Residents of pre-war settlement win stay against eviction

 

The Court of Appeal allowed a stay of execution against eviction of 33 residents of a pre-war settlement in Pandaraman, Klang.

PUTRAJAYA: 

A stay of execution against eviction has been granted to 33 occupiers of a pre-war settlement in Pandamaran, Klang, pending the outcome of their dispute with the landowner and a construction company.

However the Court of Appeal allowed the two companies to tear down illegal factories, homes and businesses not named in the suit, except for Chinese temples of the Poh Seng and Mar Chor associations.

The dispute is over a settlement on a 60-acre plot of land that belonged to the Selangor state government. The 33 occupiers of the land said their ancestors established the settlement in 1939 and they have been living there ever since.

Court documents show that the state transferred ownership of the land in 1995 to Tabung Projek Perumahan Terbengkalai Sdn Bhd (TPPT), a Bank Negara company set up to rescue abandoned housing projects.

Two years later, the state government approved the change of ownership for the construction of low-cost and medium-low-cost flats for residents occupying the property, including the 33 people involved in the suit.

However, in 2007 the company sold the land to turnkey construction company Melati Ehsan Consolidated Sdn Bhd with a power of attorney to enable it to develop the property.

In 2011, the state executive council decided that Melati Ehsan should construct two-storey terrace houses made available for purchase by the defendants at RM99,000 per unit.

However, Melati Ehsan issued eviction notices in September 2020, which the 33 defendants contended was in direct contradiction to the state government’s intent in alienating the property.

TPPT and Melati Ehsan brought an action against the 33 defendants, alleging that continued occupation of the land without the companies’ consent constituted an act of trespass.

In response, the defendants filed a defence and counterclaim, claiming that they have an interest in the property with the legitimate expectation that they can purchase houses constructed by Melati Ehsan.

On Nov 29 last year, the High Court allowed the companies’ claim and dismissed the defendants’ counterclaim, leading them to file an appeal in the Court of Appeal. Appeal hearing dates have not been fixed.

The defendants then applied to the appeal court for a stay of execution on the evictions, which was granted by a bench of Justices Azizah Nawawi, Azizul Azmi Adnan and Firuz Jaffril.

The companies were represented by A Vasudevan and Ramesh Lachmanan while John Fam and Freda Santiago represented the occupiers. - FMT