Kg Papan families say they have defied orders to move out since 2005

What say you on the issue below?

RESIDENTS of Kampung Papan – Selangor’s oldest settlement in Pandamaran, Klang – are in a dilemma over their occupancy status.

Nearly a quarter of the 500 families here are defying eviction notices issued between 2005 and 2007.

During the three-year period, eviction notices were served to all the 522 settlers and each family was offered RM7,000 as compensation.

At the same time, some 130 settlers from Bukit Kerayong which is located about 2km away from Jalan Papan where the settlement is located, were also served with the eviction notices with the same amount as compensation.

Eviction notices issued by the Klang District Land Office stated that the state-owned land will be developed by its new owner Tabung Projek Perumahan Terbengkalai Sdn Bhd (TPPT).

The eviction exercise was simultaneously carried out at both the villages as most of the families vacated their homes and accepted the money.

Adamant: The houses in this row have escaped demolition.

However, 30 families from Bukit Kerayong and 130 from Jalan Papan, defied the eviction orders and continued to stay on with the hope that they will be offered a much better deal than their fellow villagers who decided to take up the earlier offers.

StarMetro visited the area recently and discovered that the village looked like a war-torn colony which had many partially and fully demolished buildings.

“We are urban settlers, not squatters” is the common red coloured tagline that decorated the outer walls of the existing homes in the area.

The infrastructure at the villages such as roads, electricity, water and telephone services and temples were still intact.

Kampung Papan Village Action Committee chairman Ang Mah Chye said the village was set up by the British as part of the urban new village programme that had existed for more than 60 years.

“The government has granted us temporary occupational licence (TOL) to stay on this land before suddenly the tide went against us,’’ said the 51-year-old.

Ang said his family was among the first three families to move into the settlement and the villagers had worked hard to clear the land and made it even so that the houses and roads could be built.

“We thought the government will offer us the land with a proper house but we did not expect them to serve us with eviction notices that came with a meagre RM7,000 as compensation.

Serious talk: Residents of Kampung Papan holding a meeting at one of the partially demolished houses.

“I do not understand how our village went into the hands of the TPPT who is responsible to revive abandoned projects,’’ he said.

Ang said the remaining residents urged the state government to offer them a land measuring up to 4,000sq ft.

Dominic See, who is the head of the Bukit Kerayong action committee, said his village had 10 small and medium industries and 20 houses.

He said his committee worked closely with the Kampung Papan group and hoped that the issued would be resolved soon.

“We are in a dilemma and do not know how long this situation will go on,’’ he added.

V. Satiyaseelan, 28, who represented the more than 30 Indian families in the area, said he was hoping that they would be offered double-storey houses or a plot of land.

He said the previous government had promised them double-storey homes measuring 18ft x 65ft but he hoped that they would be offered bigger homes by the Pakatan Rakyat government.

“We have been staying here for a long time and it is unfair to take our homes away and treat us like squatters,’’ he said.

Unsafe: Residents are still staying in some of the partially destroyed houses.

V. Puspawali, 69, said the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) threatened to demolish her house after her tenant who lived next door signed the offer letter on her behalf.

She said the authority thought that her tenant was the owner of both the houses and almost brought down the houses.

“Fortunately, we managed to explain our position and continued to stay on with the hope that our future will brighter,’’ she said.

MPK president Mislan Tugiu, when contacted, confirmed that the villages had been handed over to TPPT by the previous state government.

He said the land still belonged to TPPT although there had been claims that a private company had bought it over.

“We have also recently approved development for housing and shoplots at Bukit Kerayong,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, TPPT could not be reached for comments.