LAST-MINUTE negotiations with the authorities have given residents of Kg Segambut Permai a temporary reprieve. They now have until January 6 to move out before the village is demolished for good.

However, many remain unhappy with the mistreatment at the hands of the authorities and the process itself.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insight just days after some of their houses were demolished, they said they expected more consideration from the authorities who displaced them from land they have occupied since Merdeka.

The biggest complaints are that residents are forced to move into transit homes in separate locations, and that eviction date this week is too close to the coming school season.

Mohd Fariz Ramli, a representative for Kg Segambut Permai residents, said during discussions involving the residents, developers, and the Federal Territories Ministry, they were first promised alternative homes at the same place.

“I work around here but I got a transit house in Seri Petaling, Sg Besi. I’m thankful even though the transit house is only for six months and now it will take me about 40 minutes to commute to work.

“However, the residents here are scattered around the capital city with the transit homes. Some are in San Peng flats, Kerinchi, Seri Petaling, and in other areas, but none got to live near our old village, like in Jinjang, Sentul or the surrounding areas.

“When we asked the authorities, they said there were no free units available. It doesn’t make sense.”

For Kramasan Supramaniam, the timing of the demolition is hard as the 2020 school session is about to begin and his son will be entering form one next year and will need to enrol in a secondary school.

“My family and I received a transit home in San Peng. I work in Sentul and if I send my kids to a school in the San Peng area, then six months later, I have to move again, which means my children will have to move schools again.

“If my son goes to school in Sentul, how do I commute back and forth every day? It is a hassle. They didn’t not consider these at all.”

Katherasan, 54, lives in Kg Segambut Permai with his mother and five other extended families, all 17 in a family home left by his late father.

The problem for Katherasan is that his family were given only two units of flats – he and his family were given a one-bedroom unit in San Peng flat, while his mother received a three-room flat in Pantai Ria.

The mother, Kamala Samel, 64, is a diabetic who needs to go for treatment.

Katherasan said his siblings take care of their mother but she has to care for her grandchildren when they all go to work.

“When we move to San Peng, who will take care of the kids? There will be an additional cost. Cost to school and to work. This is terrible,” he said.

His neighbour, Thamayanthi Rajoo, 55, is also clueless as 10 family members, including his children and grandchildren, will need to move to the San Peng flats in two weeks.

“We want a PPR unit, three rooms, not one room. We want a rent-to-buy home, not a transit unit.

“If not, we will live in a tent here. We used to live in the bush,” said the single mother who works as a cook.

Fariz said originally, the residents were promised alternative residential units instead of transit units.

However, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has so far provided only 22 transit homes instead of 33 and the remaining 11 families remain in limbo.

“In the agreement, it was different and now things are completely different. No one has gotten house keys,” he said.

The residents have also gone through a series of evacuations over the years, including during construction of Tenaga Nasional Berhad high-tension towers and the DUKE highway.

“We are ready to move but we need a place, a house, and so on. If there is no house, how are we going to put our things and how are we going to live?”

The area was named Kg Ayam and was established a few years after Merdeka when the then Selangor menteri besar, Harun Idris, invited the Malays to migrate to the town to increase their population.

The residents also said they were not intruders but descendants of the original settlers who made the former mining area their home.

Following a notice of eviction, Kg Segambut Permai is now left with only a name.

Fariz said that by the end of the final eviction date on January 6, residents will no longer be allowed to negotiate.

“Soon we will go to DBKL to claim our rights, we are settlers but we are treated worse than squatters.” – December 27, 2019.