Yeoh: 18-year delay leads to flood retention land alienation

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia experienced an 18-year delay in formally registering land designated for flood retention ponds, resulting in 80 acres being handed over to developers for a mixed-use project, according to the Dewan Rakyat.

Hannah Yeoh, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Federal Territories, revealed that the land reservation was authorized on June 19, 1998, but remained unregistered until it was revoked in 2016 due to a decision by the Federal Territories Land Working Committee. This lapse enabled the land to be transferred to developers, generating RM214 million in premiums.

During a parliamentary Q&A session, Yeoh highlighted that the delay exposed weaknesses in safeguarding public land, especially areas crucial for flood mitigation. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigated the land alienation but found no case, stating that while the reservation was approved in 1998, it wasn't formally gazetted when the land was transferred.

Responding to P. Prabakaran (PH-Batu), who inquired about accelerating the gazetting of flood retention ponds, Yeoh emphasized the need to prevent similar occurrences. She noted that 19 land parcels involving flood retention ponds in Jinjang and Batu had been handed over to developers since 2015, with seven lots still pending development applications.

Despite the reduction in retention pond area from 33.5 hectares to 19.6 hectares, the combined capacity of the remaining flood retention ponds in Batu and Jinjang still stands at 7 million cubic meters. To avert future incidents, Yeoh announced the establishment of two task forces: one focused on flood mitigation, and the other overseeing the gazetting of open spaces and green areas to shield them from land alienation.