RESIDENTS of Kg Segambut Permai want Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to offer them rent-to-buy People’s Housing Project units instead of the six-month transit units they’ve been offered now.

They gathered at the DBKL headquarters this morning to ask the authorities to stick to their original agreement, which was to offer them rent-to-buy units.

The final deadline to move out is January 6, after which the village that has existed since Merdeka will be demolished to make way for development.

“We entered into an agreement with the developer based on the promise made by the Federal Territories minister. We were expecting permanent houses but what they’re offering now is a transit home for six months.

“What will we have after six months? We have to shift again. Also, we have been given housing units at different locations, far from schools and our working place. It is all very inconvenient for us,” said residents’ representative Mohd Nazeem Sultan Mohamed, 36.

Apart from that, only 22 of the remaining 33 villagers have been given offer letters for the transit units. The remaining are still left in lurch, he said.

Another resident, Mohd Fariz Ramli, 35, said they’ve been cheated and manipulated.

The villagers received a court order in 2013 to evict their village, after which some of the residents left, Fariz said.

The remaining villagers were given a final court order in 2019.

“Not all of us agreed to move in the first place. When we tried to set aside the court order, it was too late.”

The fault lies with the village’s previous administration, he said, adding that they had lodged police reports on the matter.

The villagers submitted their memorandum and held a discussion with a representative of the ministry.

Speaking to reporters later, Nazeem said the villagers have three demands.

“We want all of us to be relocated to the same place, we don’t want transit houses but rent-to-buy units and we want to be relocated close to our village.”

He said they were told only the FT minister and mayor can decide on meeting their demands.

“They will get back to us on Tuesday when we come back here.” – December 27, 2019.