Ampang Park shop owners, tenants protest MRT walkway construction

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): At least 100 Ampang Park Shopping Centre shop owners and tenants are protesting a Mass Rail Transit (MRT) pedestrian walkway scheduled to be built by MRT Corp underneath the mall in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

They have been told to vacate the mall by the end of the month although no date has been given for the walkway construction to begin.

“If there is no pedestrian walkway, there is no need for the land acquisition,” said Ampang Park 1Malaysia Traders Association vice-chairman Wan Kamal Izzuddin Wan Kassim at the protest in front of the mall this afternoon, which was joined by Ikhlas Malaysia president Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah.

The group is also continuing its protest against the compulsory acquisition of the land to make way for the new MRT station on the site.

Wan Kamal, at the press conference after the protest, said Ampang Park shop owners and tenants were more than willing to cooperate with MRT Corp as long as it did not mean the demolition of the mall.

"We don't see the benefit of this pedestrian tunnel. Why do they not want to build a pedestrian bridge instead? They can join it to Ampang Park," he said.

He said they had suggested the bridge to MRT Corp, which seemed to have turned a deaf ear and was adamant about demolishing the site for the pedestrian tunnel.

Wan Kamal also said that MRT Corp and Ampang Park management had not told the owners and tenants about the pedestrian tunnel.

"They did not tell us anything about the pedestrian tunnel. We thought it was the station that was going underneath," he said.

Ridzuan added that today's demonstration also launched a campaign to collect 1,000 signatures for a memorandum to be handed over to the prime minister.

"I have already contacted the prime minister’s political secretary, who has said they will accept the memorandum once it is ready," he said

Ridzuan also challenged Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to not only focus on the Urban Transformation Centres (UTCs), but to also help save Ampang Park Shopping Centre.

"I ask the FT minister to not overlook the business community here. You say you want to move everyone to UTC, has UTC the same standards with Ampang Park?" he said.

The 42-year-old Ampang Park Shopping Centre is scheduled to be demolished for MRT Corp to build the Ampang MRT station.

The walkway, which will go underground, would require the mall to be demolished. The station itself will be built in a spot next to the mall.

MRT Corp has given Ampang Park owners two options – sign a mutual agreement with the project owner or acquiesce to the land acquisition process.

Both options will involve the demolition of the mall. -- The Malaysian Insider

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