A group of 13 families are protesting against the demolition of their homes in Sg Nyior, Butterworth, with a sit-down protest in front of the Penang administrative office on Level 3 of Komtar.

Komtar security guards have locked the entrance to the offices.

Spokesperson for the group Samuel Walter said the families have been asked to move out by Friday, although they have not been compensated adequately.

Walter said the group is in Komtar today to meet with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also their Member of Parliament.

He said the residents had voted for Lim, but he has not met them on the issue.

Bagan assemblyperson A Thanasekaran, the group’s state representative, is present with the protesters.

“If we don’t get answers by Friday, we will turn Komtar into an old folks home.

“These old folks who are affected by the demolition will come here with pillows and mattresses as they would have nowhere to go,” Walter, 46, said.

He said the group had rejected the landowner’s offer of RM2,000 upon demolition of their houses as the amount was not enough to pay for rentals and other damages to their belongings.

They have lived on the land, a little bigger than a football field, for about 50 years and have been renovating their own households over the years.

They pay RM30 monthly to the landowner.

When asked, Thanasekaran said the families have been offered public housing a year ago, but have refused to apply for the units.

“There is a legal issue about the offer,” he told reporters.

“The state government cannot intervene as the landowner did not submit any development plans,” Thanasekaran added.

The residents later submitted a memorandum to Lim’s personal assistant Watawa Nataf Zulkifli, vowing to return to Komtar if they failed to obtain a response from the state government about their housing woes.

According to Walter, the developer, Eco Frontier Sdn Bhd, should have at least offered the families compensation around RM23,000 to help them relocate to a new home.

He showed a letter by the developer’s lawyer dated June last year, which stated that the plot, Lot 918 in Section 3 of Bandar Butterworth, on which they lived, was earmarked for development.

The letter was sent to the landowner, Lim Eang Cheng, who sold the plot to Eco Frontier last year, asking the residents to vacate the area by June 30, failing which legal action would be initiated.