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PETALING JAYA: In yet another move to apply pressure on residents of Kampung Hakka in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan, developer Mega 9 Development Sdn Bhd yesterday cordoned off the area in the village that will be involved in its development project.
The fencing will limit the movement of residents in the kampung, as the residents had managed to stop one area from being fenced off, which now serves as the entrance to the 100-year-old enclave. The move is allegedly a breach of the stay order obtained by residents against any work, evacuation or demolition at the site.
The developer’s workers and representative had arrived at the village early yesterday morning to fence the area involved in the project despite protests from residents and activists, said S Parameswary, coordinator of the activist group Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), who was at the site.
Work was briefly halted due to protests from residents before resuming at 12pm and was completed later.
“The fencing was set up to demarcate the project area, but people are still staying here. We managed to stop one area from being cordoned off,” Parameswary told fz.com.
“So now the residents can only use this one access point to go in and out of the area.”
As protests from residents and activists reached a climax, another Jerit activist, identified as Gandhi, was arrested for allegedly “threatening to kill the workers”, said Parameswary.
“At 12pm, the police and workers came to continue the fencing work. Gandhi came out to shake hands with the police chief. Instead, they arrested him for allegedly threatening the workers that he would kill them and took him to the Mantin police station,” she said.
Parameswary claimed that the arrest was made as a way to remove any encumbrance in the way of the fencing work. “Without Gandhi there to lead the protest, they managed to complete the work. He was released at 2pm,” she added.
It was not until the residents’ lawyers turned up with the court order obtained on Oct 31 that the developer’s representative ceased work.
“We had faxed the stay order granted by the court to the developer in the morning and the developer’s representative had it in his hands when he was negotiating with the residents,” she said.
The Kg Hakka residents have been directed to vacate their homes following development plans by Mega 9. On Oct 31, six houses and a community hall in Phase 1 of the residential area were demolished by the developer with the help of the police.
Nineteen people, including residents, six DAP elected representatives, Arutchelvan and Suaram executive director E Nalini, were arrested for attempting to cease the demolition.
Nevertheless, residents managed to obtain a stay of execution on the demolition order from the Court of Appeal at the eleventh hour, saving the remaining 92 homes.
Despite promises by Mega 9 chairman Datuk Ng Kek Kiong to negotiate with residents on the matter, no efforts have been made so far on the developer’s side to engage with residents.
For more stories, go to www.fz.com, the website for freedom of expression and fairness in articulation.
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 12, 2013.
