Both Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming and chairman of Parent Action Group for Education (Page) Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, said the question-answer session held today, the first of several planned, would create a better understanding about the project.
Ong however said Khazanah CEO Azman Mokhtar should reveal the list of contractors involved in the project.
“Azman said during the dialogue session that best practices will be employed.
“One of the ways to do so is to reveal the list of contractors,” he said after attending the dialogue session held at KL Sentral.
He also said there should be some form of assurance that the open tender system would be adopted.
The first public discussion lasted three hours, with participants raising questions about the cost of the park and if it would have a Speaker’s Corner, just like in Hyde Park, London.
Participants also asked if Khazanah would provide a detailed breakdown of the budget.
The DAP lawmaker also hoped that contributions by the private sector would be made public.
Khazanah has pledged RM500 million for the RM650 million project. The other RM150 million will be raised through donations.
Azimah, meanwhile, raised concerns over the timing of the launch as people were feeling the pinch after the Goods and Services Tax was implemented last year and toll rates were increased.
However, she felt the public would be quite receptive to the project once they saw and understood its purpose, which included connecting strategic places of interest such as museums, KL Sentral and the Botanical Gardens, to the park.
This, she said, was better than building another super high-rise tower.
“I especially like the fact that the Forest Reserve Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) and Malaysia Nature Society are involved.”
The prime minister, during the launching, hoped the urban rainforest park would become as iconic a symbol for Kuala Lumpur as Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York.
Azman said the park will be linked by a covered 1km walkway from the Bank Negara KTM station, an underpass from Taman Botanical.
Taman Botanical in turn will be linked to KL Sentral. The traffic hub will also be connected to the National Museum.
Azman said the park will have a flurry of activities and will be equipped with jogging tracks, cycling tracks and campsites to draw locals and tourists.
A second public dialogue session with Azman would be held tomorrow at Level 7, Mercu UEM, KL Sentral from 10am to noon.