Kg Railway demolition begins although 13 still remain

As Sentul Raya Sdn Bhd (SRSB) moves in to tear down houses for re-development, about 13 Kg Railway residents are today still pleading for a few more days.

These 13 families only got a letter from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) offering them new temporary homes on Monday, said Vinesh Nair, PKR Batu communications manager.

Vinesh was on the ground to help keep peace between the residents and contractors from SRSB, a subsidiary of YTL Corporation. The contractors had moved in since last week and were prepared to demolish the houses.
    
"What we are asking for is some humanitarian grounds here ... just a few days," Vinesh told Malaysiakini. "The 13 residents are not ready to move out after receiving a stupid letter... the letter is dated Dec 20 and it says they should have moved out by Dec 15."
                    
As a major developer for the area, YTL last year won a court case granting it the land, which also ordered 140 families staying on it to move out.

But for over a year, Batu MP Tian Chua (left) has fought for the Kg Railway residents, who refused to live elsewhere as they argued their ancestors have been living there for a century until the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) land was privatised to YTL Corporation in 1993.
    
As SRSB refused to negotiate with the residents, DBKL had stepped in to provide temporary living arrangements for them, until SRSB re-develops the area.

After a long stand-off, the residents agreed earlier this month to vacate their houses on conditions of rent-free temporary housing in Bukit Jalil for the next three years and discounts for new houses in the development project.

YTL had also agreed to pay each family RM18,000 as soon as they vacate Kampung Railway.

Another week grace period 

All parties also agreed on the Dec 14 deadline.

However, Vinesh explained that this deadline was not met by all as many logistical issues were still being sorted out.

Apart from the fact that many were given temporary flats in Bukit Jalil, some 10-15 kilometres away, many were also forced into units that had no power supply, he said.

"Would they move into houses without electricity? Even though they are poor and from the lower income group, nobody wants to live like that," Vinesh said.

Meanwhile, YTL sources said that the company was tired of repeated failed attempts to reclaim the land.

Last month, it resorted to getting a court injunction as participants, including many opposition MPs, held a Deepavali celebration there without YTL's permission.
 
YTL contractors came last Thursday to demolish the Kampung Railway houses, but stopped work after Tian Chua negotiated a grace period of one week.

Vinesh said that the 13 remaining residents, who live in five houses there, were asking for the demolition to be postponed until Sunday.