Despite being slapped with eviction and demolition notices by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), residents of Ampang New Village say their grievances are not with the council but with Wangsa Unggul, the company they formed.

Wangsa Unggul was created in 1993 to develop a 3.2-ha plot of land, said to be worth about RM13 million. The land, belonging to the residents and where about 113 families live, is the site of a proposed condominium project.

Their lawyer KC Cheah said the residents were unhappy as they stood to gain little more than RM3 million as shareholders in Wangsa Unggul, when the project is expected to gross more than RM80 million.

He said the lion's share of the joint-venture project will go to the co-developer- Demi Prima Sdn Bhd.

Terms of offer

At a meeting with residents on July 11, Wangsa Unggul and Demi Prima offered those willing to vacate the option of buying the RM122,000 condominium units at a discounted price of RM28,000.

In addition, the companies promised to deposit RM400 'rent subsidy' into the bank account of each resident for two years or until the condominium project is completed.

Finally, each resident willing to take up the offer would also be paid RM200 'transportation costs'.

Cheah said most of the residents accepted the offer while a minority saw it as paltry gains in contrast to the earnings that Demi Prima stood to reap from their land.

He added that even if the 113 units were sold at the discounted price to Wangsa Unggul shareholders, 592 other units would be sold at a minimum of RM120,000 each amounting to RM72 million in profit for the developer.

"This is their (residents) land. If these companies want to develop the land, they (the owners) should get a better offer," stressed the lawyer.

Another lawyer for the residents, Rajinder Singh, claimed that Wangsa Unggul has refused to co-operate or dialogue with the residents' lawyers.

'Secret dealings'

Despite the 'lopsided agreement', Khong Chee Seng - who is special assistant to DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok - said the residents have no grouses with the developer.

"As far as Demi Prima is concerned, they're merely a business partner who is in it for the money. The residents are not angry with them," he said.

"They (the residents) are questioning the exact arrangements made on their behalf by Wangsa Unggul's board of directors. This quantum of compensation cannot be justified."

Khong said much of what has transpired within Wangsa Unggul and the decisions forthcoming from the company have taken place behind closed doors over the past decade.

The company documents reveal that there are two shareholders, who are also among the 10- member board of directors.

In 1994, the district land office granted permission to the residents to stay on the land on the condition that they form a company to spearhead its development into a housing estate.

Khong claimed that unknown to residents, Wangsa Unggul entered into a joint-venture with Contiquest Development Sdn Bhd the following year to develop the area.

The enterprise failed to take off and Wangsa Unggul cancelled the arrangement in September 2000 and blamed Contiquest for failing to obtain financiers.

Following this, the district land office reminded Wangsa Unggul via a letter that the state government had given the company ownership of the land on condition that it oversees the development into a housing estate.

"The title... to the land had been issued to you, but to this date, the project has yet to begin," District Officer Azmi Ariffin warned in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by malaysiakini .

'Unaware of rights'

Khong said the residents were in the process of "unraveling" the company's history.

"A lot of what has been going on during meetings between the original members of Wangsa Unggul's board is unknown. Everything has been done without the knowledge of the residents," he claimed.

He said documents pertaining to all such matters were never presented to the residents, a majority of whom are from the lower income group and unaware of their rights.

Last month, MPAJ president Ramli Mahmud issued another warning to the company.

"If this (condominium) project also fails, MPAJ will take back the land and hand it over to the Selangor government for development. If we do that, everyone will be on the losing side," said Ramli, who then issued the evacuation and demolition notices to the residents.

Yesterday, the residents filed an application with the Shah Alam High Court to nullify the notices, which they claim were illegal.

Wangsa Unggul officials could not be reached for comment.