Once a makeshift home, now just rubble


Nazir Sufari

IT was home for a few dwellers and it was named Rumah Tampal. To others, it was just a dilapidated house made of plywood along Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman in the historic Kg Baru, the first Malay settlement in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.

It was built by Rajzuan Ibrahim, 60, or Pak Man, who has lived in Kuala Lumpur for almost 20 years, eking out a living by collecting recyclable materials after his business failed years ago. 

Pak Man opened Rumah Tampal to anyone in need and while small, the house can accommodate up to six families. He shared the house with people from various backgrounds, including junkies, ex-convicts, the homeless, single mothers, the mentally ill, and even children as young as six.

In Kuala Lumpur alone, some 2,000 people were homeless in 2015 and the figure has been increasing each year.

For those who had sought shelter with Pak Man, Rumah Tampal was a haven despite its poor condition – dirty with no running water or electricity. But for his neighbours, not only was the house an eyesore, but a nest for social ills that should be demolished. 

The thing is, Pak Man may have provided a roof over the heads of the needy, but Rumah Tampal was built illegally on land that he did not own. Kuala Lumpur City Hall has asked its occupants to move out and rent in the public housing scheme for the poor called Projek Perumahan Rakyat Miskin Tegar (PPRT) but to no avail. 

Charity organisations have approached the Rumah Tampal dwellers several times, helping them join programmes linked to small- and medium-sized industries which provided salary, food, and accommodation. However, they lasted two weeks, struggling to abide by rules and restrictions on their once free lifestyle. 

On April 13, 2017, Rumah Tampal was finally demolished by DBKL. A day before the demolition, some of its occupants were picked up by the national anti-drugs agency for dadah trafficking. 

After sheltering the needy for many years, Rumah Tampal is now finally just a pile of rubble.


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