Bulldozers loom - Kg Segambut Permai residents, gov't at impasse
UPDATED 7.15PM | Added agreement between residents and bailiffs to defer demolition by another 14 days.
Tension was high between residents of Kampung Segambut Permai and enforcement authorities when bulldozers came to demolish the former's homes today.
Kampung Segambut Permai lies on private land and and the landowner is seeking the demolition.
The residents were supposed to evacuate their homes and some 25 families have been offered temporary housing at People's Housing Project (PPR) flats...
- UPDATED 7.15PM | Added agreement between residents and bailiffs to defer demolition by another 14 days.
Tension was high between residents of Kampung Segambut Permai and enforcement authorities when bulldozers came to demolish the former's homes today.
Kampung Segambut Permai lies on private land and the landowner is seeking the demolition.
The residents were supposed to evacuate their homes and some 25 families have been offered temporary housing at People's Housing Project (PPR) flats.
However, they said they have yet to receive the keys for the units, leaving them with nowhere to go.
Facing homelessness, there was a standoff today with court bailiffs appointed to carry out the demolition. The bailiffs were backed by the police.
PSM honorary treasurer Soh Sook Hwa, who was present at the scene, told Malaysiakini it was initially agreed that only unoccupied homes would be demolished.
However, after the unoccupied homes were demolished, Soh said residents were told that occupied homes would be demolished as well today.
As of writing, these homes have not been torn down but residents said four houses have had their electricity and water supply cut and their meters removed by the bailiffs.
The residents said they did not receive a refund for their deposits on the electric meters and were only told they could claim it by going to Tenaga Nasional.
Residents claimed their fathers and grandfathers had opened up the village some 10 years after Merdeka, and questioned how the land could be sold.
Following the stand-off, the residents' representatives and court bailiffs began discussions and it was agreed that demolition works on the remaining properties would only take place after 14 days.
The representatives, Mohd Fariz Ramli and Mohd Nazeem Sultan Mohamed said they were given another 14 days after giving a written undertaking that the remaining families would vacate the properties during this time.
"We have no problem moving we just want some time to discuss with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) on PPR (People's Housing Project) housing offered to us," they said.
Detailing the events leading up to today, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh (above) explained in a statement that efforts to evict the residents had been ongoing since BN's time.
She said a court order was issued on Sept 26 for the demolition, but the landowner had agreed to postpone it to early this month, during which some residents moved out.
Then, on Dec 9, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad intervened and sought another two-week delay so that the ministry could arrange for alternative housing for the remaining residents.
This was made in a written promise signed by Khalid.
Last week, the ministry sent the residents an offer letter to stay in 25 PPR homes for six months after which they could extend their stay if they met the requirements, namely those earning less than RM3,000, per month.
Some families, Yeoh said, did not qualify as they earned more than that.
Lawyer Asheeq Ali, who was at the village today, told reporters that 11 families did not receive the PPR offer but said it was because an outdated census was used to determine the number of residents.
Residents who did not get the PPR offers were, however, unhappy that they were only allowed to stay for six months.
When contacted earlier, Khalid said his ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had gone out of their way to help the residents.
"They are settlers on private land, not government land. DBKL did not need to intervene but we can't allow families to be living in the streets as houses were going to be demolished," he said.
Khalis added that despite there being a 50,000-long waiting list for PPR homes, the ministry had let the Kampung Segambut Permai residents cut ahead of the queue to ensure they are not left homeless.
He also stressed that no permanent solutions had been offered to them and that the PPR units were not meant to be permanent housing that could be passed down as an inheritance.
Yeoh, meanwhile, said despite their best efforts, the government could not fulfil all of the residents' demands and hoped the situation would not be politicised.
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