Impasse between Kg Mutiara villagers and landowner ends
After almost two years of bickering, the standoff between villagers of Kampung Mutiara in Batu Ferringhi and the landowner is finally over.
Securing a three-month reprieve against eviction for a third time, the 400-odd villagers have agreed to move to apartments at Seri Tanjung Pinang Phase 1 (STP1) in Tanjung Tokong temporarily.
However, they will move back to their old area again as the Federal Government has bought a 2.1ha piece of land near the village to carry out a mixed development project.
Each eligible family will be compensated with a unit once construction has been completed.
Upon hearing the news, Zawiah Ismail, 62, was overwhelmed with emotion.
“It is a bittersweet moment. I have to give up this place where I have been staying for more than 40 years.
“But we are grateful that our battle did not go to waste as we will be compensated with a home, too,” said the single mother yesterday.
Another villager K. Govindaraju, 61, said they just wanted to have a place to stay since they could not afford to get one elsewhere.
Zawiah and Govindaraju were among several old folk on wheel- chairs who formed a barricade at the entrance to their village. They held placards with messages of their plight.
A few metres before them, the narrow road leading to the village, located behind an art gallery and the Batu Ferringhi police station, has been blocked with tree logs, a concrete pillar and a few broken down vehicles to prevent the demolition of their homes.
When George Town OCPD Asst Comm Anuar Omar read the court order declaring that the eviction writ had been revoked, the villagers and their supporters burst into applause and cheers.
Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail, who represented the villagers, said he would pay RM50,000 to landowner Peter Loke over the delay in vacating the land.
He said that an additional RM50,000 would be paid as a refundable guarantee for the residents to vacate the land in three months’ time.
Ahmad said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, through the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU), contributed RM10mil to buy the 2.1ha near Kampung Mutiara for the mixed development project.
“Once the development has been completed, the 96 families will be moved there,” he said.
Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon said Loke has asked that the land’s quit rent be waived for five years.
Loke said he was relieved that the issue has been settled amicably.
“I wanted to avoid untoward incidents and I am happy an agreement has been reached,” he said. “I have spent so much time and money on this matter, and I am glad it has come to an end.”
The Kampung Mutiara villagers obtained a temporary reprieve on Dec 29, 2015, when the demolition exercise was postponed for another month after the first reprieve in August of the same year.
It was previously reported that the landowner bought the 1.4ha plot in 1991 at a court auction for an undisclosed price and launched legal proceedings to seek vacant possession in 2007.