The controversy began in 2014 when Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP), a Federal Territories foundation under Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), entered into a joint venture with Memang Perkasa, a subsidiary of Malton. Twelve acres of the 25-acre Taman Rimba Kiara Park were transferred to YWP, which then entered into a joint venture with Memang Perkasa to develop the parcel. Memang Perkasa was to pay RM160 million ($50.02 million) to YWP in stages.
The development plan that emerged back then was substantial, involving eight blocks of high-rise serviced apartments, alongside a 29-storey block containing 350 units of affordable housing for the longhouse residents. There were to be eight storeys of parking.
TTDI residents initiated the Save Taman Rimba Kiara campaign in 2016 after spotting a notice about Memang Perkasa’s plans to build several blocks of luxury condominiums on the 12 acres of parkland that had been designated as a green space for public use under the KL Structure Plan 2020. They argued there had been no proper consultation and that the project would gut one of the city’s last significant green lungs. Critics also noted a structural conflict of interest — Kuala Lumpur’s then-mayor Mohd Amin Aziz sat on YWP’s board of trustees, the very body partnering with the developer whose project the mayor’s office would later approve.
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What followed was a six-year legal battle. The residents lost at the High Court in 2018 but won at the Court of Appeal in 2021, before the Federal Court delivered a final, unanimous verdict against the project in April 2023. The apex court found that there was no merit in DBKL’s appeal to reinstate the development, with the bench concluding that a conflict of interest and bias had affected the mayor’s decision, since he was also a trustee of YWP. The court also held that the gazetted KL Structure Plan 2020 had zoned the area as public green space.
Crucially, the court noted that resolving the original development dispute and resolving the longhouse residents’ housing rights were two separate matters.
The judges found the state’s obligation to house the longhouse settlers was a distinct duty owed to them, separate from whatever happened with the wider commercial project. In other words, even with the initial condominium project shelved, the 98 families’ long wait for permanent housing remained unresolved.
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Following the court rulings, the cabinet in 2024 directed DBKL to find a way to preserve Taman Rimba Kiara’s green space while still delivering housing to the longhouse families on the existing footprint, rather than reviving any large-scale commercial redevelopment.
Various proposals were floated throughout 2024 and 2025 — including scaled-back versions trading parkland for smaller housing footprints — but progress remained slow, prompting continued advocacy from groups like Save Taman Rimba Kiara and from Segambut MP Yeoh, who had long argued that residents deserved low-density, landed permanent housing built without encroaching further into the park.
Where the original 2017 plan called for nearly all of the carved-out 12 acres to be developed, the final settlement announced by Yeoh on June 15 restricts development to just 5.76 acres.
The remainder of the land will be returned to the government and officially gazetted as public open space.
Other key terms include preserving the Sri Maha Mariamman temple site and officially designating it as a non-Muslim place of worship, as well as increased parking capacity at Taman Rimba Kiara from 80 to 150 bays. A joint audit involving DBKL, Friends of Bukit Kiara and Forest Research Institute Malaysia will also be carried out to protect trees within the development area.
Aside from that, a special task force has been established under the Federal Territories Department specifically to protect and gazette green spaces, aiming to prevent similar disputes in future.
Permanent housing, finally
For the 98 longhouse families, the agreement delivers on a promise made in 1982. The families working in a former rubber estate in Bukit Kiara had been relocated into longhouses sitting on 4.4 acres on the edge of what is now Taman Rimba Kiara. They were told the move was temporary, pending a permanent housing solution from the state authority.
Under the new terms announced by Yeoh, the developer will build and complete replacement homes on 1.275 acres behind the temple before the existing longhouses are demolished, meaning residents will move directly into permanent housing without facing temporary relocation.
The financial terms have also shifted in the residents’ favour. Under the original 2014 agreement, families were to receive one unit free of charge, with a second unit offered at RM175,000.
Following the prolonged legal battle and recognising that the families fall under the B40 income group, the government has now agreed that both units will be provided free of charge. A three-bedroom unit has a built-up area of 850 sq ft.
The government will also channel a RM1 million grant through DBKL over three years to subsidise the maintenance charges once residents move in, easing the financial transition. The project is expected to be completed within three years.
What it means for Memang Perkasa
Memang Perkasa, which had pursued the original mega-development and fought the legal battle through to the Federal Court, will now be limited to developing a smaller 5.76-acre footprint.
Anwar noted that he had asked the Kuala Lumpur mayor to consider incentives for the developer as part of the resolution, though specific commercial terms for the downsized project have not been detailed publicly.
A recent company search on Memang Perkasa shows its top shareholders as Malton (5.67%), Regal Marvel Capital (81.37%) and Tegap Dinamik (12.97%). Regal Marvel Capital is fully owned by Malton.
A company search on Tegap Dinamik lists Ahmad Lazri Long Ahmad Zainal Abidin as holding a 49% stake, Rosmanira Junoh, 30%, and Mohd Khairuddin Nawawi, 21%.
If Tegap Dinamik sounds familiar, think back to 2017, when Prasarana Malaysia awarded a light rail vehicle package worth RM1.56 billion under the Klang Valley’s third light rail transit (LRT3) project to a consortium comprising CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co, Siemens Ltd China and Tegap Dinamik. The consortium was the only one — of five pre-qualified groups — that submitted a bid for the LRT package within the deadline.
In a nutshell, out of the 5.76 acres, Memang Perkasa will keep the 4.4-acre plot — on which the longhouses currently sit — for future development (see map). It is very close to Sime Darby Property’s upscale Jendela Residences at KLGCC Resort in Bukit Kiara.
The Edge is given to understand that development plans are still in the initial stages. Local agents tell The Edge that it is a pretty large plot and considering that it is in such an affluent and desirable area, one can naturally expect plans for high-yield luxury skyscrapers to be revealed in due course.
This story first appeared in the June 22 issue of The Edge Malaysia
