Villagers win tenants’ rights in land dispute

Court orders developer to negotiate new compensation deal

PUTRAJAYA: Fifty-four families in Kampung Tai Lee, Ipoh, have been declared as legitimate tenants of the land and the Court of Appeal has struck out eviction orders against them brought by a property developer.

The developer, Teh Teng Seng, would now have to negotiate a compensation deal for them to move out, their lawyer said after the court decision last week.

Appeal judges David Wong Dak Wah, Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid and Zamani A Rahim unanimously upheld the residents’ contention that they were not squatters, but were legitimate tenants in the village.

The residents, whose forefathers had settled there more than 100 years ago, had paid rent to the previous land owner until 1996.

The developer’s lawyer Visvanathan had argued that the eviction notices were correct and the residents were squatters. In 2007, the landlord had issued eviction notices to more than 100 villagers.

Over the years, many had accepted compensation of between RM2,000 and RM5,000 and moved out.

“Many moved out of fear that they would be kicked out without any compensation,” said lawyer M Kula Segaran, who represented the villagers with N Selvam Kula.

He said the remaining 54 residents had wanted the developer to provide housing lots or houses to permanently settle in the village.

In December 2013, after nearly 10 days of hearings, the Ipoh High Court ordered all the 54 residents to move out, with each resident ordered to receive RM10,000 compensation.

They filed an appeal on the grounds that they were not squatters, as contended by the developers, but in fact were tenants.

“Eviction should not be the solution in such disputes,” said Kula.