BUTTERWORTH: Some fifty families comprising 200 people of a 100-year-old village called Kampung Bagan Ajam here face eviction by this August to make way for a condominium project.
They further claimed that their elected representative, DAP’s assemblyman was not helping them to resolve the arising problems.
However, Phee Boon Poh, the Sungai Puyu assemblyman denied the allegation and claimed he was ever willing to help the residents.
He indeed revealed an e-mail exchange between him and the residents’ representative, Wong Seak Lee, to prove his willingness to assist the affected families in the negotiation with the developer for appropriate compensation.
The families were issued two eviction notices by the developer, one last November and the latest in May 2014 to vacate the six-acre village to pave way for an estimated RM1mil worth of project.
The residents claimed that they were offered poor compensation package, between RM8,000 and RM30,000 per family and all negotiations via Phee had met a dead end.
Due to the poor offer, they want replacement houses, at least flats, as compensation.
Nevertheless, they claimed Phee seemed not keen to assist them to resolve their problems despite numerous meetings.
The residents held a peaceful demonstration to highlight their plight to the public yesterday.
The village’s oldest resident, Ooi Chooi Guan, 78, cried foul over a RM22,000 compensation offer, claiming that it would never be enough to place a deposit to buy a new home.
Phee however insisted that he had always offered his assistance to the residents since last November.
He claimed that the issue was “politically driven” by certain parties.
“It is now between them and the developer, but I will continue to help them,” Phee, also a state executive councillor, told newsmen in his Komtar office here.
He claim to have no knowledge on what the developer, Tah Wah Agent Sdn Bhd planned to use the land for.
Meanwhile, state executive councillor in charge of housing Jagdeep Singh Deo promised to give the residents due weightage in allocations of affordable homes if they applied.
