KOTA KINABALU – Facing eviction, the tenants of the Rumah Pangsa Tg Aru low-cost flats who were given seven months to leave their units say they are not buying talk that the buildings are unsafe.
According to the tenants’ spokesman Abdul Rahman Abdul Samad, they have been paying their monthly rentals for decades, but no maintenance has been done over the past 15 years or so.
The eviction 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.
“The only thing needed was some maintenance on the buildings and that would be fine,” Rahman told The Vibes when met at the flat’s coffeeshop yesterday.
He is aware that the boring tests carried out by the technicians could still be modified for specific reasons.
Rahman said the buildings would not be declared unsafe if the owner – the Sabah Housing and Town Development Board – had carried out regular maintenance work.
Residents claim that development board had stopped maintenance to the property about 15 or 16 years ago.
On Monday, tenants took to the ground to air their grouses, demanding the board and its chairman Datuk Masiung Banah to have a dialogue with them.
The peaceful protest was held during the “moving day”, when agencies including police were in attendance to monitor the residents moving out from their units.
Masiung, who was present at the event, said the eviction notice stands. After discussions with the tenants, he said that they can still stay, but maintenance to the buildings will not be carried out.
Masiung also noted that the development board will not be collecting any rent until such a time a decision is made over their eviction.
Rahman said the seven months given to vacate their units is too short a notice, given that many of the tenants are from the B40 group, working with the government, in hotels, small businesses and even jobless.
Further, he said the board has offered some of the tenants alternative housing, but they fear they will not be welcomed by the other residents there.
He said only 30 tenants were offered the option, while the rest of the tenants had to find their own homes.
“The three places are Puri Warisan flats, Bukit Setia flats and Kalansanan flats. Only five tenants agreed to take up the offer, and three of them rejected it later.
“The folk in these housing areas are a little hostile. Even if you make a small mistake, such as wrongfully parking your car, they will vandalise your car,” he claimed.
Most of the Tg Aru flat tenants also alleged that many of them living in the other flats are those who used to live in the squatter areas, and whose nationalities are in question, said Rahman.
“All we want is for the government to provide us with proper housing, perhaps in nearby areas.
“We have been living here for decades, and much of our businesses and affairs are tied to this place, like sending our children to schools, going to our workplaces and other things,” he said.
Masiung, when contacted over the issue responded only with “no comment”. – The Vibes, January 26, 2022
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