Kohilan mum on condo approval after minutes expose

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister A Kohilan Pillay has declined to comment after the minutes of a Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) full board meeting showed he had approved the controversial Dolomite Park Avenue condominium project.

Kohilan, who was a Selayang municipal councillor between 1997 and 2008, said he needed time to go through all the meetings on the project before coming up with a statement.

“Let me check again the meeting minutes… I need to go through all the meetings and then I can comment,” he said when contacted this morning.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, theSun reported that the minutes of MPS full board meeting of Nov 29, 2007, showed that Kohilan and 19 other councillors, including three from the MIC, had approved the project.

The project, which includes a 29-storey condominium, has been mired in controversy because it was approved despite its proximity to the iconic Sri Subramaniar Temple in Batu Caves, and beside steep limestone hills.

Kohilan had been among the prominent figures who protested against the project on Oct 26 and accused the Pakatan Selangor government of approving the luxury project.

Asked about the veracity of the minutes that showed otherwise, Kohilan replied: “God knows… I will need to check with my lawyers.”

‘Approved despite DOE reservations’

Prior to the minutes becoming public, Kohilan had denied approving the project, stating that it was approved by the One Stop Centre (OSC) and not by councillors at the full board meeting of the MPS.

However, current MPS councillor Lee Khai Loon had refuted this, stating that all OSC approvals must receive endorsement from the full board meeting before approval.

Kohilan had also said that only a “planning permit” was approved during his tenure which he claims was basic and does not reveal the details of the project, such as the number of storeys.

However, according to theSun, the application for the condominium project was accompanied together with the detailed layout and building plans.

In a separate report, it was also revealed that the project was approved despite an earlier letter from the Selangor Department of Environment stating its opposition to the project as it could potentially cause landslides in the locality.