Will The Shop Operators Get Justice for The Cruel Action by The Selangor State Government?
BANGI LAMA, SELANGOR, 6 APRIL 2021: 14 shops in Kampung Lama, Selangor, were demolished by The Selangor State Government enforcement without a solution to transfer to an alternative site at a time when people are living hard under the threat of a pandemic and economic crisis.
Enforcement forces from the District and Land Office of Hulu Langat, Kajang Municipal Council, and the Royal Malaysian Police were deployed today to conduct demolition operations against shops located on government reserves. This surprised the shop operators as they were told yesterday by Ramal River Assemblyman Mazwan Johar that demolition operations will not be carried out today and they will be offered alternative sites for the shop operators. The enforcement forces who came to demolish the shop said they received instructions from the District Officer of Hulu Langat, while the Hulu Langat District Officer said that he only acted according to the directions of the Menteri Besar of Selangor. The demolition of two shops was suspended today due to a court case attached to the shop’s land site, but authorities said it would continue the demolition of other shops.
Shops on government reserves in Kampung Manikam have been in operation since 1998-1999 which is more than 30 years when the residents rented the shops there from the landowners of Lot 2118 adjacent to the reserve but said the shop site also belonged to him. The shops that operate there include tailors’ shops, car workshops, and food outlets. Beginning in 2014, shop operators faced land disputes from new landowners for Lot 2118, including the withholding of electricity and water without a court order while the shop site was not located in Lot 2118 but on government reserve land.
Shop operators on the Kampung Manikam reserve received notice of expulsion from the District and Land Office of Hulu Langat and Kajang Municipal Council in August 2020. Sungai Ramal assemblyman Mazwan Johar met with the shop operators with Kajang Municipal Council Member Zone 18 at the time, where Mazwan promised to discuss the matter with the District and Land Office to resolve the matter in a good way. The shop operators also sent a letter to the Menteri Besar of Selangor, The Menteri Besar of Selangor, To request intervention from the Selangor State Government to stop the demolition of shops and offer them alternative business sites if necessary to vacate the land. However, not only did the shop operators not only not get answers from the State Government regarding their requests, but continued to be treated with forced expulsion and the destruction of the shop unjustly.
Shop operators in Kampung Manikam had lodged police complaints and complaints to the Public Complaints Management System (SISPAA) because they suspected that the Land Office and Municipal Council were conspiring with the landowners of adjacent lots to evict them. They also raise the question of why the Land Office and Local Authorities are in such a hurry to evict them nowadays, even though the government has no plans on the reserve and especially at a time when our society is still in the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected the income sources of many people, especially those who are in the poverty line. Why did the government refuse to destroy the livelihood of the poor during the pandemic and economic crisis?
“It is evident today that the State Assemblyman and the Selangor State Government failed to save the poor,” said S. Arutchelvan, Deputy Chairman of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), while commenting on the demolition of shops in Kampung Manikam. “The state assemblyman and member of parliament promised to solve the problem but ultimately did not finish either. Poor people have no place to do business. Especially the poor community is the ones facing a lot of problems during this hard time. Even during COVID-19, the poor had no defense from the people’s representatives of the ruling party.”
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