Badan Warisan Malaysia uneasy over KTMB buildings 'facelift'

PETALING JAYA: Badan Warisan Malaysia (BWM) is concerned over reports of possible transfer of the historic Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and KTM Berhad Headquarters buildings to a private body for redevelopment. Its president, Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, in a statement said, the exchange would probably allow extensive make over of not only the buildings, but also the land in Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin.

"Both buildings are not just part of KL's history but also architectural icons, ever since their completion in  1911." He said they did not object to the transfer of the heritage properties to the private sector as Permodalan Nasional Berhad's (PNB) purchase of Stadium Merdeka showed high level of restoration and conservation. "We hope even before any exchange takes place, the heritage authorities will meet the present and potential owners to ascertain the proposed use of any future development plans in accordance to the standard of the national heritage assets."

BWM also urged the authorities to impose and enforce stringent guidelines for the conservation and reservation of the sites as provided under Section 72 (1) National Heritage Act (NHA) 2005 to ensure the heritageassets are conserved and preserved. The statement also stated that both buildings were gazetted under the (now repealed) Antiquities Act 1976 on March 22, 1983, and were placed under National Heritage Registrar in June 2007.

Under Section 40(3)(b) and 25 of the NHA 2005, the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture has the power to control the development of the adjoining lands for a distance of 200 metre from the boundary of the land of the gazetted properties. Any proposed works will be bound by provisions under the NHA, including in Sections 36, 37, 40, 45 and 112. Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad  (KTMB) acting senior manager of corporate communication, Mohd Fazil Ismail, had in an earlier report dismissed talks that they decided to transfer the buildings to a private company.

"The management has yet to decide on the matter. We think the reports done were incorrect," Fazil said. "Any decision on the transfer will ultimately be decided by the Federal government as this building and land are government properties." He said the matter not only involves KTMB alone, but also the Railway Assets Corporation, Ministry of Finance and other shareholders. Admitting the transfer of buildings was not a new issue, Mohd Fazil said there have been numerous proposals from various bodies over the past six years. "Even if the transfer took place, I believe the government had to impose strict rules and guidelines for it."