A woman whose business and residence were demolished on Monday has blamed her misfortune on a bureaucratic blooper - the Ulu Langat district land office has lost her file containing the only evidence to certify her residence.

When Gusti Aida Adnan applied to renew her Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) for her Goodyear tyre franchise business in Lembah Jaya in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, she was not aware of the need to keep a copy of all the original documents.

More than three years ago, just as she has done every three years for the past ten years, she submitted the TOL documents to the Ulu Langat district land office for her business, Perniagaan Unida Jaya Trading.

This time, however, the land office failed to return her file. The consequences have proven disastrous.

"When I asked the land office for my file, the district office said it was lost! Lost, just like that!" exclaimed the incredulous woman.

Now, the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), which is reclaiming the land on which Perniagaan Unida Jaya Trading stands for a joint-venture project with developer GMH Properties Sdn Bhd, has now denied that she has any legal claim to the land.

RM1 million lost

Immediately following a Shah Alam High Court decision on Monday to set aside a Sept 2005 injunction to stay a MPAJ eviction order against Gusti Aida, MPAJ officers demolished her tyre shop as well as her house which stood adjacent to it.

Nearly RM1 million has been lost in the demolition exercise, claimed Gusti Aida, who also questioned the 'efficiency' in which the operations were conducted.

"The decision was made in the judge's chambers at 10 am. My children who were home told me the MPAJ officers and their machineries were already on standby at that time to conduct the demolition exercise.

"The demolition started a few minutes after 10 am, right after the decision was announced by the judge at 10 am. How did they know the decision was going to be in their favour?" asked Gusti Aida.

Gusti Aida's husband, Yanizar Bakhtiar, was quoted by the online Harakahdaily on Tuesday to have decried MPAJ's refusal to grant reprieve.

"I understand the decision of the (Shah Alam) court. Just give me time to move our belongings as well as to appeal (the court decision)," said Yanizar.

According to Harakahdaily, the demolition of the 10,000 square metre business and the dumping of the family's belongings onto the road caused a traffic jam on the adjoining Jalan Bukit Belacan.