Kampung Jinjang Selatan, a small enclave near Kepong, Kuala Lumpur that is almost as old as the Federation of Malaysia, is slated for demolition to make way for new development.

Residents such as Chew How Hoon and Sivakumar Krishnan have spent all their lives in the village, which is made up of small and ageing terrace houses, some with zinc panel gates to keep prying eyes away.

They, like the others, are not completely against the prospect of having to move out.

However Chew (left) and Sivakumar represent two different groups, in disagreement on how best to achieve acceptable terms and compensation for their eventual eviction.

Sivakumar, the deputy secretary of the residents' association, said they want to focus on getting a deal worked out for 30 households, whose homes are set to be the first to be demolished, before getting a deal for the rest of the 525 lots.

However, the 35-year-old said the association will not be fighting for 16 squatter households in the village.

"We only represent those who have a temporary occupancy license (TOL)," Sivakumar said when contacted.

This has irked squatters like Hong Yu Min, whose family home of 46 years had been threatened to be destroyed at the end of August.

However, a protest by residents led by 69-year old A Ponnampalam at Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) on Aug 29 appears to have halted any development plans, at least for now.

Equal treatment demanded

Hong, Ponnamapalam (photo) and Chew are now part of a loose group of residents who argue that since the government had stopped accepting land tax and quit rent payments from them in 1996 and 2004 respectively, all are equal.

They are also upset that the resident's association had sent a 10-point memorandum to DBKL regarding their terms for accepting eviction allegedly without consulting any of the residents.

"They never talked to us about this... we never authorised them to negotiate on our behalf," Chew, 48, told Malaysiakini when met yesterday.

Sivakumar however claimed the terms had been unanimously agreed and signed off by all residents at a meeting they held last year.

They plan to hold a briefing on their 10-point memorandum, which reportedly includes demands for 1,000 sq ft of affordable homes for TOL holders, today.

Chew and the others however plan to hold their own briefing on Sept 25, to make their case as to why residents should negotiate with DBKL and developers directly, and not through the association.

"We don't believe they (the residents' association) can negotiate a good deal for us... We don't find that they can do it in a transparent manner," she said.

Legitimacy fears

Chew added they also want to find out if the development plans for the village are legitimate or a scam.

"There had been a case where some households had moved out, but the developer closed shop halfway through and the families did not get any compensation.

"If the project is legal, if the terms are good, we would never reject development.

"Our houses are (falling apart) and we can't get approval to repair them, so why would we hinder progress?"

She added the group she is part of also wants the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to finish investigating the development plans before initiating negotiations.

Chew was among the 20 residents at the Aug 29 DBKL protest, which demanded an investigation into an officer attached to its economic planning and development department.

This followed the MACC's probe into DBKL, triggered by its arrest of DBKL executive director of project management Syed Afendy Ali Syed Abid Ali.

Syed Affendy Ali was on Sept 9 slapped with nine counts of corruption and nine counts of money laundering involving RM4.4 million.