GEORGE TOWN, Aug 13 ― Tanjung Tokong villagers, sued by UDA Holdings for refusing to vacate the village, have now filed a counter claim seeking a declaration that they are the rightful owners of the houses there.

Six villagers filed the lawsuit with senior registrar Ng Geok Nee to seek a declaration that they have the right to continue residing in the village.

In their statement of claim, they contend that the village is more than 300 years old and so should be preserved as a heritage village.

They are demanding that UDA Holdings fulfil its social obligations as a federal body to restore, rejuvenate and protect the Tanjung Tokong village and its artefacts that include existing Malay houses.

They are also demanding for damages and costs.

UDA Holdings initially filed a suit against some of the villagers to evict them from the village.

Today, the villagers filed their statement of defence to the earlier suit, before submitting a counter claim.

UDA is trying to evict the 11 to make way for a development project on the site.

Yusmadi is one of the lawyers representing the Tanjung Tokong villagers.

Yusmadi Yusoff, one of the lawyers representing the villagers, said only six villagers filed their statement of defence and the counter claim today, while the other five will file their defence and counter claim when the case comes up for mention on August 28.

In the statement of defence filed today, the villagers claimed that in a letter by former Penang chief minister, the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, dated January 13, 1984, it was clearly stated that the “land alienated in Tanjung Tokong shall be used solely for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and renewal of Tanjung Tokong Village”.

They also claimed that their ancestors have lived on the land for over 300 years before colonisation by the British and the arrival of Captain Francis Light back in 1786.

Prior to the colonisation, the seafront of the land was known as “Teluk Tikus” while in the earliest days of the village it was known as “Kampung Gigi Air”. This later became “Kampung Tanjung Tokong” which was derived from a Malay phrase to mean “cape of the rocky islet”.

Other evidence the villagers presented to back their claims that the village has been in existence centuries ago include an old Muslim cemetery with old tombstones, which they say signify the early beginnings of the village and also the arrival of Islam into the state.

The battle for the old fishing village to be preserved as a living heritage site has been an ongoing battle for many years since 1974 when 48 acres of the land were handed over to UDA for development despite then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak promising the villagers in 1972 to let the villagers, who were not owners of the land, settle there permanently.

Over the years, UDA relocated some of the villagers and moved them into low-cost flats and the number of villagers living there dwindled as they were evicted in batches.

In the last 10 years, the sea it used to face has been replaced by a new luxury township and development.

Today, more than 100 houses remain in the village as UDA could not evict many of the villagers who had put up a strong resistance from being relocated.

According to Penang Heritage Trust, Tanjung Tokong is one of the oldest traditional seaside Malay villages left on Penang Island that is complete with a mosque and cemetery.

The village was also listed as one of the endangered heritage sites in Penang.

In late 2011, the Penang state government had declared the village a “heritage village” and on principle UDA agreed to incorporate the preservation of the Tanjung Tokong heritage village into its development plans for the whole area.

Early last month, UDA sent eviction notices to 11 residents, labelling them as squatters on the heritage village, and when they refuse to budge legal notices were sent to them.