Pitas folks still waiting for their compensations
Published on: Friday, October 03, 2014
PITAS: Villagers of Kampung Eloi, Kampung Manggis and Kampung Datong here, whose lands, houses and crops were affected by the widening work on Jalan Pitas-Bongkol-Telaga, are said to be still waiting for their compensations from the Government after several years of waiting.A representative of the more than 20 affected villagers said despite letters and telephone calls to several related government agencies, including the Land and Survey Department and Public Works Department (PWD), the prospects of receiving the compensations still seemed far-fetched."I've lost count of the number of times I have called their officers regarding this matter.
ADVERTISEMENT
Each time I called, I was asked to wait," said the spokesman whose wooden house was earmarked for demolition to pave the way for the second phase of the road upgrading project.He claimed that several houses, which stood adjacent to the main road, had already been torn down during the earlier road project that was completed four years ago."Our hard-earned money to build our homes was gone just like that. Our crops such as banana and other fruit trees were also torn down even before the official groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of the project, which was held in February 2010," he further claimed.He said about 31 houses were earmarked for demolition, but a few houses were still being occupied by their dwellers due to their financial constraints to look for an alternative place to stay.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We are not illegal immigrants to be treated this way. We belong to the Rungus ethnic group who are eligible voters in Sabah," he said, adding that the villagers had to travel far to government departments in the city to inquire about the status of their compensation claims but only to be told to wait further.Asked whether the affected homes were built on Native Titled (NT) lands, he said about five plots were registered under such title.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Even though the rest of the houses stood on land which were registered under Land Application (LA), that doesn't mean we are not entitled to any ex-gratia payment from the Government."Besides, we were earlier told that we will be compensated accordingly based on our loss," he added.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
