KUALA LUMPUR – Residents of Kg Sri Makmur, Gombak, have chastised the Selangor government for allegedly rushing them out of their homes before their housing loans for the promised Selangorku replacement homes are approved.
Rohayati Ab Rahman, 53, told Scoop that they were informed by phone last Friday about the allocation of Selangorku houses and RM1,000 compensation, with an urgent demand to vacate within three days. However, the loans for these replacement homes in Sri Temenggung have yet to be approved.
She said the abrupt notice has left residents in a difficult situation, as they have no interim housing arranged until the loans are approved.
“Our belongings are still in the car. We might have to stay at my son’s house temporarily. We don’t understand the rush. We are not against moving, but we need time until our housing loans are approved,” Rohayati said.
The promise of these houses was made during a meeting between state government representatives and the Sri Makmur Residents’ Association on November 16 last year.
Rohayati said that the residents are not seeking to stay at their current homes indefinitely but want the state government to handle the situation considerately, taking into account their predicament of having nowhere to go post-eviction.
“If they had given us the new houses earlier, we would have moved. They only informed us last Friday, and now they want us out,” she added.
Some residents have temporarily moved into a surau within the village, which is also slated for demolition in two days. Rohayati recounted how she fainted earlier in the day, overwhelmed by the sight of her home being demolished.
Rohayati’s husband, Zakariah Muhammad, 60, pointed out that the RM1,000 compensation from the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) is insufficient to secure temporary housing, given the high rental costs in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
The residents’ association had previously submitted a letter to PKNS on February 9, requesting RM10,000 compensation per family, but only received RM1,000. Zakariah criticised the developer and state government for the pace of evicting them.
“We need at least two months for the housing loan approval. Can’t they wait? Once the loans are approved, we will leave without issues,” said Zakariah, who works as a security guard in Mont Kiara.
Noora Mustafa, chairperson of the residents’ association, noted that only those who resided there before 2006 are eligible for the house and compensation. However, some families with proof of residence from that time have not received these offers.
One such family, with evidence of residing there since 2006, was still denied the house and compensation. Noora criticised the state government’s handling of the issue as unjust and lamented the lack of support from Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, who is also Gombak MP.
“We visited the MP’s office this morning regarding the demolition, but it was closed, and he was unavailable,” she said.
On May 4, Kg Sri Makmur residents agreed to send a memorandum to the menteri besar requesting compensation before their homes were demolished, as promised last November. A letter dated April 24 rejected the applications of 10 out of 24 families due to insufficient proof of residency since 2006.
The residents had received an earlier notice to vacate by January 21, which was postponed. However, the first phase of the demolition commenced today. – May 27, 2024
