Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad said starting from March 15, 2019, one kilometre along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman from Esfahan Road to the junction of Jalan Melayu is accessible only by bus and tour bus. — Picture by Hari Anggara

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 13 — Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Jalan TAR) in Kuala Lumpur is closed to all vehicles except for buses beginning March 15, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abd Samad said.

The closure of the one-kilometre stretch from the Jalan Esfahan to Jalan Melayu was to allow the public and mainly shoppers to carry out their business and other activities as they would not have to deal with the constant traffic in the area, he said.

“Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) conducted an online survey on having the road closed and the majority of respondents agreed wih its proposal.

“We intend to make the area starting from Sogo (shopping complex) to Wisma Bandar to be free of vehicles,” he told a news conference after a Luncheon Talk here yesterday in conjunction with Federal Territory Day. Also present was Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan.

He said that if the situation was good after the road closure, DBKL was ready to allow bazaar traders who had applied for business licences to operate in the area, during the Ramadan period

He said the entire stretch could accommodate up to 200 lots which could also be used for other festive periods.

Khalid said the move would also safeguard the interests of business owners whose shops at the old site of the Ramadan bazaar were adversely affected.

In another development, Khalid said several individuals from the DBKL Procurement Division had their statements recorded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the “leaks” regarding the list of companies that had secured the river cleaning contract, which he added had been circulating on social media sites recently.

He said internal action had also been taken and the KL Mayor had ordered a total of 20 personnel in the division to be transferred to other departments within a month. — Bernama