THURSDAY-6TH DECEMBER 2007-REBUILT SQUATTER HOUSES LEVELLED

REBUILT SQUATTER HOUSES LEVELLED
KOTA KINABALU:
City Hall has demolished more than a dozen illegal houses built on a Government reserve land next to the Tropical Forest Recreational Park at Jalan Penampang, the same land where 64 illegal houses were demolished two years ago. Yesterday, 17 houses which were re-built by stubborn squatters, were again levelled by a City Hall team. City Hall personnel had carried out a similar demolition exercise early last year and told the squatters to evict from the area but they had apparently returned to rebuild the illegal structures. Fifteen enforcement officers from the City Hall Squatter Houses Unit, assisted by more than 20 policemen and RELA members together with personnel from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd and Water Department, carried out the demolition, starting at 8.45am. As expected, the dissatisfied squatters who had been holding a grudge against the City Hall for evicting them out of the reserve land known as Kampung Matabian since August 2005, poured out their anger and tried to halt the demolition. However, despite the squatters’ objection and protest, the operation carried out under the Building By-Laws 1984 went smoothly and ended three hours later with no physical resistance. The demolition operation was led by City Hall Assistant Enforcement Officer, Inspector Mohd Bahazan Othman. Late last month, at least 37 squatter houses were torn down by City Hall workers at Kampung Sri Tanjung in its on-going demolition exercise. The operation in the area was to see at least 600 houses demolished, as the location is required to make way for the expansion of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport project. Meanwhile, residents living in houses standing on water in the City who also face City Hall’s demolition squad, have asked for an early notice if their houses were found to have been built without approval.