Firstly, on behalf of PERMAS I would like to congratulate you and the
newly appointed Selangor State Ex-Co for being installed as the new
Selangor State Government. We are truly jubilant for the recent victory
of the Barisan Rakyat’s electoral victory especially in the states of
Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan.
However we are suddenly thrown aback when we read in today’s
Malaysiakini report that you as the newly appointed Mentri Besar of
Selangor stated that you will continue the policy of your predecessor,
Mohd Khir Toyo to eradicate all ’squatter’ settlements in the state.
We are also very disappointed that you have made such as serious
pronouncement as the Selangor MB without sufficient consultation and
discussions with the wider community of resident groups, civil society
organizations, and especially the urban poor settlements themselves
about their housing and land issues.
According to the report by the Malaysiakini report you said, “You can’t
allow people to become squatters in a state. There’s the balance that we
have to abide by.” and “We want to accommodate the wishes of the
squatters as much as we have to take into account the costs (incurred
by) the developer,”. This statement has a chilling effect and reminds us
of the “pro-pemaju” kind of sentiments often expressed by the former
Selangor State government under the leadership of Mohd Khir Toyo.
The issue of squatters or urban pioneers is a very serious and
complicated one and has been the subject of electoral campaigns and
international concerns for the past few decades. In Malaysia especially,
the issue of housing for the poor has always been rife with corruption,
arbitrary inhumane evictions and demolition practices by the law
enforcers especially in connivance with profit hungry housing developers.
The question of ownership of land is not always straight forward. It is
not enough just to ascertain the ownership of a piece of land by
checking the legal status and then labeling the occupants on this land
as “squatters.”
Take for instance if that particular community which has been residing
on that particular piece of land for the past 30-40 years even before
any private interest had laid claim on it. Then suddenly, the local
council or district office, or state government agency decides to do
something with that piece of land, sometimes from their own initiative
or perhaps at the recommendations of certain business interests.
They immediately label the people who have pioneered to that land as
squatters and begin the process of their eviction. This is often done
without due consultation with the people and as a result the
compensations and relocation to alternative homes often do not reflect
the interests of the people. Housing developers aided by local municipal
and district offices arbitrarily push their decisions onto the people
and their verbal promises are usually not fulfilled resulting in
unpleasant confrontations and even violent clashes.
PERMAS has been dealing with land and housing cases for the past 20
years and we have many actual examples and cases to show the
complexities of this issue. For instance we are currently struggling
with a case of 229 longhouse families in Rawang whose promised land has
been arbitrarily taken by the Gombak District Office and the PKNS has
built already built houses on it to sell it back to the people! We have
taken a court case against the Gombak District Office and also the PKNS
but the case has been postponed for the past 6 years!
There are actually many different cases of housing and land where the
developers have acted very irresponsibly and even criminally abusing
state facilities, and ignoring basic human decency and rights of the
people in their endeavor to pursue profits. One cannot just look at the
business side of this issue and blindly “…take into account the costs
incurred by the developers…”
We are very disappointed that as the newly appointed Mentri Besar of a
progressive party such as the PKR, you have made such general sweeping
statements about “squatters”. We recall very vividly that PKR and also
its candidates have espoused very clear ideals and goals to support the
“Rakyat’s” human rights and needs regardless of race!
The “Rakyat” put their energies, heart and soul and especially their
votes in the last elections to deny the Barisan Nasional government a
two-third majority in Parliament. Because of the “Rakyat’s” votes, the
Selangor government is now under the leadership of the PKR-DAP-PAS
coalition.
We understand very well that this is a new undertaking and it is really
a very huge responsibility to be caring a state and making sure that all
sectors are represented and care for without discrimination, whether
they are rich or poor.
We also understand that the issue of adequate and permanent housing is a
very urgent issue. The process of achieving this status has to be done
in close collaboration with the people, not only rhetorically but in
actual practice. If the general aim to provide a house to everyone in
the state would entail striving for a “zero-squatters” status in the
state, then it may be acceptable. However if “zero-policy” status is
pursuit because you believe that “You can’t allow people to become
squatters in a state” or that “we have to take into account the costs
incurred by the developer,”, then this is an anti-people policy!
We would also like to urge you as the Selangor MB and the rest of the
Ex-Co members to actively practice consulting with groups such as PERMAS
who have been actively engaged in the struggle for adequate and
permanent housing and land for the past 15-20 years.
To this regard we would greatly appreciate it if you would immediately
hold a dialogue with PERMAS as well as other civil society organizations
regarding housing for the poor in Selangor and to explore possible
approaches to address all issues in this regard.
I sincerely hope that you and also the members of the Selangor State
Ex-Co will not make sweeping generalisations and hasty judgments on
matters especially involving the marginalized and the poorer sectors in
our society. PKR-DAP-PAS were elected by the “Rakyat” to become the
Selangor State government because of your very people-centered agenda,
your pledges to defend the poor and fight for the rights of all
Malaysians. Now is the time to show us that your government is indeed
different from the previous one!
Sincerely,
Tan Jo Hann
President, PERMAS
26th . March 2008
” We would also like to urge you as the Selangor MB and the rest of the
Ex-Co members to actively practice consulting with groups such as PERMAS
who have been actively engaged in the struggle for adequate and
permanent housing and land for the past 15-20 years.”
dear mb and ex-co members,
actually for me, i think that better u consult with the people in the squatter rather than just the ngos. i don’t really know about these ngos but i think that they are not mind readers.
if so, they are talking as if the squatter people all want their lands. actually the younger generation of a lot of them just want their land so that they can sell it. the problem is still money and how much they can get. the squatter people actually, not all of them are united in what they want. so all these ngos represent which section of the people.
if they just want money, how we know these ngos have already taught the squatter people to be responsible for the land. if the problem is money, than the issue might not be the land but something else like development ke or modernization maybe and bla bla bla. that statement is very hysterical.
hi I just browsed the net and found your comments on our PERMAS open letter to the MB. I do agree with your observations on some level about some urban pioneers selling land, etc. of course not all urban pioneers, rumah panjang residents or low cost flats are sincere…this is life.
for your information, PERMAS is a people’s organisation, the committee members are all from urban poor settlements and community leaders so our views reflect the reality on the ground.
Yes it is true not all NGOs can represent the voices of the people, but at least I think they try to present the people’s side of the story better than many of the BN government leaders and their agencies which have always spoke on behalf of the people and always decide what is best as if the people are little children who needs to be punished and rewarded according to the government acting as “big brother”.
Anyway these are just my responses. thanks for your comments on our letter.
Tan Jo Hann
President