Kg Sungai Baru residents warn of 'paid gangsters' out to cause trouble ahead of Sept 11 eviction

Kampung Sungai Baru residents are on the alert for attempts to cause a disturbance at an upcoming function to protest a developer's efforts to evict them this week, following the circulation of a text message offering cash to anyone willing to attend under the pretext of being part of the community.

The residents previously vowed to fight their eviction, scheduled for Thursday morning, with a solat hajat (special prayer) session to be held every day until then.

The message, circulating on WhatsApp, had offered RM100 to anyone who would attend the protest on Sept 11 – the date of the scheduled eviction.

"An easy job... just come to the event against the development in Kampung Sungai Baru on Sept 11, from 9am to 12 noon. Food and drinks will be provided for all. Anyone interested, provide your IC number, full name and phone number. Payment RM100," said the message, sent by one Tony.

The residents, who had in the past spoke of being threatened by "gangsters" who told them to leave their homes, lodged a police report on the latest development for fear of being accused in the event of disorderly conduct.

"We don't want any misunderstanding, as if we are the ones causing the chaos," resident Syazrin Dinie Ibrahim told MalaysiaNow.

"This is a major issue and we are afraid that lives could be at stake."  

Syazrin, who also filed a police report, said he was afraid that the developer might have hired people to provoke a disturbance.

"The message might be an attempt to use local gangsters pretending to be residents to kick up a ruckus, and in the end, we are the ones who will be blamed," he said.

He added that the residents had obeyed their lawyer's instructions to do nothing against the law.

"We are only defending our rights," he said.

The residents had said that the developer should wait for the outcome of their appeal, the hearing date of which is scheduled for next year.

"The developer was informed, but they insisted on pressing on with the eviction notice. It's clear that there is no justice for the residents," Syazrin said.

In their police report, the residents asked the police to investigate the person behind the text message, and provide security measures in Kampung Sungai Baru this Thursday.

The Kampung Sungai Baru redevelopment controversy began after the government gazetted the land acquisition on June 21, 2021 under Section 8 of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 (APT).

The gazettement involved 410 residential units comprising 37 terrace houses, 72 flats and hundreds of apartments, affecting more than 2,000 residents.

The residents previously cited a document issued in 1932 by the then resident of Selangor, clearly identifying Kampung Sungai Baru as Malay agricultural land or MAS, a status under British colonial administration that gave it protection and strict conditions against any acquisition of land.

They also rejected the developer's offer of compensation which they said was too low, given the actual market value of the land in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, just a few minutes' drive from the Golden Triangle and KLCC where property values exceed RM1,000 per square foot.

N Surendran, the lawyer representing the residents, had urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration to acknowledge its error in using the APT, and to use its power to offer a "new and fairer" offer.

He said Kampung Sungai Baru's status as MAS land had never been cancelled, whether through two-thirds support in Parliament or a revocation document submitted to the land office.

Meanwhile, activist Rafidah Ibrahim said the issue at hand was not only compensation, but rather the rights and dignity of the Malays in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.

She said the WhatsApp message had revealed efforts to gather "hundreds of gangsters" ahead of the eviction.

"How far are they willing to use force?" she added.

She said some 20 residents who would receive notices this Thursday were intent on protecting their rights.

She also said that the developer might seal the doors of their homes. She warned that its action could spark an uprising, especially among the Malays.

"If they insist on using force, I am confident that Malaysians will rise up because people will see clearly who is oppressing whom."