Residents in the ‘squatter area’ of Kampung Tanjung Tokong in Penang remain adamant about ignoring an eviction notice served by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) in January.

And with election campaign in full swing, villagers are perfectly placed to demand attention to their predicament.

Kampung Tanjung Tokong, deemed to be a ‘squatter area’, is located in the Bukit Bendera parliamentary constituency and Tanjong Bunga state constituency.

tanjung tokong village 040308 salleh yahaya Resident Mohd Salleh Yahaya told a press conference at a protest yesterday that UDA had given them 14 days to vacate the area from Jan 28. Although the deadline has lapsed, the authorities have yet to act, but the villagers are planning to stay put.

“We refuse to move now because, if we do so, it would mean we are admitting that we are squatters. We are not squatters,” said Mohd Salleh, 56, who has lived in the village all his life.

According to him and other residents, the predominantly Malay village has about 310 houses for which temporary occupation licences (TOL) have been issued.. Almost 1,000 families live there, some in makeshift houses behind the Tanjung Tokong primary school.

Mohd Salleh said UDA has promised to relocate them, but the villagers want a written agreement detailing the relocation package.

“We are not against development, we just want certainty (about the future),” he added.

The TOL holders will purportedly be given three-bedroom units as an alternative, while others will be offered the units at RM45,000, according to a report in the New Straits Times property section.

abdullah ballot box umno barisan 190108 Citing 1981 newspaper reports, Mohd Salleh said that former deputy premier Musa Hitam and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (photo) - then minister in the prime minister's department - had promised the villagers that they would get land.

“Now that Pak Lah (has become) the prime minister, we ask him to keep his promise,” Mohd Salleh said.

While many villagers are in the dark about the development project slated for the area, Mohd Salleh believes that lucrative real-estate prices have prompted the eviction exercise.

‘Malay heritage zone’

DAP Bukit Bendera parliamentary candidate Liew Chin Tong, who called the press conference, said it is important to recognise the problems faced by those in the lower-income group as well as those who are marginalised.

"They just want a better deal, (they want) what's fair,” he said.

tanjung tokong village 040308 posters DAP and PKR candidates contesting state seats in the constituency were also present - Bagan parliamentary candidate and Air Putih state candidate Lim Guan Eng, Tanjong Bunga candidate Teh Yee Cheu, and Kebun Bunga state candidate Jason Ong Khan Lee.

The residents further want Tanjung Tokong village to be declared a Malay heritage zone.

Mohd Salleh noted that while Penang has attempted to preserve its colonial and Straits heritage, the Malay heritage has been largely sidelined.

He urged Umno to act, saying the village has a history spanning more than 200 years.

The villagers filed an injunction last November to prevent UDA from evicting them and the case is scheduled for hearing in May.

Kampung Tanjung Tokong is located in the vicinity of Penang's tourist belt of Batu Feringgi beach and Gurney Drive.

UDA Holdings and Udaland (North) Sdn Bhd are reportedly developing the 26.1-acre land for medium- and low-cost apartments named ‘Warisan Tanjung’.