Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh is seeking a detailed briefing from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) this week on the loss of flood retention pond capacity in Kuala Lumpur. The request follows an investigation prompted by a report Yeoh lodged with MACC in 2021 about alleged irregularities in the alienation of land impacting the ponds in Batu and Jinjang areas [1, 2, 3].
The Batu and Jinjang flood retention ponds have shrunk by roughly 70% due to 17 land lots being transferred to developers since 2015. Sources differ on the original pond size, reporting either 114.5 hectares or 33.5 hectares, but agree the reduction is about 70% [1, 2, 4, 5]. The loss reduces overall capacity to about 30% of the original [1, 3].
Yeoh called the reduction in retention capacity an "unwise" and "foolish decision," saying the land transfers were problematic even though MACC found no corruption in the transactions. She said, "Even if something has no element of corruption, that does not mean the transaction is a good one. The decision to give land to a developer and to reduce the waterbody by 70 per cent was an unwise decision. I can say this was a foolish decision" [6, 5].
Yeoh is pressing MACC for clarity on how the conclusion of no corruption was reached. "What I want to find out is that when you (MACC) say there's no element of corruption, is that a case of them having studied all the documents or is that a case of them sending the papers to A-G (Attorney-General) but then they decided not to charge? I just can't make an assessment based on a news report. They (MACC) just said that there's no case," she said [7].
She ordered an immediate freeze on all remaining development permissions around the retention ponds to prevent further shrinkage [2, 4, 5]. A joint task force involving Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), and the Federal Territories Department has been established to tighten monitoring of affected developments [1, 2, 4]. Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Fadlun Mak Ujud said, "We are currently checking the finer details with the landowners and reviewing pond maintenance. We have also added additional guidelines strictly for management and operational purposes" [2].
Former Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansoor denied prior knowledge of the land transfers during his tenure, stating that land matters fell outside his ministry's jurisdiction [1, 2].
The upcoming briefing will include key agencies such as the Federal Territories Department, DBKL, the Federal Territories Land and Mines Office, and the newly formed task force to review MACC's investigation findings and discuss governance measures [4, 5, 8]. MACC reportedly advised DBKL to improve oversight of development projects near the retention ponds despite finding no corruption [6, 7].
Yeoh emphasized the need for detailed information, saying, "Before we became the government, we lodged a report with the MACC as opposition members. The report was filed in 2021 when massive floods struck Kuala Lumpur. I want to know the outcome of that investigation and need a status update from the MACC before commenting further" [1]. The briefing is expected to conclude the status review and inform next steps to protect remaining flood retention capacity.
