The Save Bukit Kiara walk, organised by FoBK to raise awareness of the need to save the hill, became an annual event. The writer is at bottom right (All photos: Pola Singh)
I’m on cloud nine! Nov 4, 2020, will be etched in my mind forever — the day I learnt that a 13-year crusade had finally paid off. I am referring to the official gazettement of Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara for “public purposes”, dated July 29 this year, but made public only now.
The struggle, however, is far from over. Only 274 acres, or 59 % of the 466-acre hill, were gazetted while the other 192 acres remain ungazetted.
How the struggle began
In 1976, the federal government acquired 1,600 acres (648ha) of rubber estate land in Bukit Kiara (BK), Kuala Lumpur, for recreational and “open space” purposes, with the intention of establishing a public park and an arboretum. Unfortunately, over the years, many plots of land were given out to public institutions and private companies. What remains now amounts to 466 acres (188.9ha), the equivalent of 300 football fields or about 29% of the original tract of land. Owing to the hill’s strategic location, many developers continue to aspire to get a piece of it.
BK is one of the few remaining green lungs in the city. It boasts many jungle trails, old and young trees of every species, waterfalls, clear streams, steep inclines and deep valleys. Hundreds of joggers, walkers, hikers, cyclists and nature lovers frequent BK, especially during the weekends. In addition, it is recognised by many mountain bikers as having one of the most challenging trails in the region.
Advocacy efforts
The desire to preserve BK was first made known to the mayor of Kuala Lumpur in the mid-1990s. A group of nature lovers who called themselves Friends of Bukit Kiara (FoBK) came together and, led by the late Liew Khooi Cheng, made several representations to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Ministry of Housing and Local Government and even the then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. We were assisted by a coalition of 44 residents’ associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
In June 2007, FoBK was elated when the Cabinet agreed to preserve the remaining green areas as a large-scale public park. Following that decision, countless meetings with DBKL, Jabatan Landskap Negara (JLN) and other stakeholders were held. However, despite repeated assurances, the gazettement of BK remained elusive.
In 2012, JLN erected a 3.5m-high perimeter fence along a 4.7km stretch to demarcate the hill and separate it from the Berjaya Equestrian Club land, without informing stakeholders such as FoBK. It became clear to the group that directly engaging with the authorities was making no headway. There was a real danger of more parcels of BK being carved out to be given to others.
a_favourite_pit_stop_by_hikers_cyclists_at_bukit_kiara_1.jpg
People power and community effort for greater impact
FoBK organised a Save Bukit Kiara walk — which became an annual event — to raise awareness of the need to save the hill among park users. A Save BK signature campaign was also undertaken in April 2012. The overwhelming support from the residents of Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) and the surrounding areas resulted in more than 10,000 signatures being collected from grandparents, working adults, housewives and millennials.
The media was engaged to support our case. Letters questioning the lack of political will to gazette BK were sent out regularly to the editors of various newspapers. We were not going to let anyone forget the 2007 Cabinet decision and the unfulfilled promises.
The event that turned the tide in our favour was the 2018 general election, when the newly formed Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was voted into power. The gazettement of BK would not have come to fruition had it not been for Hannah Yeoh, the Member of Parliament for Segambut, who came into the picture in an impactful way. In fact, one of her campaign promises was that she would go all out to get BK gazetted. Indeed, she lived up to her promise. Former Federal Territories minister Khalid Abdul Samad also deserves special mention.
Countless other individuals and organisations have contributed to make this gazettement a reality today. Special mention must be given to the late Liew, whose passion to preserve BK rubbed off on me in those early days. Former Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, TTDI Residents’ Association chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar, Peter Leong, Dr Kribanandan GN, Leon Koay and Clinton Ang, just to name a few, have fought alongside me all these years.
The gazettement of BK was signed on Feb 21 this year, when PH was still in power, and first published on March 9. But due to a significant typographical error concerning the acreage involved, Yeoh pursued the matter further. The gazette was amended and republished on July 29 with the correct acreage. Taman Persekutuan BK is now under the control of the secretary-general of the Ministry of Federal Territories.
The way forward
There is still some unfinished business:
• To gazette the remaining 192 acres of BK as an “open space and park” as soon as the leases expire. These areas are now being leased to Measat Broadcast Network System (129 acres expiring in 2027) and Berjaya Equestrian Park (63 acres expiring in 2064).
• To ensure that the two parcels of land mentioned above are designated as “park reserve” in the 2040 KL Structure Plan. This move will snuff out any hopes of any aspiring developer to procure these lots for residential/commercial development. It will also enable DBKL to reject outright any application for these plots.
• To designate and gazette Taman Rimba Kiara (recently renamed by DBKL as Taman Awam Bukit Kiara) as an “open space”. Taman Rimba Kiara was once a contiguous part of BK until it was severed when the KL Golf and Country Club lot was carved out.
• FoBK, in consultation with other stakeholders, will continue to engage with JLN on how the hill can be best taken care of, such as erecting signages, and the naming and upkeep of popular trails.
• To continue to engage with our MPs and the Ministry of Federal Territories on any future changes planned for BK, always reminding them to keep any man-made structures off the land.
I am convinced that the news of the gazettement of BK has given many NGOs renewed hope and impetus that the causes they are fighting for — no matter how frustrating and onerous the journey — can someday be won, and that rallying community power is the way forward.
Dr Pola Singh is passionate about protecting the green lungs in the city. The co-founder of Friends of Bukit Kiara is the author of My Reflections of Life. He retired as director-general of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia in 2011, and previously served at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta and on the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department.
This article first appeared on Nov 16, 2020 in The Edge Malaysia.
