A member of the Protect Taman Desa movement, Philip Phang, speaks at a press conference after a town hall meeting today in Kuala Lumpur July 7, 2018. ― Picture by Ham Abu Bakar

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 ― For residents of Taman Desa, the suspension order for the construction of a three-block, 37-storey condominium project in the suburb spelt a small victory after more than a year of protests against excessive development.

Protect Taman Desa residents association coalition member KY Khong told a press conference after a town hall meeting today that he was informed by the Planning Department in City Hall (DBKL) that the suspension order was made in a meeting just two days ago.

“The grounds for this suspension order is not specifically known yet.

“However, the decision taken by DBKL is a positive step towards achieving full transparency, accountability and management in accordance with the rule of law,” Khong said.

He said DBKL is expected to issue the suspension of work notice to Kaiser Bina (M) Sdn Bhd, the contractor of condominium project The Address.

He added that he had checked with the director of Building Control yesterday and confirmed that the notice “has been prepared, signed and its execution to be imminent”.

Khong praised Mayor Tan Sri Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz for taking a bold and courageous step to put DBKL back on the right track.

He and another member of the Protect Taman Desa movement, Philip Phang, expressed full support for the mayor and DBKL.

Phang noted that both the mayor and DBKL officers were more receptive, friendly and helpful after the government change from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan in the May 9 general election.

He believes that the mayor’s hands had been “shackled” previously as there was a law that required the mayor to take instructions from the federal territories minister.

“Because under the Federal Territories Act, Section 12 says that the mayor has all the authority but Section 13 said the Minister in charge of the Federal Territories can also make decisions.

“So you have the Section 13 to override Section 12 but what it actually means, the minister is to look at the general policy, not in the execution of DBKL,” he said.

Residents of Taman Desa had protested the condominium's development which is being constructed on TNB land.

They believe that the proposed three blocks of 37-storeys will cause heavy congestion in an already high-density area residential area.

The group is also protesting 14 other projects in the suburb without considering Taman Desa's 50-year old infrastructure.

Currently there are also two judicial review cases on the TNB land which the residents had filed in March and July this year. It remains with the High Court with two postponement already taken place.

Hearing for the review is on August 20.