PSM slams demolition of Kg Papan homes, even those still occupied

After several postponements, several houses in Kampung Papan in Pandamaran, Klang, were demolished this morning based on a court order.

PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan said as of noon, around 20 homes were destroyed, including six still occupied despite the Selangor government’s assurance that only vacant houses would be affected.

“Is this the Madani government’s promise? They said only empty houses would be demolished, but now, even those not vacated are levelled.

“Some of the residents here are old and sickly… where are they to go now?” he told Malaysiakini.

Based on the photographs shared with Malaysiakini, several bulldozers were used for today’s demolition work.

Arutchelvan described the situation as inhumane and goes against the government’s own call to uphold justice for the people.

“Is this how a government practises fairness to the people? If the residents were given replacement homes before demolition, that is fine.

“But now, you destroyed their homes with no assurances (of being given replacement homes),” he lamented.

Malaysiakini has reached out to Selangor state housing and culture committee chairperson Borhan Aman Shah for comments.

‘No time to remove belongings’

Last month, Bernama reported Borhan as saying that the demolition work would only affect vacant houses and business premises.

He added that stakeholders had agreed to this at a meeting chaired by Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.

In a video shared with Malaysiakini, a resident alleged that his house was demolished without being given time to remove his belongings.

“We told them to wait for a while, but they ignored us. We wanted to remove our belongings, but they gave us no chance.

“And they came early in the morning to evict us… We don’t know what to do next,” the unnamed resident added.

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