Several Plaza Rakyat original buyers want to meet with DBKL to negotiate a better deal.
SENG Tee Kai, or popularly known as Dion Seng, is a small-time tailor from Teluk Intan, Perak. His family has been running The Dion Men’s fashion house in his hometown for years. It was famous in the 1970s and 1980s.
Seng dreamt of expanding his business and started saving money to open a shop in Kuala Lumpur.
“We were good at what we did. We made the best coats and I was confident the business would thrive.
“I felt that if I really wanted to be successful, I should take my business to the big city,” recalled the 64-year-old, who saved up money to eventually open a branch in Kuala Lumpur.
The opportunity arose when the Plaza Rakyat project was announced during the early 1990s.
“Everyone was talking about it and it seemed like the perfect place to start a business,” he said.
Seng booked a commercial unit in Plaza Rakyat measuring 357sq ft in 1996 at a price of RM406,980.
“I paid a down payment of RM120,000 and applied for a loan for the rest of the amount.
“It was not easy for a small-time tailor like me to open a shop in Kuala Lumpur, so it was a proud moment for the family,” Seng said.
“We were heartbroken and disappointed when the project was abandoned, as it meant our dream of ever owning a shop in Kuala Lumpur had ended,” he lamented.
Steven Yong, 78, booked two commercial units, one of which was for his wife Molly Liu, who was a hairdresser.
“Molly wanted to run a hair salon and it was her dream to own a nice shop.
“When the project stopped, we continued servicing the bank loans and hoped that one day, we would have our units.
“Molly died 10 years ago without ever getting that opportunity,” he said.
Similarly, Saw Lim was looking for a location to open a dental clinic and shortlisted Plaza Rakyat and Berjaya Times Square, two upcoming projects in the city.
“It was between these two projects, and sadly I made the wrong choice,” lamented Lim.
Two decades later, these buyers are still hoping for more than the ex-gratia payments offered by the new developer, which they say is purely a return of money paid 20 years ago.
“It is not fair because of inflation, the value of the money has shrunk and we deserve more,” said Lim.
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