THE last house on the Abdul Cauder wakaf land in Butterworth was today served a court order for vacant possession, following last week’s dramatic demolition that landed a policeman in hospital.

It also comes after more than RM3 million was spent by the Penang Islamic Council (MAINPP) in the courts to obtain vacant possession of the land, and to pay rent subsidy to the affected villagers over eight years.

The land is slated for an apartment project by MAINPP. The 46 families that had been renting the wakaf land will be given a 93sq m unit each upon the project’s completion.

MAINPP president Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said the owner of the last house has until March 25 to vacate.

He said the bailiff served the notice today, and once it has vacant possession, the land can be closed off for development.

“We will then work on getting the development plans approved by the local council so that construction can start. We hope there will be no more attempts to derail the project,” he told the media at the MAINPP office.

The council had been trying to get vacant possession of the land in Jalan Mengkuang since 2010, when the Wakaf, Zakat and Haj Department set aside RM50 million for the lot’s development into a 470-unit low-medium-cost apartment.

That year, 32 of the 46 families agreed to move out by accepting MAINPP’s compensation of an apartment unit, a RM500 monthly rent subsidy, a RM4,000 relocation allowance and a RM3,500 move-in allowance.

The 14 families that refused to accept the the council’s offer continued to make demands for years, even after they were taken to court, which had set February 14 as the last day for vacant possession for 13 houses.

Malik said MAINPP has been accused of being inhumane, and called the allegations “nonsensical and ridiculous”.

“Penang has the best compensation offers for evictions in the country, and MAINPP is giving an even better offer. How more humane are we expected to be?”

He said MAINPP even allowed the families more time to move, until February 24, and the deadline was then verbally extended to February 28.

“On March 7, we went to the village to demolish the houses for the third time. Four of our officers were injured. A policeman was beaten up.

“We had to continue after all the considerations we made were exploited by residents. They provoked people to hate and reject all the efforts we made in the interest of the wakaf land.

“We’ve already spent more than eight years dealing with stubborn residents. If we had obtained the land in 2010, the new apartment would have been ready in 2012, and 470 Muslim families would have moved into their new homes in 2014.”

He said MAINPP could have saved a lot on building costs if it had been able to start construction in 2010.

The council has kept the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister’s Offices, as well as ministers, including Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa and Zuraida Kamaruddin, who are in charge of Islamic affairs and housing, respectively, updated about the wakaf land issue, said Malik.

“Even before the recent evictions and demolition, we had been informing them of the developments. We keep them posted even without being asked to do so.”

Following the ruckus-filled demolition, the prime minister’s political secretary, Abu Bakar Yahya, last week visited the village.

Malik said he has not received feedback on the matter. – March 11, 2019.