Bagan Barisan coordinator David Chua arrived with his service team members and supporters as early as 8.30am upon learning that the landowner would be coming with a court order to tear down the houses.
When the landowner showed up with six Bangladesh workers accompanied by his Lim Beng Leng and Sessions Courts bailiff Md Ariff Megat Kechik, the situation became tense with several house occupants screaming at the landowner.
A police team was on standby for any untoward incidents while Tenaga Nasional Berhad workers were on hand to disconnect power supply.
The demolition of several squatter houses in Kampung Federal here on Thursday (17 Jan) was halted when residents protested against the low compensation and questioned the status of the foreign workers assigned to do the job.
Two of the six workers left when residents asked the police to check if they were illegal immigrants.
The encounter took a new twist when the land owner ordered his workers to tear down the houses and Chua asked the police to determine whether the foreigners possessed legal documents and work permits.
However, the demolition was postponed to another date after a compromise was reached between the house occupants and the landowner.
Earlier, there was a heated exchange between Bagan Dalam assemblyman A.Tanasekharan and Barisan Nasional area coordinator David Chua when the land owner arrived with a court bailiff and police personnel to demolish several houses vacated by 13 squatter families.
Chua said it was improper for the land owner to compensate the squatter families only RM1,000 to RM5,000 to vacate the houses in Jalan Siram, but Tanasekharan, a lawyer, countered that they had to respect the eviction order issued a year ago.
Chua said both parties agreed to defer the demolition to another date.
Jasni Othman, 40, a lorry driver, said he was offered RM4,000 as compensation.
“The amount is too little. I expect at least RM15,000 as I have a wife and three children,’’ he said.
Chua took the state government to task for sitting too long on the issue.
“Why are they delaying the matter?
“If small problems like this cannot be solved, how are they going to solve bigger problems.
“I am very sad that this issue has been politicised,’’ he said.
Chua said the families are unable to pay the rent, and asked the authorities to move them directly into the free low-cost units instead.
He said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also the MP for Bagan, had failed in his duty to resolve the matter and not visiting the affected victims.
Bagan Dalam assemblyman A. Tanasekharan, who was at the scene, said the land owner agreed to pay compensations to all the 13 families.
“Since they are staying on a private land, the state government cannot provide them with replacement units,” he said.
Earlier during an intense argument between Chua and Tanasekharan, two of the six Bangladesh workers fled the scene after Chua called the police to check whether they had valid documents.
Land owner and residents face off over compensation while two foreign workers flee from police
Both the land owner and the residents had earlier agreed to defer the demolition to settle the issue amicably, but the matter dragged on for two years because the families wanted higher compensation.
Mohd Ariff Megat Kechik, 40, said he was willing to relocate only if the land owner gave a better compensation, but not the RM4,000 currently offered to him.
He said he was also willing to accept the state government's free low-cost flat unit.
Both the landowner and his counsel, Lim Beng Lee, refused to comment.
SOURCE: The Star/ theMALAYAmail
