By Hannah Yeoh
CONGRATULATIONS to our team of lawyers (Christopher Leong, Aliff Benjamin Suhaimi, Abraham Au and Phoebe Loi) led by Prof Gurdial S Nijar who delivered his passionate submission in court to preserve Taman Rimba Kiara.
I remember feeling very overwhelmed by his arguments to protect green space for the future generations.
When I was first told about contesting in Segambut, I remember researching about the on-going protests by TTDI residents against the proposed development in Taman Rimba Kiara. I knew it was going to be a huge battle as DBKL had then given a Development Order (DO) to the developer.
I campaigned to preserve Taman Rimba Kiara. I won the elections. As the new MP here, I went straight to MACC to lodge reports for investigation into this deal.
I met the stakeholders – the longhouse residents, the activists, the surrounding residents, the parkgoers, the developer and the new FT Minister.
By then, the matter was already at the High Court. I tried to convince the new FT Minister to cancel the DO. He scaled it down instead. We also lost at the High Court. We appealed to the Court of Appeal.
During the entire process, it was a difficult journey for me. I felt that the new Harapan administration could do better than just scaling down the development approved by BN.
I went to see many politicians to argue my case. Some agreed with me. Some felt I was being unreasonable.
There were plenty of exchanges between me and the FT Minister in the news. Supporters of Harapan and BN watching on the sideline said such open infighting was terrible
Some accused me of fighting for the rich at the expense of the poor and some used the race card against me.
I joined hands with activists like Datuk Ambiga and Cynthia Gabriel of C4. They appeared at press conference with me and supported me.
I want to congratulate the core team of TTDI residents who fought this in court with their resources and many hours of taking leave from work and their family time. Congratulations to Hafiz, Leon, Khairuddin, Sivakumar, Clinton and so many more.
Fighting with your political opponent is difficult.
Fighting with your own administration and colleague can be painful.
But with every difficult step I had to take in the last few years (including the threat of being sued for RM10 mil by landowner Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan) and each time I questioned if I had done the right thing, my residents and my voters were right there to cheer me on.
Today justice prevailed. When the local authority, FT Ministers (old and new) and MACC failed us, the Court of Appeal restored my faith.
Read the judgement if you can. We were in tears absorbing every word being delivered. The Court of Appeal agreed with us.
Now, I want to focus my energy on helping the longhouse residents with permanent housing at the site.
To aspiring politicians out there, always listen to the voters who gave you the mandate to represent them. Honor your words even if they cost you.
Thanks be to God and everyone who fought hard to preserve Taman Rimba Kiara. Again, this is for the generations to come in Kuala Lumpur. – Jan 28, 2021
Hannah Yeoh is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Segambut and former Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
