LIVID over the controversial eviction and demolition of shop lots at Kampung Manickam, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) called the authorities to reveal who made the decision amid on-going talks to resolve the matter.
“The Sungai Ramal state assemblyperson Mazwan Johar had told us that Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had postponed the eviction, saying it will only take place after the traders are given a new site.
“But the district officer (DO) said Amirudin himself agreed to the demolition after consulting various quarters. So, who is telling the truth, the Menteri Besar, Do or Mazwan?” its deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan asked, when contacted by FocusM.
However, in a leaked Whatsapp correspondence, Hulu Langat DO Najumuddin Jemain confirmed that the instruction to evict the traders came from Amirudin himself.
On April 7, the state government demolished 12 out of 14 shop lots managed by low-income traders at Kampung Manickam, Bangi Lama.
The shops, which has been operating for about 40 years, includes eateries, mechanic outlet, florist and others.
The other two premises were left out due to a court dispute, where the front parts are erected on Government land while the back portion are built on a private land.
State govt’s image in tatters
State Exco for Local Government, Public Transport and New Village Ng Sze Han defended the demolition, saying all proper procedure were followed before action was taken against the traders.
He also claimed that the traders were given several notices since August last year. However, Ng did not elaborate on details of the on-going talks.
Calling Ng’s rebuttal hilarious, Arutchelvan said that the former did not address many issues about the matter, including breaching Pakatan Harapan’s own policy on eviction and demolition.
“Sungai Pelek lawmaker Ronnie Liu had said that the eviction breached two of Pakatan’s own policies, which are providing an alternative site before evicting someone and not putting burden on people during the COVID-19 crisis.
“And worse, Ng keeps saying the state government will always uphold the rule of law and its due processes,” he stated.
On their next course of action, Arutchelvan said that he would meeting the affected party later at 2pm today, to draft proposals on how to resolve the matter.
“All I can say is the incident has created bad publicity for the Selangor state government,” he added. – April 10, 2021.
