Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PH-Setiawangsa) today said that the way Kuala Lumpur is run needs major reforms, warning that MPs and city folk have little or no say in how Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) manages its nearly RM3 billion budget.
The former minister told the Dewan Rakyat that DBKL’s RM2.8 billion budget for 2025 was roughly the same as that of Selangor (RM3 billion) and larger than Johor’s (RM1.99 billion). However, he said MPs and city residents had no say in how the city is run.
Nik Nazmi said DBKL’s advisory board could only make suggestions to the mayor, unlike councils in states where councillors act as a check and balance.
“Under the Federal Capital Act and other laws, the mayor is all-powerful. If you get a good mayor, all is well. If not, we face problems,” he said when debating a parliamentary select committee presentation related to the city’s affairs.
Nik Nazmi said while Kuala Lumpur MPs were previously consulted on land matters, they are currently cut out of the process.
“We only know when protests have been filed or when development has started,” he said.
He urged the government to honour its pledge to create a council system for DBKL as recommended by the parliamentary select committee, and for the reintroduction of local council elections.
Idris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai) also listed 15 points of concern, including government losses from land sold below market value, reserve land such as police lots and flood ponds being given to developers, and the use of direct negotiations instead of open tender.
He said many flood ponds failed to meet drainage and irrigation department standards, public objections were ignored in the Kampung Bohol case, and the OSC 3.0 Plus system where planning permissions are viewed was shut off to the public from 2023.
Idris said outdated land valuation methods from 1995 meant that plots were sold for too cheap, while projects like the 4,925 new units in Jalan Kuchai Lama had strained roads and led to worse flash floods.
He also claimed there were integrity issues such as the misuse of MPs’ signatures in letters to sway land decisions.
Earlier, Public Accounts Committee deputy chair Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) said a PAC probe had found weak control over land matters in Kuala Lumpur.
She called for the formation of a new body comprising KL MPs to oversee land matters, the reinstatement of ministerial oversight over a land panel, legislative amendments to introduce a council system for DBKL, and the public release of land records.
Parliamentary select committee chairmen are being given time in the Dewan Rakyat to present their reports over today and tomorrow. The practice is meant to give more public visibility to the committees’ work on current issues.
Each chairman will have seven minutes to present, followed by a short debate with two government MPs and two opposition MPs.
