KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — The Kuala Lumpur Badminton Association (KLBA) has urged the developer that took over the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium site here to fulfil what it claims is the latter's promise to make payments to KLBA until a new academy is ready.
KLBA president Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos said the payments were important to help KLBA cover its monthly expenses, including court rental and shuttlecocks.
According to him, KLBA had received about RM40,000 per month from the developer since 2018 to enable 75 to 80 players under its fold to continue training in private courts around the Klang Valley.
“This problem of stopping payment (since April this year) should not have happened because the developer had promised way back in 2017 that they will continue paying KLBA until the KLBA Badminton Academy is completed and ready,” he told when contacted by Bernama today.
He said the developer had blamed DBKL for the problem but DBKL had denied responsibility.
Jahaberdeen also claimed that the developer had agreed to complete the construction of the new academy after a meeting with Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan at the proposed site in Cheras last week.
“This new academy will be built near the old stadium which used to be a car park,” Jahaberdeen added.
The Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, which had produced national champions such as Liew Daren, was demolished in 2017 to make way for a luxury condominium project.
It was built in 1990 and used to house the Badminton World Federation (BWF) headquarters, besides hosting the 1998 Commonwealth Games badminton competition.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the developer confirmed that they had written a letter to DBKL to seek clarification and confirmation on the matter.
“We have also reached out to KLBA to request for a meeting next week as we look forward to having this matter resolved the earliest possible,” she said when contacted by Bernama. — Bernama
