Rumah Hijau: Settlers to get new flats soon

As reported in The Star

Settlers to get new flats soon
By DERRICK VINESH


THE 200-odd families living in temporary long houses in Rumah Hijau, Mak Mandin will be resettled in a new low-cost housing project in Ampang Jajar by the third quarter of the year.

Penang Town and Country Planning and Housing committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the project developer Silver Channel Sdn Bhd was confident that the 20-storey block would be completed on schedule.

“The developer has said that that the block, which comprises 304 units priced at RM42,000, is now 90% completed.

“Only a service road and some basic infrastructure facilities need to be constructed,” he said after meeting some residents in Rumah Hijau last Friday.


Wong (second right) taking a walk around teh Rumah Hijau housing area in Mak Mandin.

Last week, Rumah Hijau residents organised a peaceful gathering urging the state government to guarantee them replacement flat units in Ampang Jajar.

A resident M. Kesavan, 41, said the residents had suffered hardships for 40 years due to lack of facilities such as clean drinking water and proper sewerage.

Wong said the state Housing Committee, which conducted an inter-agency meeting last Monday, had discussed with the developer on the resettlement formula for the residents.

He said there were four categories of residents — those with and without temporary occupation licence (TOL) as well as original Rumah Hijau settlers and their extended families.

“The developer and I will meet the residents today to explain to them the compensation quantum according to their respective categories,” he said, adding that there were also four grocery shops that needed a proper place to be relocated.

The residents’ representative A. Tamilsalvan, 33, said the residents would hold their own meeting to compile feedback on their problems to be presented to Wong.

“We are thankful that Wong has visited us to see for himself our deplorable living condition,” he said.

Last October, Wong said that the state had entered a privatisation agreement with Silver Channel to build 304 low-cost flat units on a 8.3ha plot in Ampang Jajar.

Under the agreement, he said, the developer would surrender 200 units valued at RM8.4mil to the state for the resettlement of the Rumah Hijau residents. But, since there were 255 families to be relocated, Wong said the state would spend RM4.3mil to buy up the remaining 104 units to ensure there were ample units for the residents.