Selangor Club shelves plan for new annexe near homes, school
PETALING JAYA : The Royal Selangor Club has decided not to proceed with a proposed annexe that would include a gaming room, after strong objections were raised by residents of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, bordering Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.
The TTDI residents' association was informed of the decision in an email from club president Rizal Edi Effendi Sahbudin to association president Abdul Jabar Ahmad Junid.
Rizal said the club and its business partner had 'mutually agreed not to proceed with the proposal for the new annexe at TTDI'.
The proposed annexe, on half an acre (2,000 sq m) off Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, was to include a bar, restaurant, pickleball courts, and slot machines or a gaming room for non-Muslim club members.
Khairudin Rahim, a spokesman for the residents' association, lauded the joint decision of the club and its slot machine operator, a company identified as GPL. 'It showed they listened to, and respected, the TTDI community's objections,' he said.
However, the association was still anxious to hear city hall's response, which he said would clarify its position on GPL's application, made on March 10, as the area was zoned for commercial use in the city's local plan.
On Monday, the residents' association of the upscale housing estate had questioned the logic of placing a gaming operation so close to a residential neighbourhood, police quarters, and a religious primary school.
Khairudin said the residents had filed a formal objection on June 16, urging Kuala Lumpur mayor Maimunah Sharif and the city's executive director of planning, Zulkurnain Hassan, to reject the plan.
Rizal had previously stated that the proposed annexe was not initiated or undertaken by the club.
He said club members had in December 2023 approved a proposal to relocate the club's gaming room, but delays prompted its business partner to propose a new site earlier this year.
The Royal Selangor Club, founded in 1884, has its main clubhouse in a historic colonial-era building at Dataran Merdeka. The club currently operates a sports annexe in Bukit Kiara, separated from Taman Tun Dr Ismail by two golf courses.
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