Penang Islamic council denies it acted inhumanely in eviction row
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAINPP) has dismissed claims that it had acted inhumanely over the eviction of 14 families from Tanah Wakaf Masjid Abdul Cauder recently.
Its chairman, Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, said the state authorities were forced to do so to safeguard the interest of the majority.
“We (MAINPP) have been bleeding since 2010. This is the fourth court order we obtained, and it cost us more than RM80,000 each time to get an order.
“We have not acted on the three complaints previously.
“We offered them (those evicted) the best compensation. People are saying Penang offers one of the best compensation.
“Ours is better than the rest,” he said here yesterday.
Malik said the state government planned to redevelop the site into a high-rise project to accommodate more people.
“If this plan had taken off as planned in 2010, we would have been able to house hundreds of people.
“Now, nothing can be done until we get vacant possession of the site,” he said, adding the state had obtained a court order for the final eviction of a family yesterday.
Tanah Wakaf Abdul Cauder was endowed by one Kavana Ebrahim @ Burong in 1892. There were originally 46 tenants staying there, paying a monthly rental of between RM2 and RM30.
In 2010, Wakaf, Zakat and Haj Department had set aside RM50 million to redevelop the site. According to initial plans, it planed to build a 22-storey medium-cost apartment building.
Of the 46 tenants, 32 vacated to make way for the redevelopment.
Those who were evicted were offered a unit each upon completion.
They are given RM4,000 oneoff and a monthly rental of RM500 until the completion of the high-rise building.
Malik said reports concerning Tanah Wakaf Abdul Cauder had been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and the office of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in a Twitter posting, said he had instructed an officer to go to the ground to check on the eviction of tenants here and those of the Taman Manggis People’s Housing Project.
His political secretary, Abu Bakar Yahya, was here to speak to the evicted tenants and hear their side of the story.
It was reported that the eviction in Tanah Wakaf Abdul Cauder turned ugly when tenants fought off the eviction.
Eleven people were detained. However, 10 were released the same night.