The Kuching divisional land office demolished 17 squatter houses in Petanak Road this morning, ignoring a last-ditch attempt by the occupants to appeal the decision.

About 50 members of the families involved had been camping in the fenced-up compound of the land office or waiting on the pavement outside since yesterday morning, hoping to deliver a letter of appeal, but to no avail.

Neither the newly-appointed Divisional Superintendent of Land and Survey Valentine Liaw nor his deputy were available to meet them up to this morning.

While about 25 people remain in the compound, the others returned to their homes to watch as demolition work began at 7am. The last of the houses was brought down at 11.45am.

Lawyer and Parti Keadilan Rakyat member Dominique Ng, who is representing the families, described this as "not an act of a responsible government".

He said those affected are now trying to find an immediate solution to their dilemma, as they want the authorities to provide them with alternative housing.

They had vacated the houses in the face of the inevitable, after the notice of demolition was served.

'Pioneer settlers'

The saga began yesterday when the group - comprising Dayak, Chinese and Malay families - took a bus to the land office, carrying a letter of appeal to the authorities.

Ng, who described them as pioneer settlers, said they had applied for plots of land following the distribution of application forms by the authorities, and that they only wanted time for these to be processed before vacating the houses they have occupied for more than 30 years.

"It is a reasonable request," Ng told malaysiakini last night outside the land office, as land officers and police personnel stood at the entrance to the compound.

Goup leader Impi Sayo,42, said the families had sought help over the years from government leaders who had promised to look into their plight, including allocating them land to build houses.

"All we want is land for alternative housing. The breadwinners do not have a stable income as they are odd-job workers, who cannot afford even to buy low-cost houses," he said.

Ng said the area occupied by these families was once part of a large squatter colony. The area is being redeveloped for commercial and office premises.

The first batch of about 40 families were successfully resettled in Taman Desa Wira, Batu Kawah, in 1995.

The government stepped in after Ng, who was then state DAP organising secretary, highlighted their plight. Subsequently, more squatter families moved out after being offered low-cost houses.