PUTRAJAYA: Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said 1,716 out of 5,359 property owners in Kampung Baru have responded to the government's offer of RM1,000 per square foot, the highest amount offered for Malay Reserve Land anywhere.

He said that 93.7% agreed to sell, while 6.2% have disagreed and 0.1% have not responded clearly to the offer.

The RM1,000 per square foot offer is equivalent to RM43.5 million per acre, he said at a press conference here, with Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan present.

The offer comprises RM850 per square foot to be reflected in the choice made by individual property owners – among the choices offered to them are cash, a completed apartment or condominium unit (to be constructed as part of the government’s redevelopment plans for the area), and a combination of cash and a completed unit.

The remaining RM150 per square foot, will be provided in the form of shares in a company which will serve as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in connection with the redevelopment project.

He also brushed aside the recent observation by former Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani that it was illogical of the Pakatan Harapan government to require a 100% agreement among all owners regarding the sale of property in Kampung Baru.

“We, the government, urge and appeal to all owners to come back to the original intention behind the establishment of Kampung Baru, which was to ensure there was an appropriate number of Malays in Kuala Lumpur.

“We need to develop Kampung Baru so that the number of Malay residents in Kuala Lumpur can be increased,“ said Khalid.

The minister added that it would be prudent of property owners to accept the offer as it would be difficult in the future to address the existing ownership problems in Kampung Baru, in that one property grant could contain the names of many heirs, with some grants having up to 150 names each.