The
Selangor government exco member for housing, building management and
urban pionners, Iskandar Abdul Samad, has assured housing rights activists that all evictions of urban pioneers have been halted in the state and all eviction notices withdrawn. Parames E has the story.
The assurance was given during a meeting on
10 April between representatives of the Housing and
Urban Pioneers Coalition of Jerit and Iskandar on
the issues affecting urban pioneers in the Selangor state.
The
Coalition has been actively campaigning and protesting against the
forced evictions that had been taking place in Selangor since 2005
due to the former Selangor state policy of “Zero Squatters”. Many
memorandums were given and protests were staged, but to no avail as
forced evictions and demolition of houses of urban pioneers went on
under the previous Selangor government led by the then MB Khir Toyo.
But
the former state government paid for their actions when the
demolition of Kampung Berembang and Kampung Rimba Jaya where Jerit
stood by the people in fighting against eviction become a national
issue – which contributed to the fall of the Barisan Nasional state
government.
The
meeting yesterday was held between Jerit – represented by the urban
pioneers coordinator Parameswary, representatives from six villages
namely Kg Berembang, Kg Papan, Kg Fajar, Kg Temenggung, Kg Kenanga
and Kg Chupadak – Arul the secretary general of Parti Sosialis
Malaysia and Iskandar. The people’s demands were clear:
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Abolish
the “Zero Squatter” policy and replace it with a policy of
“Adequate Housing for the Rakyat” Take
proper measures to solve the housing problems of the Urban PioneersTerminate
all eviction notices immediatelyIn
cases of urban pioneers living on private land, arrange a dialogue
between the people and the developers
The
outcome of the meeting was positive as the state government promised
to resolve their housing issues as soon as possible. The state exco
member for local government, Ronnie Liu, said that that the state
would not use the Emergency Ordinance (Clearance of Squatters) 1969
and would withdraw all court cases that were taken against the urban
pioneers. Iskandar promised that a special committee would be formed
to study and resolve issues related to urban pioneers as soon as
possible.
Jerit
has hope that the new Selangor state government will resolve the
issue of urban pioneers as soon as possible. Many, who are now part
of the government, were previously in the villages, defending the
rights of the people before they were elected. This change did not
come easily. It is the power of the people which brought about the
change.
Long
live people’s power!
Parames
E is the coordinator of the Housing and Urban Pioneers’ Coalition of Jerit
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
