GEORGE TOWN, March 12 — The seven-day saga involving the evicted residents of Taman Manggis’ people’s housing project (PPR) drew to a close today following negotiations with state officials.
Only five out of eight families were still camped on the ground floor of Komtar today and they are all expected to vacate the state government complex later this evening.
The remaining families were ushered up for a meeting with the state housing department at around 1pm today.
A spokesman of the department said they had negotiated with tenants from five units and four were offered alternative housing units.
It is believed that two of them were offered rent-to-own units while another two were offered low-medium cost units.
Only one was not offered a unit as he has a property under his name and his children owned their own homes.
All of them were allowed to go back to their Taman Manggis PPR units today to pack and move out in two weeks’ time.
Earlier today, municipal councillor David Marshel was seen bringing the tenants up to the housing department on level 20 for discussions.
“The negotiation is successful so they will be leaving this place today,” he told reporters later.
Marshel, who approached the tenants yesterday to mediate a meeting with the department, refused to comment on the details of the negotiations except that it will be announced by the Penang chief minister tomorrow.
One of the tenants, Khalidah Nazir Ahmad, told reporters she was offered a low-medium cost unit in Tanjung Tokong.
She said she will be moving out to a rented place after this.
The group has been camping on the ground floor of Komtar since last Wednesday after beingevicted from the PPR units.
All of them were found to be ineligible for the PPR units and were issued eviction notices October last year.
