The Shah Alam High Court this morning rejected a developer’s application for summary possession of Kampung Berembang in Ampang.
A full trial will therefore be needed if the developer still seeks to claim ownership of the land.
A summary judgment - which developer Perspektif Masa Sdn Bhd had sought as representative of its joint-venture agreement partner Permodalan Nasional Selangor Bhd (PNSB) - would have meant it could claim ownership of the land without going into a full trial.
According to the residents’ lawyer Edward Saw, judicial commissioner Mariana Yahya said “there were triable issues as to whether the residents had the implied consent of the Selangor government to reside on the land”.
In addition to contending that it owns the land, PNSB had also sought an interim injunction to prevent the defendants from interfering with works being carried out on Kampung Berembang.
This, as well as the PNSB’s ex-parte injunction obtained on Feb 27 to vacate the land, were declared unlawful and set aside with costs.
The judge ordered PNSB to pay damages and other costs incurred due to demolition of the residents’ homes.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia pro-tem secretary-general S Arutchelvan (photo) said the decision was announced in chambers.
It was relayed at about 11.15am to the Kampung Berembang villagers, many of whom had packed the court’s public gallery and the hall outside.
He said the decision was greeted with loud applause and cheers from the residents, some of whom have been staying in tents since their houses were demolished in November last year.
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“The villagers are very grateful for the decision, which must be attributed to some extent to their persistence in claiming a stake over the land and their continued presence in court,” said Arutchelvan when contacted.
Back to status quo
Kampung Berembang residents assert they had lived on the land since the 1960s with the consent of the Selangor government and thus should be compensated in the event the land is acquired for development.
They cited the setting up of an Umno Kampung Berembang branch as well as the provision of electricity, a surau, a multipurpose hall, and other amenities by the authorities to back their claims for compensation.
On Nov 17 last year - a week after an eviction notice was served on the residents - officials of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), riot police, and people’s volunteer corps Rela forcibly demolished several of the houses.
Despite an appeal, demolition works recurred on Nov 20 and Nov 30. By March 7 this year, the private developer had reduced the 30-year-old settlement to rubble.
The villagers have also filed a suit has been filed against MPAJ for serving ‘non-valid’ eviction notices under the Emergency (Clearance of Squatters Regulation) Ordinance 1969.
Following this morning’s decision, the situation returns to the status quo prior to the demolition. Technically, therefore, the residents are allowed to return to Kampung Berembang.
“We hope the developer does not appeal the decision and prolong the suffering of the residents,” added Arutchelvan.
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz | Dec 14, 07 1:24pm
BEREMBANG EVICTION ILLEGAL
DEVELOPERS TOLD TO PAY DAMAGES
Shah Alam High Court, 14 December 2007
At 10.45 am, Justice Datuk Mariana gave a judgment at chambers in giving the Kampung Berembang villagers a 3-0 victory over the developer. The news of the victory was announced by Edward Saw to the villagers outside the court which brought applauses, joy and a victory long overdue.
The Judgment dismissed the developers the right to vacant possession as the court felt there were tribal issues to be heard and they were told to pay cost. The Court further ruled that the ex-parte injunction was executed wrongly where the developer demolished and forcefully evicted the villagers. This act was seen as illegal and the court told the developer to pay damages as well as cost. The amount will have to assessed and paid. The villagers were represented by Edward Saw, K.Shanmuga and Amer Hamzah.
PSM Chairperson Dr. Nasir Hashim, Secretary General S.Arutchelvan as well as JERIT Urban Settlers Coalition Head E.Paremas were present on this historical event. Comrade Arutchelvan said that the victory was only made possible because of the strong and consistent resistant put up by the Berembang settlers. They stood up and rebuilt their homes even after 5 forced demolition. It was a victory due to them but the struggle is far from over.
This judgment today was a blow to the developer Permodalan Nasional Selangor Bhd (PNSB) and Perspektif Masa Sdn Bhd. It was also a slap on the face of the Menteri Besar Selangor, Khir Toyo and Exco Mokhtar Dahalan who said that the villagers will lose the case if the brought to the courts. We wonder who the Chief Minister will give the “Broom” now for not resolving the Berembang issue.
We reproduce a story we did on 7th. March 2007 –when the houses were demolished
BEREMBANG – IT IS NOT OVER YET !
Ampang, 7 March 2007
There were only three houses to be demolished and a number of tents but yet it took hundreds of policemen and women including the FRU, the Developer’s people and their thugs to demolish the houses and bring down the fierce resistance put out by the Berembang settlers and the activist who stood with them.
What would in normal circumstances take only half an hour to complete took an entire day and till the last plank was removed, the resistance never surrendered. At the end of the day, the Developer and the police went into an agreement allowing the settlers to camp just outside the current village area and the developer forked out RM 60,000 to pay some compensation. It was astonishing to see the developer who previously refuse to fork out even a cent succumb so fast. A black and white agreement was signed with the developer, the police and the people’s representative putting their names on it and the agreement was scrutinized by the settlers representative which would not stop them from taking further action.
