COMMENT | For a resident of Kampung Papan in Pandamaran, Klang, this is the only home she’s ever known. Her grandfather built their house before she was born; plank by plank, from scraps scavenged at a nearby factory.

Now, at 17, she faces the unthinkable: watching it all vanish under the weight of promises made by people who’ve never set foot on these muddy roads.

They called it a “squatter area”. But the people of Jalan Papan paid every month for water and electricity, voted in elections, and sent their children to nearby schools. They were part of Malaysia’s social fabric, yet invisible in its policies.

What they didn’t have was...