TTDI residents to take KL rezoning fight to court on March 3

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — A judicial review hearing is set for March 3 over the rezoning of a parcel of land in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) under the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 (KLCP 2020).

The application was filed by a group of residents seeking to overturn decisions by the Kuala Lumpur mayor and the Federal Territories Minister to approve the change of Lot 52396 along Jalan Abang Haji Openg from institutional to commercial land, The Star reported.

Lawyer Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi, representing 10 residents, said a successful review would revert the land to its original institutional status, ensuring any development proposal must comply with the initial zoning rules.

Former TTDIRA chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar, one of the applicants, said authorities should not alter land zoning arbitrarily. 

He noted that although the rezoning was initially approved in 2019, it was later included in KLCP 2020’s Alteration 3 (Part 2) after DBKL suspended the decision for non-compliance.

Abdul Hafiz said residents had objected to the change and petitioned in 2020, which resulted in the plot ratio being reduced to two, though the land remained commercially zoned. 

The proposed development is a 45-storey serviced apartment with 279 units on 0.61ha belonging to an NGO.

Residents expressed concerns over potential traffic congestion and impacts on quality of life, warning that approval could set a precedent for nine neighbouring institutional lots.

Abdul Hafiz said TTDIRA plans to send a busload of residents to the hearing to demonstrate public interest in the case.