Their doors have been marked with red paint. And no, this has nothing to do with the coming Christmas celebration.

NONE On Tuesday, the wooden dwellings which they have called home for nearly a century appear destined to turn into rubble when the bulldozers sink their jaws.

Twenty-three families of Kampung Tanah Lapang in Sentul are now staring at an uncertain future, following the Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) decision to tear down the houses on Dec 15.

This is part of the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry's 'zero squatters' scheme.

Previously, DBKL had called off its earlier scheduled demolition of the village on Nov 24 for reasons which were never made known.

'We don't know what else to do'

When contacted, village head N Manikam's voice cracked with disappointment when he related how City Hall officers had marked their houses with red paint yesterday.

NONE "We don't know what else we can do," he said, expressing sadness that the villagers' pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Initially, there were 68 families in the village but most have moved to the low-cost flats allocated in Jalan Muda.

Those who chose to remain have asked City Hall for a moratorium on the demolition until they get to meet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to convey their request.

NONE Claiming to be settlers and not squatters, who have lived there for decades, they have appealed for the land to be given to them to build better houses.

According to Manikam, although their houses will be demolished, there is no immediate development project in the area.

Instead, he said, the land will be kept vacant until there is a proposition for development.