KOTA KINABALU – Cash-strapped and out of work, more than 100 people squatting on state reserve land behind the Sabah Archives building here are now facing eviction.
Local council officers met the squatters, who have been living on the plot for 30 years, last Sunday to inform them that they have two weeks to move out, and about 10 houses will be demolished.
Since Covid-19 struck earlier this year, many of the squatters have found themselves jobless.
Ragima Lajim, 29, told The Vibes that she knew it was just a matter of time before they would be asked to leave, but had been hoping for a delay.
“I was at the Kota Kinabalu City Hall office and the Archives building to send letters, seeking more time until we have a place to go.
“We are all Malaysians here. But we don’t have much work these days due to the lockdown.
“We don’t have the money to rent a house or buy one in such a short time.”
While land grabs and native customary rights claims are common in Sabah, the squatters’ predicament is not.
Ragima said many of her neighbours are second-generation families from the Bajau ethnic group who have lived on the same plot for decades.
Their fathers, who hailed from Kudat, Sandakan and Semporna, made their way to the state capital to work for a developer, but the job lasted for only 15 to 20 years.
The developer told the first generation of families to occupy the land, said Ragima, who was born and bred here.
Like many of her kin, she started working in her 20s.
Now with families of their own, they work at restaurants and nearby construction sites, but almost all of them lost their jobs when the pandemic hit Sabah.
“My sister worked for only two days last week. She was let go by her employer because business was bad,” said Ragima.
“We applied for government housing many times before this. My family did so in 1999, and again in 2005, but our applications were rejected by the government.”
She said the situation is desperate for all of them.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor, in a reply to Luyang rep Phoong Jin Zhe of DAP, said the land will be vacated within three months.
Phoong said he has received complaints from other residents since his election as assemblyman two years ago, adding that the number of complaints increased as more squatters moved in during the virus-triggered lockdown.
The land is an asset of the Sabah Archives Department, which plans to clear it out.
Phoong said he has written many times to City Hall, requesting that the authorities raze the illegally built houses and make the area safe once more.
City Hall, in a report, said 28 people are squatting on the land, 19 of whom are Malaysians. – The Vibes, November 25, 2020
