Accepted compensation, yet refused to move
Published on: Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: A Sepanggar community leader Mohd Said Awang Jumat advised Kota Kinabalu MP Jimmy Wong to get his facts right before championing some villagers of Kg Numbak over a piece of land supposedly promised to them.Mohd Said, from Kg Gentisan, said Wong obviously did not understand the 18-year history of a resettlement scheme that led a few hundred villagers from three villages in Karambunai to where they are today."As a pemaju mukim (community leader), I know the full story as I was the one deeply involved in a lot of the processes including meetings with ministers at the time. He (Wong) clearly doesn't know much," he said.ADVERTISEMENT He was commenting on Wong's call on City Hall to prove it had ownership to a land which was already promised to villagers from Kg Sabang, Kg Lok Madas and Kg Lok Butah.According to Mohd Said, what actually happened in 2001 was that 488 families were occupying private land when they were ordered to be resettled on a 22-acre site in Telipok to make way for the construction of the Royal Malaysian Navy base.He said the families were given compensation by the Government so they could build houses in Telipok."The government didn't have to (give compensation) because they were occupying private-owned land, not state land."ADVERTISEMENT "But the government was compassionate and compensated them," he said.However, after receiving compensation, they still refused to move to Telipok on the excuse that most of them were fishermen and depended on the sea for their livelihood, Mohd Said added.
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The Government later proposed that they be resettled in Benaung on an 18-acre state land near the sea, which they also refused."Finally, the alternative area was Kg Teluk Numbak although initially the plan was strongly objected by the original villagers at the time, including their elected representative Datuk Yong (Teck Lee).""But it was later resolved after discussions between several leaders including myself and Datuk Seri Shafie (Apdal) who was then the Deputy Minister of Defence," he recalled.He said as the villagers had hardly any money left from the compensation, the Government was compassionate enough to provide them with basic housing."How can they now claim to have any right over the 18-acre land in Benaung after having refused to move there when it was first offered?" And how could he accuse the Government of treating them badly? It had compensated them and provided them land twice in different places to stay. But they refused. "Then when they had to move to Kg Numbak, the Government again gave them houses. To me, it's Wong who was irresponsible with his statement," he said. He pointed out that the question of ownership does not even arise as the land belongs to the state whereas City Hall acts as trustee.Wong reportedly said he was shocked to learn that City Hall had laid claim to the land. He claimed that the title number was not registered in the Land and Survey Department.He also claimed that 5,000 villagers who have been living temporarily in Kg Numbak fear being chased away to make way for a PR1MA housing project."He needs to be more responsible with his statements. The number of registered voters in Kg Numbak is around 3,000 including the original residents who have been there for ages. Maybe the 5,000 that he mentioned are illegal immigrants who he had insulted as 'pilak' and who he once insinuated as a baby-factory few years ago.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"He only spent few hours in the village and he now claims to be an expert. He can ask Shafie about the whole process that took place instead of picking up stories from the coffeeshops," Mohd Said said.He added that the issue of Kg Numbak settlement is given close attention by Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, judging from a meeting with him in December last year that was attended by himself, Karambunai Assemblywoman Datuk Jainab Ahmad and Mohd Joh Hj Wit, who is a native of Kg Numbak and knows everything about the village and its history. - Leonard Alaza