By G Vinod, FMTKUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Deputy Minister M Saravanan, miffed at being labelled a “mandore”, walked off in huff from a group of residents wanting to hand a memo to Kuala Lumpur mayor, Ahmad Fuad Ismail.
Saravanan brusquely told them to seek legal help and left them in a lurch at Kuala Lumpur City Hall after reading a copy of the memo which referred to him as “mandore” (supervisor).The residents, from Bukit Jalil, sought a meeting with the mayor over a series of eviction notices received by eight Indian families, the latest on Oct 20.
The mayor personally received the memo and made a hasty retreat after telling the group he had another meeting to attend to.
His parting shot to the group was: “Do not tell me what to do. I'm only following instructions from the government."
Saravana, upon getting word of the residents meeting the mayor, made a beeline to City Hall to meet with the group and was given a copy of the memo.
The group, led by its action committee secretary, S Thiakarajan and Hindraf Makkal Sakthi national coordinator K Balakrishnan, were not pleased with the mayor's response.
“Is he not part of the government as well? Doesn't the government serve the public?”asked Thiakarajan, 57, who has lived in the estate all his life.
He vowed to take the matter to Putrajaya if the situation persists and the matter not resolved.“We are not slaves to just accept what the government says,”said Thiakarajan.
On July 20, 41 families living at Ladang Bukit Jalil were slapped with eviction notices and ordered to vacate their premises by July 26.
They then mobilised and organised a protest against the eviction. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak intervened and ordered the eviction to be postponed until a solution was reached.
However, the eight families from the former estate land received eviction notices last week, which prompted them to submit the memo to City Hall today.
Balakrishnan said the authorities had not met or held discussions with them to offer a solution.
“The eviction notices were given despite earlier assurances by the Human Resources Ministry and Saravanan that a dialogue will be held first,” said Balakrishnan.
The latest eviction notice ordered the eight families to vacate their premises by Dec 20.
30/10/10
The mayor personally received the memo and made a hasty retreat after telling the group he had another meeting to attend to.
His parting shot to the group was: “Do not tell me what to do. I'm only following instructions from the government."
Saravana, upon getting word of the residents meeting the mayor, made a beeline to City Hall to meet with the group and was given a copy of the memo.
The group, led by its action committee secretary, S Thiakarajan and Hindraf Makkal Sakthi national coordinator K Balakrishnan, were not pleased with the mayor's response.
“Is he not part of the government as well? Doesn't the government serve the public?”asked Thiakarajan, 57, who has lived in the estate all his life.
He vowed to take the matter to Putrajaya if the situation persists and the matter not resolved.“We are not slaves to just accept what the government says,”said Thiakarajan.
On July 20, 41 families living at Ladang Bukit Jalil were slapped with eviction notices and ordered to vacate their premises by July 26.
They then mobilised and organised a protest against the eviction. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak intervened and ordered the eviction to be postponed until a solution was reached.
However, the eight families from the former estate land received eviction notices last week, which prompted them to submit the memo to City Hall today.
Balakrishnan said the authorities had not met or held discussions with them to offer a solution.
“The eviction notices were given despite earlier assurances by the Human Resources Ministry and Saravanan that a dialogue will be held first,” said Balakrishnan.
The latest eviction notice ordered the eight families to vacate their premises by Dec 20.
30/10/10
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