The strange and ongoing case of Kim Teng Park, Johor

The residents of Kim Teng Park, Johor Baru, have won a reprieve in their battle to stop the state government from acquiring the 52-year-old housing estate, and their homes in the process.

The residents’ committee received a letter yesterday from the Johor Baru land administrator’s office that the hearing for the acquisition scheduled for September had been postponed “until further notice".

Yet, the mood at the housing estate was far from jubilant.

“Although there is a sense of relief, we also feel disappointed because this is just a postponement and we don’t know what is going to happen after this,” said residents' committee treasurer Kuna Chelliah.

“Some of the houses are in need of maintenance and renovation work. Without a definite decision from the state government, we are living in limbo.

“Do we repair, renovate our homes under such uncertainty?” he asked.

Lawyer Puah Wee Tse, who is advising the owners on their legal position, said the stay was a minor victory for the residents, who have exhausted all options to stop the acquisition.

Seeking the help of Johor Baru MP Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad was one such option, which has helped them to get this far.

“We can only hope that the government will withdraw the acquisition to allay the fears of the elderly residents, who are well in their 70s and even 80s,” said Phuah.

“The gazette notice was issued on May 21, 2015, and the government has two years to acquire the land, until May 20, 2017, when the gazette automatically expires.

“Hopefully, the hearing isn’t postponed until then. Don’t tell me the owners have to wait two years to know the outcome of the acquisition; this would be unfair,” he added.

Endorsed land title leads to more complications

Stulang assemblyman Chen Kah Eng urged the government to invoke Section 35 of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to withdraw the notice.
 
“This is because they used Section 8 of the same Act to gazette the acquisition and this has resulted in the house owners’ land titles being stamped ‘Cadangan Pengambilan’ (Intended Acquisition).

“Until or unless the withdrawal of acquisition is gazetted under Section 35, the stamp will be on the titles, making the transfer of ownership, for example, from the owners to their heirs, very difficult.

“In any case, no one would want to buy property with such a stamp on it,” he said.

“What have we done to deserve this?” asked Heng Teo Luang, 67, who lives in the house her father bought in 1962.

She takes little comfort in the letter, which she finds inconclusive.

“Many of us are old and sick, and this acquisition has caused us so much worry.

“How can the government do this to us? It wants to take our homes but, at the same time, it wants people to invest in property in Johor Baru and Iskandar Malaysia?” she said.

The owners are due to meet again with Shahrir to discuss the next step.