THE Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR College) being the landowner of Kampung Setia Jaya in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur (KL) should accommodate residents who are at risk of being evicted following a Dec 19 ruling by the KL High Court that sided the former in a land ownership dispute.
While the affected residents who claimed to have explored the land since the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 incident will defend their rights at the appellant court, the Resource Centre for Community Development and Housing (REACH) has proposed that the affected families are compensated with an 850 sq ft home worth at least RM300.000 each.
“REACH hopes these issues can be resolved soon as we do not want to see them escalate into racial issues,” chief coordinator Datuk Iskandar Abdul Samad penned in a Facebook post while justifying that the compensation is reasonable having considered “the sacrifices” of the residents.
“The government also needs to intervene because there are military veterans in the village and this is the time to repay the services of those who have defended the country against the enemies.”
Iskandar’s concern over the matter spilling over to spark racial tension is spot on as Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (PUTRA) chairman Datuk Ibrahim Ali has stepped in to argue that the court should have accorded village folks “discretionary opportunity” prior to making a ruling.
“However, this did not happen and a ruling was made that Kampung Setia Jaya belongs to TAR College instead of the residents,” he told HarakahDaily.
Ibrahim further claimed that the affected residents had applied for the land ownership much earlier than the TAR College but this was not taken into consideration by the court.
“Since this matter involves a political party, I wish to know who the UTAR board of directors was at that time and why they wanted this Kampung Setia Jaya land so much when the residents had been living there as far back as the 1970s?” asked the former Pasir Mas MP (2008-2013).
“We cannot allow such matter to linger on because the plight of the Kampung Setia Jaya residents must be looked into at all costs.” – Dec 22, 2023
Main pic credit: HarakahDaily
