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From left: Phillip Liew (past president), Yee That Hian (deputy president), Pauline Lee (treasurer), Stephen Wong (president), Tee KH (vice president), Jack Chong (secretary).
KOTA KINABALU (June 1): The Starcity Purchasers Association (PEKESTAR) has not reached any consensus yet on the resettlement scheme of the abandoned Star City project.
Its president, Stephen Wong, said there were many issues to cover and discuss, and would continue to hold discussion after the festive holidays.
“We have been in active negotiation with Sabah Urban Development Corporation (SUDC) and their China joint venture partner since early April this year, to try to find a win-win solution to the project.
“We give our full support to the construction of the new KK One mall, which when completed will be the most iconic building in Sabah,” Wong and PEKESTAR deputy president Yee That Hian said in a statement on Thursday.
Meanwhile they welcome the reassurance given by Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Ginger Phoong Jin Zhe at their their annual general meeting held on 25th March 2023 and the CEO of SUDC, Afizal Bin Aldin at the 2022 AGM that no demolition work will be carried out before a settlement with the buyers is reached.
Wong and Yee said this is to avoid any possible legal action being taken by some of the buyers to protect their rights.
“Close to 200 caveats have been lodged on the land by the buyers or their banks. If this is to happen, complications will set in and may halt the ongoing negotiation between the parties.
“The committee was given a mandate by the buyers at the recent AGM to negotiate with SUDC and their China JV partners to seek the best possible solution to the abandoned project, which was delayed for 18 years, since 2005!” they added.
On Sunday, SUDC chairman Jamawi Jaafar said that the uncompleted Star City buildings would be demolished soon to make way for the KK One project.
Jamawi said they have the agreement with most of the buyers so the project can move forward.
The proposal to demolish the existing Star City structures was approved by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall in 2021.
He said that the tender for the demolition work had been issued and would probably be finalised by June and work would begin in July.
Besides the City Hall’s approval, he said they have also received the nod from the relevant authorities to start construction of the project.
Jamawi said that the original design was to build a 12-storey building, while the new design is a 58-storey building or 200 meters high.
The present structures are not stable to build a higher building which is why it was decided to be demolished, he said.
Jamawi also said that the gross development cost of the KK One project is about RM2 billion and the completion will take about five years or in 2028.
He said the Star City Mall would be redeveloped into a KK One mixed development which will have a six-storey shopping mall, a two-block hotel and residential units.
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