Kedah urged to halt demolition of 18 new village homes

Kedah Menteri Besar Ahmad Bashah Hanipah has been urged to stop the demolition of 18 houses in a Kuala Nerang new village, whose residents have lived there for more than 60 years.

PKR Alor Setar MP Gooi Hsiao Leung said Ahmad Bashah should intervene to halt the demolition of the houses on Jalan Kampung Masjid Pekan Kuala Nerang, in Padang Terap, until the villagers are relocated and receive adequate compensation.

The villagers received notices from the Padang Terap and District Land Office on May 16 to vacate the state land, informing them of a demolition exercise on their homes to being tomorrow, May 22.

“I have also requested for a meeting to be held between myself on behalf of the villagers and the MB to discuss this matter to see how we can help resolve the issue in a humanitarian way,” Gooi told Malaysiakini.

“So far, no details have been given. We do not know in what form or shape the villagers will be helped by the government to relocate and re-house them if their homes are demolished,” he added.

“They are not against the land being acquired, but want a reasonable solution, including relocation and proper compensation, as some of the villagers have set up their homes there even before Merdeka in 1957,” he said.

Gooi said Kedah MCA leader and MB’s special officer Ooi Khir Tong’s remarks in the media would not resolve the imminent demolition of the homes tomorrow.

Ooi had told the media that he had raised the matter with Ahmad Bashah, and that the villagers will be “reasonably compensated”.

Ooi, who is in charge of Chinese affairs, had also reportedly said that two years ago, BN had promised to expand a mosque situated on the land in question, and was therefore carrying out its promises.

“Parties involved had several discussions, but they could not reach a consensus because the compensation the villagers wanted was too high,” he reportedly said.

'Why the rush?'

Gooi said it was pointless for MCA and Umno to boast about who or how many of its party leaders have gone to visit the village since information about the demolition surfaced last November.

Despite the politicians' claims, the villagers have denied that these leaders had visited them to see whether their demands for compensation were reasonable.

“These acts are not going to stop their ancestral houses from being demolished,” said Gooi.

“If what Ooi said is true, that the MB has agreed to reasonably compensate the villagers, he should urge the MB to immediately stop the demolition of the homes until the details can be worked out,” Gooi added.

“Once the houses are demolished, it is final and irreversible, just as you cannot bring back to life a dead man.

"Why can't they postpone the exercise for a few months until an amicable solution has been found?

“I remind MCA that they are in government and have a duty to these villagers. Do not turn your back and abandon these villages especially in this dire time,” Good said.- Mkini