KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 ― Perkasa refuted claims today by PAS representatives and activists who said that the Malay rights group had failed to fight for the struggle of the evicted urban explorers in Kg Chubadak Tambahan, Sentul.

According to the group, it has always assisted the villagers there but remained quiet about its work as it does not desire any publicity or need any political mileage, unlike PAS.

“When we do something, we don’t make noise about it. Because we’re not here to get political mileage,” Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said.

“They would make a big fuss, but do they care about the villagers afterwards? Do they know whether their problems were solved after that?”

Advertisement

Ibrahim said he had just visited the villagers earlier today, and promised to bring up the matter with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Land and Mines Office (PTG) tomorrow.

Yesterday, PAS’ Mazlan Aliman, who heads the party’s land, urban explorers and Orang Asal affairs bureau, mocked Perkasa and other Malay-Muslim groups for not speaking up on the issue.

Villagers met by The Malay Mail Online last week also explained that only PAS representatives and NGO activists have visited them since their eviction.

Advertisement

The status of the land in Kg Chubadak Tambahan is still pending on a High Court case due to be heard on June 27, with villagers insisting that they own the land as urban pioneers.

A Court of Appeal decision in 2000 had previously refuted claims that the villagers were squatters and trespassers, insisting that they occupied the land as licensees and with the consent of the state authority.

However, DBKL went ahead and demolished three houses on Monday last week as part of a clearing process that had started in 2013 in order to make way for future development.

The demolition was temporarily halted on Thursday, however, after activists and PAS representatives managed to obtain a High Court injunction, staying the demolition until the case is heard.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib also said yesterday DBKL will tear down remaining homes in Kg Chubadak Tambahan despite the injunction prohibiting such action until June 26.