About 70 residents of Kampung Bagan Ajam today rallied against an eviction exercise by a private developer.

The residents received the eviction notices from the developer in November last year.

About 200 residents and 50 households are affected, and they have been asked to move out of the private land.

The village is situated within Bagan, which is the parliamentary constituency of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

"We have met Sungai Puyu assemblyperson Phee Boon Poh but we are disappointed. Phee said he cannot do anything, that he can only arrange a meeting with the developer," said the spokesperson for the group, Wong Sek Li, 40 ( right ).

"We do not want any demolition or eviction until we get the proper compensation, which is a replacement house," Wong said.

She added: "They are only offering us between RM7,000 and RM25,000 per family, which is not enough as we have lived here for more than 50 years.

"Our ancestors paid money for the land here, before they built these houses, so they cannot simply move us out."

MCA trying to politicise issue

According to Wong, Phee only arranged one meeting in May, where his representatives came late.

Meanwhile, MCA Bagan Ajam bureau chief Sum Yoo Keong, 63, who attended the rally, said the party representatives were present to highlight the issue.

"Guan Eng is the MP of the area, they cannot simply ask residents here to move out. The least he can do is arrange a proper meeting between the developer and residents," said Sum.

 

When contacted, Phee said he has evidence of what the state has done so far to assist the residents.

He claimed that MCA representatives were present merely to politicise the issue.

"The developer wanted to stop electricity and water supply to the area yesterday but we intervened and stopped it," Phee said.

"We have sent out representatives to help the residents. However, the developers also have some rights as it is their land. We have to hear both sides," he added.

"There were some ground rules of negotiation which both sides could not agree on. Since the residents want a replacement unit and feels the compensation offering may not be enough, they might have to go to court," he stressed.