Faced with eviction, residents want to meet PM

Residents of Kampung Tanah Lapang in Sentul, who are on the brink of seeing their houses devoured by bulldozers, want to meet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to air their grouses.

They also insisted on being settlers and not squatters in the area which belongs to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

Twenty-three families in the village, located in the heart of the city centre, are facing imminent eviction under the ‘zero squatters scheme’ launched by the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry.

Although they have been allocated low-cost units at the Batu Muda flats in Jalan Ipoh, the villagers are asking for more time from City Hall to renegotiate the terms of the settlement.

Spokesperson for the ad-hoc residents’ committee NN Murugiah told Malaysiakini that they sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Department in April seeking to meet Najib before the evacuation.

However, they have yet to receive a reply.

Initially, there were 68 families living in the village but most of them had moved out after being issued the eviction notice, whose deadline expired yesterday.

“We are not squatters… we have been living here since the time of our forefathers which is about a 100 years ago and most of us were born and raised in this place,” said Murugiah.

“Although we have informed the City Hall that we are waiting for a meeting with the prime minister, they are adamant on going ahead with the demolition,” added the 59-year-old businessman.

No development on the land

According to Murugiah, they were informed by City Hall that there will be no development in that area. He said if the land is going to left vacant, it should be given to the villagers.

“If there is development we don’t mind moving but there is none. So why should we give up our home?” he asked.

Murugiah said that the low-cost units will not be sufficient for those with big families and if the land is given to the villagers, they could start building better houses.

Last week, in an attempt to stall the demolition, village chief N Manikam lodged a police report on behalf of the residents.

Commenting on this, Murugiah said: “There are still people living there and we are not moving out until we meet with the prime minister… so if the demolition takes place, people could get hurt. That was the reason we lodged the report.”