Kampung Sembulan Tengah Residents and Welfare Association chairman Osman Omar Khan.
KOTA KINABALU: Over 200 households in Sembulan Tengah are calling on Sabah leaders, particularly Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, to honour their promise not to evict them from their homes, where they have lived for generations.
The residents were shocked by a sudden two-week eviction notice issued by officials from Kota Kinabalu City Hall and the Land and Survey Department (LSD) on Wednesday (Sept 19).
According to Kampung Sembulan Tengah Residents and Welfare Association chairman Osman Omar Khan, the eviction could affect thousands of people.
“We were ordered to vacate our houses within 14 days, threatened with eviction and were told that if we resisted, we would face a RM100,000 fine and five years jail,” he explained.
Describing it as “an act of cruelty”, the affected villagers are calling for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to reconsider the decision since there were no prior discussions or negotiations between the government and landowners.
“We want the government to acknowledge that this land belongs to the people. We agree to development, but it should be a win-win situation between the government and landowners,” he said.
Osman said they were aware that their ancestral land, which their families have occupied since World War II, was earmarked for a reorganisation project called Sembulan Urban Renewal Scheme.
The 3.5-acre prime land, which they wish to be gazetted as their village and issued with a communal land title, has fallen into private hands and aligns with the Sabah government’s plan to end its squatter problems.
It is learned the opening of Sembulan dates back to 1788 and when the original families of Sembulan Lama grew, land became insufficient, leading them to occupy the 3.5-acre vacant land.
However, Osman also claimed that during a meeting with Sabah State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong about a month ago, they were notified that the scheme had been cancelled.
“So, that is why we are confused with this latest development. We hope the Chief Minister will investigate the matter as we keep hearing from various departments, including local council and LSD, that the order came from higher authorities and the highest authority is the Chief Minister,” he told reporters.
In June, the Sabah cabinet approved a revised version of the Sembulan Urban Renewal Scheme, where Hajiji said landowners would be allowed to stay once development is completed, with agreed monetary compensation.
However, the details of the compensation remain vague.
The battle over land ownership has been ongoing for years, with land lease renewals frozen in recent years.
“Previously, there were notices preventing land lease renewals. We were left there and when our homes caught fire, we were not allowed to rebuild (our houses). But just across the street, after a fire, the residents were offered homes under the Hardcore Poor Housing Programme (PPRT, now called Prosperous People’s Housing Programme),” he explained.
Hoping for a similar offer, Osman said they, too, should be compensated with a house so that affected residents would have a place to move into when their lands are developed.
“Most of the residents living there are not financially well off, some are elderly. We also request that the government consider other locations in Tuaram that could be gazetted for resettlement,” he said, adding that they had submitted at least 14 memorandums, one each yearly, to get their message across to the relevant authorities.
The residents are expected to meet officials from the relevant government agencies on Saturday (Sept 21), and Osman disclosed that they wish to explain their issues in detail and are hoping for a solution to their problem.
“But having said that, even if there is development, we would prefer to remain in Kampung Sembulan Tengah. There is no place like home,” he said.
