be valued at RM3,000 per square foot.

Khalid also questioned the compensation value for the land, which he described as excessively low.

The Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) assessed it at around RM450 per square foot, compared to the previously agreed market value of RM1,500 per square foot between owners and developers.

"I repeatedly voiced my objections to the Federal Territories Minister and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"This valuation should not solely rely on JPPH, which might have its own agenda.

"The land's value should reflect the current market rate as determined by independent private valuers," he added.

Khalid further alleged that the land valuation process was unfair, as it was conducted exclusively by JPPH during the PN government’s era.

He pointed out that the valuation for Kampung Sungai Baru land was set at only RM450 per square foot—significantly lower than JPPH’s valuation for adjacent MAS land, which was RM1,000 per square foot during the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.

Khalid also clarified that the majority of flat residents agreed to the redevelopment because they received compensation in the form of property valued at RM1,500 per square foot.

"The problem arose with the terrace house owners, whose land areas were four times larger than the flats and they did not agree. They were only offered cash compensation based on RM450 per square foot.

"If we counted the number of owners, most agreed. But if we considered the land area, the majority of owners disagreed," he said.