The lawyers who were at the scene – Latheefa Koya and later joined by Edmond Bon and Teng Chang Khim all declared that the demolition today was unlawful and the police’s action illegal. The police led by ACP Amer Awan though kept maintaining that he was only ensuring the peace took a clear side in assisted the Developer – Perspektive Masa Sdn. Bhd. to carry out this illegal operation. The lawyers seeing the brutality in their own eyes have vowed to take legal action against the developer and those who assisted them at the demolition.
The current legal tussle started when on Monday, the Kampung Berembang Chairperson was served with a letter from Tabian Tahir & Co stating that the Developer of Kampung Berembang –PNSB has obtained an Interim Injunction to prevent the local people from stopping the developer’s work.
The same letter states that if the people do not follow the order then the Developer can go for committal proceeding to execute the order. This is normally done after two weeks the first notice is submitted but on that same day, the developer with the full protection of RELA and gangsters from Klang started demolition work. The interim Injunction was not served on the people and legal experts have called this a miscarriage of justice.
With no regards to due process, the developer armed with RELA and gangsters and the police force went on the rampage. To make matters worst, an inter parte hearing was fixed for the 14 th. Of March 2007 which is just next week. The people managed to stop the demolition the other day. This morning, they came back again and it was said that the Selangor Chief Minister himself Khir Toyo instructed the homes be demolished and the Selangor Police Chief carried out the orders to assist the developer.
The people resistance led by 60 remaining settlers has been backed strongly by JERIT and its coalition members – Urban Poor Coalition and the Youth and Student wing Coalition along with Parti Sosialis Malaysia(PSM) led the fierce fight-back. Today’s resistance also saw the united front of the opposition parties joining in from PAS, PKR and DAP leaders. Tian Chua was arrested while other leaders such as Dr. Nasir Hashim, S.Arutchelvan, Hatta Ramli and Sallahuddin were all physically removed from the houses. Later, it was made known that Tian was arrested for “attempting murder” when all he did was break an illegal barricade created by the developer and their thugs to stop outsiders from coming into the village. All in, six people were arrested for various ridiculous reasons but the police though arrested dozen’s of people at every encounter, released them immediately.
This morning, the developers attempted to seal the front entrance and brought in their lorries and machinery to do earth work and remove the peoples belonging as well as demolish the remaining houses. They were met by strong resistance and many fights occurred at numerous occasion. Both sides sustained injuries during these encounters. Two policewomen were removed from the scene – one of them hurting her leg while the other women just broke down and could not handle the pressure.
The settlers and the activist then stay put inside the houses while hundreds of policemen and developers would try to demolish these homes. It would take the police and the developers more than an hour to bring down these houses in spite of their huge numbers. It would normally just take 3 minutes to bring down a settlers house on normal circumstances.
Background
Kampung Berembang is located at Jalan Ampang near Hospital Gleneagles. There were at one time more than a hundred families living here and they have been building this settlement forty years ago. In 2003, the people were promised low-cost houses by Pemodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad, Acmar International and Perspektif Masa Sdn Bhd. These homes were to be built near the current village but these houses are yet to be built.
Under these circumstances, the settlers were given eviction notice on 17/11/2005 to vacate the village. They were not given alternative permanent homes but were offered temporary homes at Puchong – 30km away. The settlers refused and asked for relocation near-by as it is the State Government policy to relocate within 2-3km. The State used the draconian Emergency Clearance of Squatter regulation 1969 and gave the villagers seven days to get out. A group of brave settlers then decided to fight this order and they were assisted by Sdr. Teng Chang Khim – the State opposition leader who was their lawyer for the case.
A temporary injunction ensured their homes were saved initially. On 14 November 2006, the State Government claimed that the land belonged to them while the settlers maintained that land had already been given to a private developer. The court fixed April 30 th. to hear the case. Just three days after that on the 17 November and then on the 20 November, the local council (MPAJ) with the assistance of the police and developers came to demolish the homes. Many people were arrested and injured. The people rebuilt the houses and on 30 November, the houses and the surau(Place of worship) was demolished. The people have since rebuilt their homes until the latest attack on 5 th. March 2007.
Aftermath
After the last house was brutally torn down, some reports have indicated that this is the end of Kampung Berembang. The battle was lost today but the war remains to be fought and won. The people have merely retreated 50 meters outside the current settlement. They have put up their tents. With their original settlement fully closed, the struggle would now focus outside. While the ground was lost today, the spirit remains among some of the settlers who have pledged to carry on the struggle.
The last three days has seen intense struggle between the settlers and the developers. The police, the State and even the courts seem to be with the oppressors. Malaysia with all its wealth cannot resolve the housing issues of its people. There seem to be no political will and the battle for housing rights is far from over – in Berembang, Rimba Jaya and else where.