The offer is equivalent to RM43.5 million per acre, Khalid said at a press conference with Kuala Lumpur mayor Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan here today.

The offer comprises RM850 per sq ft which the land owners can choose to accept in cash, a completed apartment or condominium unit (to be constructed as part of the government’s redevelopment plans for the area) or a combination of cash and a completed unit.

The remaining RM150 per sq ft will be in the form of shares in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up in connection with the redevelopment project.

Khalid said that 1,716 of the 5,359 property owners have responded so far, with 93.7% agreeing to sell, 6.2% disagreeing to sell, and 0.1% not responding clearly.

He also brushed aside the recent observation by former finance minister II Johari Abdul Ghani that it was illogical of the government to require a 100% agreement among all owners regarding the sale of their land.

“We, the government, urge and appeal to all owners to come back to the original intention behind the establishment of Kampung Baru, which was to ensure there was an appropriate number of Malays in Kuala Lumpur.

“We need to develop Kampung Baru so that the number of Malay residents in Kuala Lumpur can be increased,” he said.

Khalid said it would be prudent for property owners to accept the offer as it would be difficult in the future to address the ownership problems in Kampung Baru, in that one property grant could contain the names of many heirs, with some grants having up to 150 names each.