The office of the controversial Kampung Baru Development Corporation opened recently, occupying two floors of a building in Jalan Raja Abdullah called Rumah Rohas. Just two doors away, a banner tied across the balcony of a house denounced the corporation.

The banner was tattered because it had been there for months and the writing on it conveying angry words was faded. But the fact that it was still up there could only mean one thing — the anti-Kampung Baru Development Corporation sentiments could not be ignored.

Many such banners have been put up by the residents of Kampung Baru who are against the setting up of the corporation whose main objective, according to the government, is to ensure that the 110-year-old Malay settlement in the heart of Kuala Lumpur gets its “long overdue development”.

Many among the protesting residents are from established and respected families, people who are well educated. The favourite line of the authorities — “the people are being politically deceived by the opposition” — simply will not cut it. It is an insult even to suggest so.

Born and bred in Kampung Baru, I can say for sure that the residents of the kampung within the city are not against development. Nobody in their right mind would reject development and progress. But obviously there is mistrust — lots of it. There is fear and concern about being “hoodwinked”, of losing one’s rights. And of a perceived political ploy — that is the reason for the protest. So, up go the banners.

The government drafted what is known as the Kampung Baru Development Corporation Bill in 2010. A bone of contention among the residents of Kampung Baru was that it had granted overwhelming power to the Federal Territories and Urban Well-being minister. It was as if he was allowed to do what he wanted in the name of development and “brush off residents with no regard for their interest”. Rightly or wrongly, that was the perception.

The government made amendments and came up with the Kampung Baru Development Corporation Bill 2011. Still, the residents were not happy. The government went on to table the Bill in Parliament anyway. On Oct 5, 2011, the Bill was passed with 72 Barisan Nasional lawmakers supporting it against 28 Pakatan Rakyat MPs opposing it. Hence the formation of the Kampung Baru Development Corporation, and the ongoing protest.

Developing, or rather the idea to develop, Kampung Baru is not new. In the 1990s, the media, in particular the Malay newspapers, carried a series of reports on the sad and deplorable state of Kampung Baru. Images of dilapidated wooden shacks against the backdrop of the Kuala Lumpur city skyline were splashed across the front pages.

Soon after, then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (now Tun) paid the kampung a “surprise” visit. Some say that bit was “orchestrated” with media reports serving as a prelude to the premier’s visit. Orchestrated or not, Mahathir declared that Kampung Baru had to be developed.

The Ministry of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being and Kuala Lumpur City Hall were tasked with making it happen. To cut a long story short, a so-called master plan was drawn up and put on display for residents to see. And the residents had many questions to ask. To say their questions went unanswered would be unfair. But they were not answered properly, to say the least. Everything was simplified.

One big problem in Kampung Baru is the many names listed on the land title. Everyone in the family, no matter how many, is named as a landowner. So it is not uncommon for, say, a 4,000 sq ft plot to be owned by 30 people. And there are many cases of landowners who passed away without naming their beneficiaries. Obviously, such problems have to be resolved before development can take place. Sadly, this has not been the case.

Then, there are the basic and obvious questions: When you develop my land, how much do I get? Do you move us out, develop our land and we return when everything is completed? Meantime, where do we stay? Who pays for all this? Do we get a lump sum? Are we being asked to sell our land outright?

The answers given have not been convincing. And sometimes people who are supposed to provide the answers cannot do so. Back in the 1990s, there was also talk that developers would come and build multi-storey apartments. It was said that the cost would be borne by the developers who would take ownership of the buildings while the land would remain in the hands of the residents. The landowners would then get three or four apartments each, depending on the size of their land. They could stay in one and rent out the other three. This was the talk then.

Again, questions like “where do landowners stay during construction” were “lost”. The only sensible advice from the authorities then was that landowners should get together and merge their land to get an area that was big enough for development. Apart from that, all was quiet on the front.

In the 1990s master plan, I noticed that my land was earmarked for the Kampung Baru mosque expansion project. When officers from the FT ministry and City Hall came to conduct a survey, I asked them one simple question, and it was not even about ringgit and sen: Should my land be used as the mosque car park, what would I get? Two or maybe three parking lots?

The officers did not have an answer. I did not blame them. They were not briefed properly by their bosses and therefore did not have a clear picture of the situation. Perhaps even their bosses did not have a clear picture. That was then. I have since sold my land. Now, I do not have any interest in any development plan for Kampung Baru. But the kampung remains close to my heart, hence this piece.

Many, if not all, of the questions asked then are still being asked in Kampung Baru. The current protest is due to there being no explanation convincing enough for residents beyond the usual “do not reject development” and “don’t worry, you will not lose out”. Datuk Khai Ibrahim, a board member of the Kampung Baru Development Corporation, admits that “there has never been a concrete plan for the development of Kampung Baru”.

Khai, also the chairman of the corporation’s advisory board, is Kampung Baru-born and bred, comes from a well-known and respected family and is a successful developer-cum-contractor. That puts him in a good position to carry out his responsibilities. The key word now is communication. The corporation, according to Khai, will “connect” with the residents, especially the protestors. He puts the latter’s number at “only 10%”.

That is debatable, of course. Still, there is no denying that there are residents who support the board and its plans. So, what is the plan? “Give us a chance to come up with a concrete proposal and present it to the residents. Take a look and study it. Then decide,” says Khai, adding that “of course there will never be 100% support”. The board held its first meeting recently.

More will take place after Hari Raya, but Khai admits that “it’s going to take some time to come up with the proposal”. And it is going to be a long time for development to take place. Like it or not, the development of Kampung Baru has been used for political mileage. It will be an issue in the coming general election, no doubt.

Kampung Baru is part of the Titiwangsa parliamentary constituency won by PAS in 2008 — a seat that is coveted by Umno. By the way, the tattered banners protesting the Kampung Baru Development Act (and board and all) have been replaced by brand new ones. But the message is the same — still angry, still loud.

Mohsin Abdullah is a specialist writer with the soon-to-be-launched fz.com