BUKIT Kiara Rumah Panjang Residents’ Association said another residents’ group led by Sunderam Vadiveloo does not represent the entire longhouse community in the affluent Taman Tun Dr Ismail area.

The association’s secretary Sivakumar Muniandy said in a statement that Bukit Kiara Public Housing Residents’ Association does not speak for the entire community living in the rows of longhouses situated adjacent to Taman Rimba Kiara.

“Sunderam does not speak for the entire Rumah Panjang community, and his association excludes many of us who are recognised residents of the Rumah Panjang.

“For your information, there are two registered residents’ associations within Bukit Kiara Rumah Panjang. Our association, Persatuan Penduduk Rumah Panjang Bukit Kiara, is registered under the Registrar of Societies since 2009.

“We ask that Sunderam stop trying to act as if he speaks for all the Rumah Panjang residents. He does not,” he said.

Sivakumar said the rival faction was allocated RM700,000 by Malton Bhd, the developer of the affordable housing units that the group was supposed to be relocated to, for repairs at the longhouses.

However, he said, residents have not seen repairs of such a value being done by the association headed by Sunderam.

He said Sunderam has not given any satisfactory answers.

“We lodged an MACC report in December 2017 on this matter. Jayanthi Devi Balaguru, the lawyer who represents Sunderam’s association, has also not given satisfactory answers to us about the RM700,000.”

He said his association was part of the joint working committee that was supposed to discuss a resolution to the Taman Rimba Kiara matter. 

“We attended the joint working committee meeting on December 17, 2018, and voiced our objections to Malton’s mega project.

“We have lived next to Taman Rimba Kiara for decades. Many of us grew up playing in the park and our children still use the park today. We do not want it to be destroyed,” he said.

Sivakumar also voiced his objection for the affordable housing project that was meant for the residents’ relocation, as he claimed the units will be too small and residents will have to move into a one-acre place compared to the four acres they have now.

He also said moving three generations of residents into a small unit will change their style of community living which they have gotten accustomed to for decades.

“Our parents are the estate workers who contributed a lot to the country’s economic growth. After waiting for 36 years, we were hoping that the joint working committee would seriously consider permanent housing options that can allow us to stay on the four acres of the current Rumah Panjang area, instead of just trying to ‘rubberstamp’ Malton and Yayasan WP’s plans.”

Sivakumar also slammed the developers Malton and Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan for using the longhouse as an excuse to push for their development agenda. 

The residents have not had any discussion with the two parties since December.

Sunderam said in a statement on Thursday that their much richer neighbours are preventing them from getting the houses they were promised.

The settlement was meant to be temporary shelters when some 98 families were relocated there by DBKL from the Bukit Kiara Estate in 1982.

The longhouse families had entered into a master resettlement agreement with Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan in 2015, which stipulated that affordable homes would be built for the first generation of settlers, while the second generation could purchase similar units at a discounted rate.

About 100 families – all of whom are Indians – currently live there.

Sunderam also said the longhouse residents were disappointed with Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh for being “more concerned about her political career fighting for only the rich TTDI residents and ignoring the homeless families like us here”.

Sivakumar, on the other hand, backed the Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) community and Yeoh for showing signs of goodwill and friendship to the longhouse residents.

In response to Sunderam’s statement, Sivakumar said the TTDI community and Yeoh have consistently supported the cause of permanent housing for the community at the longhouse.

“Yeoh has been very supportive of our community and has engaged with us many times since she became Segambut MP, including visiting our temple during festivals.

“She recognised that more voices from the Rumah Panjang community should be heard, which is why she added our association to the joint working committee.

“When she was shown the terrible condition of some Rumah Panjang units during Deepavali, she immediately arranged with TTDI residents for repairs to be done,” he said. – March 30, 2019.