Kampung Railway: Should the recalcitrant be evicted?
If what is reported about the 30 families is true, are they ‘recalcitrant?’ What should be done about recalcitrant folks? If the real issue is slip-shod work in the flats, should YTL have waited in Sentul for DBKL to fulfil its responsibility in Bukit Jalil? Whom will we believe?
Rama Ramanathan
Can we live peaceably, safely and comfortably in a society which denies us the right to evict someone from a property after due process? If there is such a thing as a ‘fair’ eviction, how do we recognize it? In recent days I’ve heard about eviction 4 times.
First, the subject of eviction came up in Kuala Lumpur. Yesterday bulldozers and excavators “tore up” Kampung Railway in Sentul.
The land owner is ultimately the YTL group, known for high-end properties in the area.
Comments in Cyberspace say the poor are being forced to make way for the rich.
Some say the land has been home to five generations. Perhaps that means at least one family there claims to have built a shelter on the land about a hundred years ago.
YTL (actually SRSB, a subsidiary) bought the land from the local authority, DBKL, over 14 years ago. They knew the land was ‘encumbered.’ They probably knew there were 150 occupied dwellings on the land.
According to one news report, 120 of the 150 ‘families’ have moved. They moved after concluding negotiations with DBKL and YTL. The area’s (opposition) Member of Parliament was involved. He is the formidable Tian Chua, a man I respect.
The 120 ‘families’ will live rent-free for 3 years in low cost apartments in Bukit Jalil. They accepted RM 18,000 each as compensation for the distance from Sentul to Bukit Jalil. They have been given priority to buy low cost flats in Sentul – for RM 42,000 each. The flats are expected to be completed in 3 years.
According to one news report the ‘problem’ is that 30 families refused the offer and refused to move. They stood in the way of the demolition yesterday. They were evicted. They have camped in a temple.
According to another news report the problem is that the flats in Bukit Jalil are defective: “Doors, door knobs, pipes, leaks are yet to be fitted and fixed.” MP Tian Chua says YTL should proceed with the evictions only after the flats are fixed (by DBKL). There is no mention of 30 recalcitrant (“having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline”) families.
Second, the subject of eviction came up last month in the Kampung Hakka case. The village is also claimed to have been ‘established’ 5 generations ago. 2 (opposition) MP’s and 4 (opposition) Members of the State Legislative Assembly inserted themselves between the bulldozers and the villagers. The eviction was carried out – some argue it was in contempt of court for refusing to recognize a court-issued stay order.
The attempts at negotiation in the Kampung Railway case seem much better than in the Kampung Hakka case.
