Residents of Kampung Saujana in Shah Alam today gathered outside the Shah Alam Municipal Council (MBSA) building to mark their protest over the low cost housing units offered to them.

The 60-odd people, mostly women and children, carried out their protest under the watchful eyes of some 40 enforcement personnel and police officers.

The group also carried placards that read ' Tawaran MBSA Tak Patut ' (MBSA's offer unreasonable), ' Siapakah Bertanggungjawab ' (Who's responsible), ' Rakyat Miskin Jangan Pandang Rendah ' (Don't look down on the poor), ' Jangan Tipu Rakyat Miskin ' (Don't cheat the poor).

Following a meeting with Mayor Ramli Mahmud later, the families have been given until Nov 18 to decide on the low-cost houses priced at RM35,000 in Bukit Subang.

In 1993, 74 families, based on the initial district office census, were promised low-cost houses by developer Cekap Mesra Sdn Bhd.

Both parties had also signed a 'squatter relocation agreement'.

However, the company abandoned the development project after the Selangor government acquired more than two-thirds of the land in 1996 to be gazetted as a 'flight path' for the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang.

In a letter dated Oct 25, MBSA wrote to the families offering the low-cost units in Bukit Subang at a subsidised rate from the RM42,000 offer made by Guthrie - the developer of Bukit Subang.

The residents were given until Oct 30 to sign a sales and purchase agreement, failing which they would not be offered any other low-cost houses.

Heated exchange

At one point during the gathering, a heated exchange erupted between human rights organisation Suaram coordinator S Arutchelvan and Shah Alam district police chief Azisman Alias and his men over the right of public assembly.

The police wanted to declare the gathering an illegal assembly but Arutchelvan argued that it was not so and the people only wanted to submit a memorandum and get an explanation from MBSA.

When met, Azisman said the disgruntled residents should not be using children for such situations.

"What if something happens to them now?

"But it's ok. I understand that they only want to have their voices heard. We will let them do that and then they must leave the premises," he said.

Original offer

Kampung Saujana residents action committee member S Natchymuthu said residents were disappointed with the delay in the completion of the houses.

"We only want what was promised to us in 1993 at the same price of RM25,000. Why is the MBSA now interfering when the relocation agreement was between Cekap Mesra and us?" he asked.

"We don't want to move to Bukit Subang. This is a bullying tactic and an intimidation by the authorities to push us around. Instead of taking sides, MBSA should help resolve the matter," he added when met.

Cekap Mesra could not be reached for immediate comments.

Misunderstanding

Speaking to reporters after the 30-minute meeting with five residents committee representatives, the mayor blamed the problem on "a misunderstanding".

"The squatters don't have an issue with us. They just feel cheated because Cekap Mesra failed to develop the land as promised. That happened because the land was acquired by the state in 1996, leaving the company with less than 40 hectares.

"But the squatters can hire a lawyer and pursue the matter in court because it is a civil case," he added.

Ramli said MBSA is trying to resolve the issue by resettling the people in line with the 'Zero Squatter 2005' state policy .

"I told them that low-cost units at RM35,000 is a good deal, especially since we're subsidising RM7,000 from the original offer price.

"The representatives wanted more time to discuss with the rest of the affected families on whether or not to accept the offer, so we gave them until Nov 18," he added.

He said the people were currently squatting on government reserve land, specifically along a river reserve belonging to the Water Works Department.

"Earlier, each of the 74 families were given RM3,000 by the developer to relocate, out of which 54 had built their own houses where they are presently located while the rest had moved away from the area," he added.