Don’t leave poor tenants hanging, hold promised dialogue, Sabah housing board urged

KOTA KINABALU – The 315 tenants of the Rumah Pangsa Tg Aru low-cost flats reiterated their stance against moving out from their units until all their demands are met. 

They say that the Sabah government and its Housing and Development Board (LPPB) should not make the situation more difficult than it already is. 

The tenants have demanded for a dialogue and suitable alternative housing after LPPB as the owner told them to start moving out early last year.

The eviction notices were distributed in May 2021 when the economy was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic and people were hampered by movement restrictions. 

The tenants were only given seven months to find new homes elsewhere.

The eviction period has already expired.

Tg Aru Assemblyman Datuk Junz Wong said LPPB should not worsen the situation and leave the tenants hanging without a clear solution.

LPPB should not make things ugly. The residents have already requested for a dialogue with the board and also officials from the state Local Government and Housing Ministry since the eviction process started.

“Don’t make the situation ugly. They (the authorities) promised to hold a dialogue, but it seems that until today they have refused (to have one).

“Instead, they offered only a few new apartments elsewhere. This is unacceptable,” said Wong, adding that the residents are now telling the government to meet these demands.

Wong said this during a discussion with about 40 tenants of the low-cost flats yesterday, adding that the residents have decided not to heed the eviction notices.

LPPB acting on its own accord?

Stressing that LPPB should stick to its objective in providing affordable homes, he noted that the agency seems to take actions on its own.

“While LPPB insists on evicting the tenants, the Local Government and Housing Ministry has not said anything,” he said.

He stressed that he was made to understand from a conversation with minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun that a redevelopment plan on the land still has a long way to go.

Reading Masidi’s text message in response to the issue, Wong noted that there are many issues that need to be resolved, including alternative residential placement for the affected tenants.

The tenants had held a peaceful protest during “moving day” on January 25 when LPPB’s deadline for the tenants to move out had passed.  

Don’t force tenants to hire independent building assessor, Wong urges LPPB

On January 26, The Vibes reported the tenants’ spokesman Abdul Rahman Abdul Samad as saying that they have been paying their monthly rentals for decades, but no maintenance has reportedly been carried out over the past 15 years or so.

The eviction notice applies to residents in all 11 blocks there.

He said the Public Works Department and a consultant firm had carried out boring tests into the buildings twice and were told by the technicians that the structure is still alright.

We were told by the technicians that the buildings can last at least eight to 10 years,” he said.

On claims that the buildings are unsafe, Wong said LPPB should not force the tenants’ hands to hire an independent assessor on the conditions of the building.

He noted that two building assessments have been done, one by the Public Works Department and another by a private assessor.

While LPPB has declared the building as unsafe, the reports from the two assessments have not been revealed when asked, Wong added.

Wong maintained that the residents will not budge from their homes until their conditions are met – namely a dialogue, alternative placements and for the building’s safety report to be made public.

He said legal action is also now being considered in the event that LPPB goes against the law or its own objectives. – The Vibes, February 4, 2022