It was a heart-wrenching moment for octogenarian Draviam Arul Pillay as he witnessed his home and memories violently snuffed out by a demolition team at Kg Buah Pala.
Using sledge hammers and other equipments, developer Nusmetro's demolition team tore down the house of Kampung Buah Pala's most senior resident Draviam Arul Pillay, 84, the father of the village association secretary Joseph Stephen.
Villagers watched in dismay as the rampaging demolition team destroyed Draviam's (left) family house under the watchful presence of a large police squad including a light strike force unit.
A tearful Thavamani Draviam, 44, was overwhelmed by the sight and could not contain her anguish at witnessing the destruction.
She started to scold the workers who went about their task with no regard for the fact or knowledge that they were demolishing the home in which she was born.
"We built the village ... it's ours. Now they have robbed us off our home," said Thavamani, who had to be consoled by her family members.
After partially tearing down Draviam's home, the demolition team moved on to residents' association assistant secretary, C Tharmaraj's home.
Tharmaraj's mother R Indrani, 62, caused a stir when she threatened to torch herself as the demolition team was dismantling her house gate.
She came out from her house with a bottle of liquid, believed to be kerosene, and doused herself with it.
Then she produced a match box and threatened to immolate herself if the demolition team did not leave the place immediately.
Upon seeing her going berserk and shouting at them, the workers quickly left the area.
Her son, Thanaselan calmed down the tearful Indrani and took her inside.
A final RM125,000 offer
The demolition exercise was over by 2pm with some cleaning up left to be done by the developer's demolition team.
Resident K Murugan told Malaysiakini that developer Nusmetro Venture (P) Sdn Bhd's director Gary Ho today offered a one-off RM125,000 final compensation to some of the villagers who did not accept the earlier double-storey house offer.
He said Ho also told the residents whose houses were demolished today that they would be relocated for a month to a nearby apartment pending further decisions on the matter.
"It's like we are at the mercy of the developer today because the state government, courts and police are all against us for standing up for our rights," said Murugan.
During the demolition, some villagers vent their anger and frustration against everyone, including Ho, the police, the demolition team and even the village association leaders.
MK
14/09/09
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