Protest over housing, one arrested outside Parliament

A protester has been arrested outside the Parliament complex today while urging Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to deliver his promise to provide housing for residents of the Jinjang Utara longhouses Zone A, B, C, and D.

At the time, the protesters had already handed their memorandum to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s special officer Norzihan Tambi and its leader Mikhael Iskhandaar was addressing the media at the Parliament’s gate.

The police told Mikhael to leave. However, he defiantly refused to do so and told the police not to disturb him.

After giving him three warnings, the police pinned him to the ground and cuffed him. 

Mikhael, 40, is the chairperson of the action committee lobbying on the Jinjang Utara longhouse issue, and also vice-chief coordinator of the NGO Jingga 13.

He claimed that his mother's house is among those affected by the issue.

Since about 8.45am, he and a group of about 25 protesters had been outside Parliament to protest and to demand to hand over a letter pleading for Najib’s intervention.

“Najib promised to provide affordable housing to 1,000 residents of the Jinjang Utara. Unfortunately, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had not done so. Thus, we have come ourselves to claim the prime minister’s promise,” read the opening of the letter.

The protesters demanded to be allowed to deliver the letter en masse to the prime minister or his officers but were told that neither was present in Parliament.

They were further informed that the police would allow only five representatives to reach the Parliament’s gate.

The group eventually agreed to the condition and conceded to deliver the letter to Zahid’s special officer (photo), so that it may be forwarded to the prime minister.

Mikhael told reporters that the protest is a last resort, after numerous fruitless trips to the DBKL headquarters.

He said the longhouses were built in 1992 as a temporary housing area for squatters who used to live next to railroad tracks around Kuala Lumpur, in places such as Segambut, Segambut Dalam, Kepong, Jalan Ipoh, and Jalan Pudu.

There are people who were resettled there following disasters such as floods and fires too, he added.

Mikhael said DBKL had promised at the time to provide housing as compensation within three to five years, and the residents were disappointed to learn in 2010 that they were merely offered to buy affordable housing, rather than being given affordable housing as compensation.

Meanwhile, Batu MP Chua Tian Chang, who came to meet the protesters, urged the government to resolve the issue.

Although Jinjang Utara is located in the Kepong parliamentary constituency, Chua said he has visited the area since it is on the border with his constituency, and the conditions there are like a refugee camp.

He said these longhouses are intended as temporary housing for squatters who have agreed to DBKL resettlement proposal, pending permanent resettlement.

However, he said those who have opposed resettlement have already received their compensation in court, while about half of those who accepted DBKL’s offer still in a limbo. -Mkini