One of the Kampung Buah Pala residents tearing the DAP flag in anger when contractors move in today todemolish the houses in the village.
Among those arrested were lawyer Darshan Singh, former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) councillor A Thiruvenggadam, and several MIC youth members.
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Only five – three women and two men – were villagers.
It is learnt they had started a hunger strike while at the George Town district police headquarters in Pattani Road here.
All 18 were released on police bail about 8.30pm tonight.
Things came to a head at about 12.30pm today when police made a V-shape formation to penetrate the crowd of mainly Hindraf and MIC members, who were shouting slogans, in order to break one of the houses.
“All those arrested but who were not villagers were there in a spirit of solidarity with the residents, which is alright,” George Town OCPD Azam Abd Hamid said later.
“But what they did in obstructing (the court bailiff and police) was against the law.”
Police arresting the villagers at Kampung Buah Pala.
Azam said most were arrested for obstructing police in discharging their duty while some would be charged for causing a riot.
Demolition work started on four houses in Kampung Buah Pala today -- three days past the deadline to move out -- amid a violent skirmish between police and village supporters that ended with 18 arrests.
He said they would be released on bail after their statements were recorded.
Two policemen were injured in the skirmish. Four police reports were lodged by various individuals, including one by developer Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd on an alleged attack on its director Gary Ho.
Azam said five households had agreed to vacate and let Nusmetro demolish their houses. The remaining families asked for more time, and were given a week.
The day began on an ominous note at about 7.30am when several police trucks, including a Black Maria, were seen parked outside the village.
Residents were supported by a crowd of Hindraf and MIC youth members, lead by the party’s youth chief T Mohan.
The physical confrontation between the police and the supporters came as a surprise as the residents’ committee members were seen having negotiations with Nusmetro’s Ho and executive director Thomas Chan.
It is understood that Nusmetro wanted to demolish three vacant houses.
After lengthy discussions in the mobile police beat base, five members of the demolition team were allowed to enter the village, to break down the first house under the watch of the police, a court bailiff and the residents committee, at about 10am.
There were several tense situations between reporters and supporters who tried to block them, and between MIC members and youngsters in the demolition team.
After breaking three houses, Ho reached a compromise with residents’ association secretary J. Steven to break the store room of his house.
The crisis has its roots in the state government approving the village land for sale to the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang for a private commercial development project in 2004.
The residents, descendants of indentured labourers brought in during the British colonial period, have argued that the land transaction was fraudulent, and that their forefathers were beneficiaries of a housing trust under the Brown Estate, but have lost repeatedly in the courts.
A distraught association chairman M. Sugumaran: “We have no avenue already. The state government is not with us. The courts are not with us. How are we going to fight?” he said.
comments
Bravo.The Police has done the right thing.The Indian is really a trouble maker.They cannot blame the DAP,The State Govertment and the developer.They lost all the court appeal.They have no right as squatter.What else they want.The developer had given them one double story house for free.
Ini semua akal keling.They created problem in Selangor,in Kedah,in Perak.They are trouble maker.
They pissed on LGE publicly, now they ask where is LGE? What, you expect him to come so you can insult him again? And where is Samy Vellu coming to your rescue on his white horse. Since Samy Vellu has hundred of millions stashed somewhere, stolen from the Indians, he sure could buy the whole land and give it back to you; but knowing Samy, he would more likely tell you to suck your cow dung.
And where's Muhyiddin and C4 and Krishamudin? Yeah, they would send you a severed cow head as a parting gift.
Somehow I do admire the Kg Pala squatters who know how to get the best deal from the developers.Well the ex gratia in between 100K-300K or a double storey house worth 600K is a good deal indeed
They were better off compare to the malay squatters who were evicted in Kampung Beremabang and many squatter areas in KL.MInd you they had been living there for many decades when KL suburbs were dense forests.They just tgot a humble low cost flats.
I know those Kg Pala residence are laughing all the way to the bank.The resistance are a pretence
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