Kg.Kerayung, Pandamaran residents cries foul!
KLANG: After the Kg.Buah Pala issue, where the DAP led Pakatan Rakyat government in Penang received the condemnation of the kampung residents, now once again another land grabbing issue is looming in the constituency of DAP State Assemblyman (Exco Kerajaan Negeri Selangor)Ronnie Liu in Pandamaran in Klang.
The people of Kg.Kerayung are urban pioneers, where they cleared the swampy grounds near the sea about 60 years ago. The current residents are already the third generation residing in Kg.Kerayung. The residents claim that the land initially belonged to the government and they were paying TOL since the 1970's. By the 1980's Kg.Kerayung had already grown in size to about 300 over houses, shop houses and small workshops.
Somewhere in early 1990’s the Land Office informed that the residents do not have to pay their TOL dues. The residents requested that the then State government give them land titles as they have been occupying the land for three generations. In 1993, the residents demands were endorsed when the State Assemblyman Teh Chang Eng, MCA, assured that they would be given titles and directed the Land office to measure and break the land into proper lots according the their houses and shophouses.
The residents even paid a fee of RM 70 for this task. They have the receipts and the paper cutting to prove of the State Assemblyman’s confirmation. In 1995 during the General Elections, Chief Minister then Muhd Taib further promised that the Kg.Kerayung residents would be given land titles soon and they can rest assured on the Barisan Nasional government’s commitment to the rakyat.
But, in 2002 the residents were shocked to hear that the land they were residing in was sold to Tabung Projek Perumahan Terbengkalai Sdn.Bhd ( TPPT Sdn.Bhd.). The name should not fool us, as the TPPT which was set up to assist sick housing projects initially, now behaves like any other profit orientated corporate entity.
The residents were given notices to vacate their houses, with a meagre compensation of RM 7000. The then MCA State Assemblyman pressured the residents to take the offer and leave. Kg.Kerayung was lucky as they had the support of their neighbour, Kg.Papan residents, whom also received a similar notice. Kg.Papan had a strong residents committee and they fought hard to evade the forced eviction. Kg.Papan demanded for alternate housing.
In, 2004, election year, the then Selangor State Exco Dato’Chng Tong Eng issued a letter to the Kg.Papan and Kg.Kerayung residents confirming that the developer would build houses worth RM 100,000 to all the affected residents. That letter was only worth a'toilet paper’ when just a year later, the Chief Minister, Khir Toyo announced his infamous Selangor Setinggan Sifar project, to demolish all kampongs houses which he called squatter in Selangor. Once again the then State Assemblyman, Teh Kim Poo, aggressively campaigned to convince the residents to take the RM 7000 compensation and leave the kampong. The local council, Majlis Perbandaran Klang too build up the pressure by demolishing houses of those whom have taken the offer, intimidating the rest who were not agreeable to the offer.
The Setinggan Sifar project was a nail in the coffin for Barisan Nasional. Their uphanded tactics to forcefully evict the kampong people and demolish their homes, aroused wide spread protest from many kampongs throughout Selangor. The residents of Kg.Papan especially went all out to fight this exploitation.
As a result, Barisan Nasional lost Selangor in March 2008 General Elections. Kg.Papan and Kerayung campaigned whole heartedly for DAP Ronnie Liu to win the Pandamaran State seat and he did win with a comfortable majority.
Recently, the villagers called upon Parti Sosialis Malaysia who had a meeting with the Kg.Kerayung residents on 9th July, 2009 in one of their kampong shop houses. They were clearly disappointed with Ronnie Liu and the DAP. " It is because of Barisan Nasional’s pro developer policies that we rejected them and gave the mandate to DAP ","Now what has happened? on May, 2009 we get a lawyers notice from the developer asking us vacate our houses, we are very disappointed ! " claimed one of the residents.
Furthermore now Ronnie Liu and the local council, MPK is pressuring the residents to quickly sign a letter accepting the meagre RM 7000 and agreeing to vacate our houses that they have lived for three generations. The residents informed PSM that the land was sold by TPPT Sdn.Bhd to Melati Ehsan, the new developer, in 2007.
The name Melati Ehsan immediately rang a bell among the PSM comrades. "Isn’t Melati Ehsan the same developer that is building the controversial Carrefour project in Kota Damansara "recalled the PSM comrades. The residents of Section 11 Kota Damansara fought hard to prevent Melati Ehsan from building a Carrefour hypermarket unbelievably close to their houses. Unfortunenately Ronnie Liu believed Melati Ehsan’s argument and supported to build the Carrefour in Kota Damansara.
"What is going on between Ronnie Liu and Melati Ehsan, then Carrefour, now he is supporting them to vacate the people in his own constituency !?" Eventhough the land deal between TPPT Sdn.Bhd and Melati Ehsan was made in 2007, during Barisan Nasional rule, but now it is in the hands of the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat on this issue.
Is Ronnie Liu going to echo Lim Guan Eng and call the people to protest against MCA since the deal was done before Pakatan Rakyat rule Selangor? Will Ronnie Liu endorse that Melati Ehsan is the rightful owner of the said 28 acres and the Selangor State government cannot do anything about it? Will Ronnie Liu upheld Melati Ehsan corporate interest and brush aside the Kg.Kerayung residents history of three generations and deny them their rights? Are they worth only RM 7000? These are questions which needs to be answered.
PSM was informed that Ronnie Liu and MPK had a meeting with the Residents. They were offered RM 7000 and a place to rent. But the location is actually an abandoned wet market in the area. "How are we supposed to run our shophouse, workshop and restaurant in a wet market! "asked the residents " This is ridiculous! ".In that meeting, the rental agreements were not given to the residents to study. They were hurriedly asked to put down their signatures and accept the offer. There was also a letter to the residents,supposedly offering them low cost shophouses'if' it is built by the developer. This letter again is not affirmative and does not provide any assurance to the residents. "This letter too will be toilet paper like the earlier letter, no use at all! " quipped the residents.
PSM analysed the facts with the residents and urged them to immediately form a action committee. The residents will have to get organised and put up clear demands to safe guard their interest. PSM assured the residents that we will be with them in their struggle as it is a legitimate one.
This land grabbing for profits must stop. The Setinggan Sifar policy was a clear example. It was not so much about providing decent homes to the poor, as we witness the many issues the current low cost high rise residents are facing. It was a strategic plan to identify, grab and evict kampong residents, so that it can be given to private companies. The State which played the role as a broker in this deal, often duped the kampong residents that they should not prevent development and they will be given comfortable decent housing compared to their kampong houses. This is not development, as in most cases people were not evicted to make way for hospitals or schools. In most cases it was basically the government giving the land to private corporations to build condominiums, shoplot, complex and so on for profits.
The rakyat have realised the nature of the pro business Barisan Nasional and thus given the mandate to Pakatan Rakyat. But now they have their doubts. Why?
Matters will not change until the DAP or any other party for the matter understands that it is always "People before Profits" and not the other way around.
A.Sivarajan
Parti Sosialis Malaysia
10th July 2009