Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said her 34 constituents do not need ridicule from their prime minister over the Residensi Kerinchi apartment complex.

She urged Najib Abdul Razak to respect the residents' rights and quit slandering them.

"Najib, who could be facing a court indictment over investigations over 1MDB internationally, seems to have lots of time to attack me. I am excited about this.

"Even if he wants to politicise housing and development for the people, he need not hurt the feelings of residents by ridiculing them.

"I urge him to respect the rights of the residents, the hopes and dignity of the people of Kampung Kerinchi and the people of Malaysia," she told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Najib yesterday lambasted Nurul Izzah for allegedly trying to scuttle the redevelopment of the four-storeyed walk-up flats in Kampung Kerinchi in 2012, purportedly for political reasons.

Najib said the 34 affected residents regret being taken in by Nurul Izzah's "incitement" that they now do not have new homes in Residensi Kerinchi, which are worth RM500,000 each, unlike over 400 of their former neighbours.

Nurul Izzah said that she was present during negotiations in 2012 to hear the people’s plight and provided legal assistance for the affected residents.

No access to electricity

In addition, she said she provided space for the people in the area to hold dialogues with the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) to help assess their options.

Meanwhile, one Kampung Kerinchi tenant, Salmizam Awang, told Malaysiakini after the press conference that the electrical supply to his temporary housing had been cut, since the original homeowners have moved to Residensi Kerinchi.

"I was one of the original tenants of the old Kerinchi four-storey flats. I still rent the place from the original owner, but on Feb 21, the electricity supply was cut. At first I thought there were arrears, but when I checked with TNB, they said the owner's account had been closed.

"Now life is difficult because I have children but there is no electricity at home. TNB said they could not reconnect the supply, so I pleaded to the original owner for help as a long-time tenant, to be given a second chance and for my welfare to be looked after," he said, adding that he had lived in the flat for 10 years.

The four-storey flat had since been redeveloped into an 18-storey apartment, with each unit valued 10 times more than the approximately RM50,000 per unit price for the old flat.

The new residents would also receive assistance before they move to their new homes, including a RM5,000 allowance for moving out of a transit home at PPR Kerinchi and RM8,000 for moving into Residensi Kerinchi.