KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will investigate the alleged forced eviction and demolition of houses at Kampung Jalan Papan in Klang, which has led to some residents living as squatters.
Suhakam said it would initiate a probe after receiving a memorandum from the residents and Parti Sosialis Malaysia.
The memorandum highlighted several issues in the controversial demolition, which took place between Nov 10 and Nov 14, namely the alleged violation of the residents’ rights to adequate housing, excessive use of force by the police, and potential conflict of interest between the police and the developer.
Suhakam’s complaint and monitoring group commissioner, Abdul Kadir Jailani Ismail, who received the memorandum, promised an investigation against the stakeholders, including developer Melati Ehsan Consolidated Sdn Bhd (MECSB) and the Selangor government.
“We will engage all agencies involved in order to gain a full understanding of the issue,” he told reporters after receiving the memorandum.
PSM secretary-general M Sivaranjani said several residents had returned to the demolished site and were squatting in makeshift homes without water and electricity supply.
Sivaranjani also claimed that the state government had not engaged the residents regarding any compensation, despite menteri besar Amirudin Shari promising that the affected residents would be given homes under the Smart Sewa Skim housing project.
She again highlighted how developers demolished homes that were being occupied by families despite the state government promising that only vacant houses would be torn down.
“We told the developer this could not be done but they told us not to believe the politicians. So who should we believe now?
“We went to the state government to resolve the issue but it seems like it has no authority over this anymore,” she said.
Last month, 29 houses with residents at Kampung Jalan Papan were demolished by the developer under heavy police presence,
Amirudin later said the affected residents would be provided affordable housing by Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd after the developer agreed to hand over 2.83ha for a comprehensive development project.
