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 ©The
Star (Used by permission)
by Bavani M
CITY folks are shocked that the mayor of Kuala Lumpur has appointed Datuk Esa
Mohamed as chairman of the Public Opinion Hearing Committee (POHC) that will
hear the objections pertaining to the Draft KL City Plan 2020.
Esa, a town planner and architect, is one of the leading consultants hired by
the DBKL to draw up the the draft plan and he is also a City Hall Advisory Board
member. They are questioning the legality of the committee.
Many fear that the people who made the proposals to the draft plan are
ironically going to be the ones who decide on the hearing and fear that this
will lead to prejudice.
Esa’s consultancy firm AJM Planners, of which he is a director, is the main
consultant that was hired by the DBKL to produce both city draft plan and the
Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 (KLSP2020).
However, when contacted, Esa told Star Metro that there was no conflict of
interest.
“We are merely providing professional input and I am duty bound to listen to the
public. It is just a draft, nothing is being finalised yet. Once we get all the
feedback, we will analyse everything,” he said.
“While I agree technically that one can raise the issue of conflict of interest
here, I have not agreed to accept the appointment yet. I have to clarify this
matter with the mayor” he said.
Esa added that under the Federal Territory Planning Act 1982, the members of the
hearing committee are appointed by the Federal Territory Minister and not the
mayor.
“I have to clarify the situation first and if there is major objection, I will
consider stepping down,’’ he said.
When the panel line-up was announced last week, many felt that it was a biased
committee and should be dissolved.
“There should be a special task force comprising City Hall and other relevant
parties like MPs, non-governmental organisations, professionals,
environmentalists, consumer groups and town planners to conduct the hearing,”
said Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai.
Local government expert Derek Fernandez said in other states the Town and
Country Planning Act 1976 (TCPA) is clear on the point that the person who
proposes the draft is not the person who decides on it.
“This is wrong. There should be an open hearing with the MPs, as they represent
the people. And you cannot prepare the draft that is inconsistent with the
policies – it clear-cut! Private interest appears to be dictating the
development patterns of Kuala Lumpur,’’ said Fernandez.
Federal Hill residents, who discovered that the land status of their
neighbourhood has been changed from institutional (police reserve) to
commercial, do not believe that the hearing will be a fair one.
“DBKL was supposed to act impartially in hearing the residents’ objections
against the development application to change land use from institutional to
commercial,” said a resident.
“Instead it has now acted partially by proposing this in its draft local plan.
The plan is DBKL’s proposal and not the developers. On what basis is DBKL
proposing it when they were supposed to decide this earlier at the objection
hearing and how can the hearing be impartial now?” asked the resident.
However, not everyone thinks there is a conflict of interest.
Town Planning expert Dr Kamaruzaman Ujang said the committee needed to have
members who are knowledgeable on the topic and that the writers of the plan were
the best for this.
“There is a need for them to represent the committee as they are seniors who can
explain things better as well as justify matters. There is no bias,” said
Kamaruzaman.
“There is no conflict of interest at this stage. It is just an objection hearing
and what is important is the appeal stage. People should be more concerned about
this. If the same people are sitting there, than we have a problem” he added.
“Bias? There is no bias,” said an irate member of the hearing committee who did
not want to be named.
The City Hall Advisory member said he could not understand the fuss as the
members were people who were well versed and with an in depth knowledge on the
draft plan and as such the best equipped to serve the people.
Structural consultant Professor Dr Gue See Sew said he did not see any conflict
of interest provided everything was done professionally.
“The decisions made during the hearing, good or bad, must be supported with
reasons. The committee is obligated to explain their findings,” he said.
Malaysian Institute of Planners president and managing director of AJM Planning
Norliza Hashim said that Esa was reluctant when the mayor appointed him as he
did say that there might be some form of conflict of interest.
“But I really don’t think there is an issue here as it is normal for him to hold
advisory positions and he is a credible figure. Furthermore, there is no
biasness here as the committee’s role is to listen and not make any assumptions
or decisions,” she said.
When the draft plan was made public last Thursday, city folk were dismayed to
discover that there were proposals of over-development and encroachment of green
lungs.
But the biggest blow was the revelation on the members appointed to sit in the
Public Opinion Hearing Committee as they comprised City Hall Advisory Board
members, former City Hall directors and town planners who are affiliated to the
local authority and whom many believe would be prejudiced.
City folks have six weeks to make their objections in writing. Once the plan is
gazetted, there is no turning back and new developments in the city cannot be
stopped.
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