About 20 residents of Kampung Papan turned up at the Selangor DAP convention held in Klang today, holding placards demanding justice over their housing woes.
They accused DAP of failing to honour its housing promises, saying they are now without homes despite having backed the party for four consecutive terms.
The group also submitted a memorandum to DAP chairperson Gobind Singh Deo.
"Since our homes were demolished, we have not seen DAP leaders come down to our village, even though we have voted for DAP for four consecutive terms in this area.
"In 2008, during Pakatan Rakyat times where DAP was a component party, we residents were asked by DAP representatives to withdraw our injunction.
“We were promised by DAP representatives at the time that if we withdrew the case, they would build houses for us.
“However, this promise was not fulfilled, and we were dragged back to court once again when the Pakatan Harapan government came to power in Selangor," the memorandum reads.
They claimed that the Selangor Economic Action Council's (MTES) meeting, chaired by Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, had also approved the construction of terrace houses for them before, but backpedalled later.
"The menteri besar’s latest statement is even more damaging, as he said that he could do nothing because the matter is before the courts.
“It appears that the Selangor government is unwilling to use its political authority to resolve the Kampung Papan issue," they added.
Contradicting stance
The residents said the action also contradicted Selangor state government’s policy, from the administration of then-menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to that of Amirudin, where evictions were only carried out after alternative housing had been provided.
They added that on Nov 4 last year, they had submitted their demands to Amirudin and former Selangor menteri besar Azmin Ali, as both leaders played a role in the resettlement of housing for the original settlers of Kampung Papan.
In their memorandum, the residents also laid out a series of demands to the Selangor government, calling for direct negotiations, the restoration of a previously approved housing agreement, compensation for demolished homes, and a freeze on projects linked to developer Melati Ehsan Holdings Berhad until the dispute is fully resolved.
Central to their demands is a call for the state government to revert to an agreement reached at a state executive council meeting on Feb 26, 2018.
Under that decision, the state had agreed to build terrace houses priced at RM99,000 for original settlers, alongside other forms of housing for non-original settlers.
The residents said the agreement had been endorsed by all parties, including the state government and the developer, and reaffirmed their support for the MTES decision made on the same date.
They also demanded that Melati Ehsan pay compensation for the 29 houses that got demolished, which they claimed "clearly went against the joint decision reached with the menteri besar on Oct 21, 2025”.
"We also request that all future negotiations be conducted directly with the residents’ committee or its representatives, or with the lawyers appointed by the residents.
“Should the state government require an official letter of appointment from the 83 residents to the committee, we will provide this," they said.
While expressing openness to discussions on reasonable temporary accommodation, the residents stressed that any withdrawal of legal action would only take place after a formal agreement had been signed, with their lawyers involved.
Freeze developer’s projects
They also urged the state government to freeze all projects undertaken by Melati Ehsan and its subsidiaries in Selangor until the issue is fully resolved, noting that a similar call had been raised by the Pandamaran assemblyperson Leong Tuck Chee during a sitting of the Selangor legislative assembly.
"Should TPPT (Tabung Projek Perumahan Terbengkalai Sdn Bhd) and Melati Ehsan refuse to surrender sufficient land, the state government must seek a resolution, including invoking the Land Acquisition Act to acquire land for projects of public interest.
"We are deeply disappointed that although the state government allocated 95 acres in 1995, only seven acres have been returned to date, while TPPT remains the owner of the land in question," they added.
For the record, TPPT is a government-linked property developer originally established by Bank Negara Malaysia to revive abandoned housing projects. It later shifted its focus to the development of affordable housing.
Addressing issues surrounding the list of affected residents, the resident said that a census had been conducted by the government and that, despite having grievances over the process, they accepted and believed that all their names were included in the list of 211 identified.
"With regard to places of worship, we have been informed that all such sites have already been provided with replacement land.
“We hope that the state government will hold discussions with the temple and shrine committees, while our committee will only be involved in negotiations relating to housing matters.
“We are prepared to arrange a meeting should this be required," they added.
Protest homes
On Jan 1, several of the affected residents launched the new homes as a protest against the Selangor government, which they claimed has failed to fulfil its housing promises.
This comes after Melati Ehsan demolished both unoccupied and occupied homes in the settlement last November, despite the state government’s earlier promise that only empty structures would be taken down.
According to the residents’ committee, 29 occupied units were demolished during the five-day operation, during which the police arrested 11 residents, PSM members, and activists. - Mkini
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