We were manhandled, say Bkt Jalil residents

Two estate residents claimed they were assaulted by DBKL officers when they attempted to enter city hall.

KUALA LUMPUR: Two residents from Ladang Bukit Jalil claimed they were manhandled by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers when they attempted to enter the premises today.

The two were part of the 80 estate residents who arrived at DBKL at 11am to hand over a memorandum to mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail.

The residents, led by their action committee secretary S Thiakarajan, were urging DBKL not to demolish their homes on March 15.

Realising that Ahmad Fuad would not meet them, the residents tried to enter the building but were blocked by DBKL officers and the police, said C Vijayaletchumi (photo), one of the victims.

“Two DBKL officers tried to push me away but when I resisted, one of them punched my shoulder,” claimed the 41-year old woman.

Another resident, R Prashanth, 14, also alleged he was punched by a DBKL officer during the scuffle.
“The DBKL officer punched me on the chest. When I asked him why he attacked me, he denied doing so,” said Prashanth.

Thiakarajan said they were greeted by the mayor’s special officer, only known as Mohd Aznan, when they arrived.

“He told us that Ahmad Fuad was attending a function in the office itself and that the mayor would receive our memorandum at 12pm.

“However, when the function ended, Aznan told us to wait till 1pm as the mayor was having lunch,” said Thiakarajan.

At 1pm, Aznan informed the residents that the mayor had gone for his Friday prayers.

“Aznan also told us off rudely that the mayor had informed him that he had nothing to do with our estate,” said Thiakarajan.

A scuffle soon broke out when the irate residents tried to enter the building. But DBKL officers and some policemen blocked their path.

“Since the mayor said he had nothing to do with us, our lawyer (Lawyers for Liberty coordinator Fadiah Nadwa Fikri) delivered a letter to his aide calling him to halt any plans to demolish our estate,” said Thiakarajan (photo).

Among those present were PKR vice-president N Surendran, Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S Arutchelvan, Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah and representatives from Suaram, Jerit and Selangor and Federal Territories Residents Association and the Human Rights Party.

The 41 families residing in the estate were slapped with new eviction notices on March 1 and were given until next Monday to relocate to a nearby flat.

However, the residents claimed the notices were illegal and submitted a memorandum on the matter to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s aide and Pakatan Rakyat MPs at the Parliament yesterday.