KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Several residents of a People’s Housing Project (PPR) in Shah Alam have accused the Selangor government of trying to evict them for failing to pay one-month rent worth RM250 per house.
The 160 residents of the public housing flat in Kampung Baru Hicom, Section 26, also claimed the state government has cut off supplies of water and electricity through Perumahan dan Hartanah Selangor Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of state-owned Lembaga Perumahan dan Hartanah Selangor.
“This action only complicates the residents’ daily lives. Why are we being put through this? Why torment us this way?” local Abdul Halim Simpul, 59, told Malay daily Utusan Malaysia.
“We are only late in making payments by three days because some of the residents here are receivers of zakat money and Social Welfare Department who get our money on the 10th of each month.”
The paper reported that the majority of those facing eviction have been beneficiaries of Zakat Selangor and the department, living there for the past five years.
Activist Nazilah Idris from a group calling itself Biro Aduan Masyarakat Malaysia also claimed that one resident was evicted for reporting damages with the elevator, and water ponding around the PPR.
The press conference however turned rowdy when the PPR community association chairman Yahaya Abdul Aziz arrived and insisted that the problem could have been solved without any media attention.
Utusan reported there are roughly 5,000 residents in three blocks with 960 units in the PPR area, mostly former squatters from five villages: Rimba Jaya, Kebun Bunga, Kampung Buaya, Kampung Lereng Bukit, and Kampung Rantau Selamat.
