KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad wants certain powers vested in him and the mayor of Kuala Lumpur to be removed to prevent corruption in land matters.

Khalid said while the planning of development projects in the city has generally been satisfactory, the implementation of such projects has led to corruption and misuse of power.

"Corruption comes in basically where there are plots of land not supposed to be developed and rezoned by the minister and mayor, for the benefit of a developer," he said at a briefing session on the progress of the Bukit Bintang City Centre project held by the developer.

Khalid cited cases of developers obtaining green spaces in prime areas to undertake commercial development by "giving kick-backs".

"That is done through direct negotiations (by the authorities) with developers.

"Another source of corruption is when setting our plot ratios. In the case of a 1:4 plot ratio, a developer buys the plot ratio at that price and then talks to the minister or mayor to change it to a higher plot ratio for the original price and gives some kick-back," he said.

"We are trying to take away the power of the minister and the mayor. That means taking away power from [me] and the mayor, and we close the doors to corruption," he added.

At the briefing session, Khalid and Bukit Bintang parliamentarian Fong Kui Lun were updated on the progress of the development project, which is now 25% complete for its Phase 1 handover in the first quarter of 2021.

Developer Eco World Development Group Bhd's chairman Liew Kee Sin said, "We want to dispel the notion that this project isn't doing well. It is doing well."

"We are happy with the current pace of works and are looking forward to achieving the next milestone for this iconic development," added Bukit Bintang City Centre chief executive officer Low Thiam Chin.

Bukit Bintang City Centre is a mixed use property development situated on the former grounds of the Pudu Jail and its surrounding area.

The development is jointly undertaken by UDA Holdings Bhd, Eco World Development Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund Board

The mixed development, featuring residential, retail and commercial units, is also undertaken with partners such as Japanese real estate company Mitsui Fudosan, which is pouring RM1.6 billion into the development of a shopping mall there.