Kg Sembulan Tengah residents wary despite relaxation of eviction notice

KOTA KINABALU: Emotions ran high during a dialogue between hundreds of Kampung Sembulan Tengah residents and state government officials after a two-week eviction notice was issued residents of the water village located in the heart of the city.

Residents voiced concerns over the gentrification of the former fishing village, fearing that urban development plans could displace their long-standing community.

They also voiced fears they may lose their homes and livelihoods if calls for fair compensation and the right to remain are ignored.

Kota Kinabalu Mayor Datuk Seri Dr Sabin Samitah announced that the 14-day eviction notice would be relaxed, with another engagement scheduled with owners on Oct 8.

Sabin said Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) would clean the water village, which has become an eyesore and is the source of unpleasant odours.

“There is a lot of waste … because the water is not flowing, causing bad smells,” Sabin told reporters after the dialogue at the Sembulan Community Hall on Saturday (Sept 21).

Sabin also said that 64 acres of land have been earmarked for the Sembulan Urban Renewal Scheme, approved by the state government in May this year.

The first phase, covering 22 acres, has already seen the development of shop lots and roads.

The second phase, covering 42 acres, includes five acres of government land and the disputed 37 acres where the water village sits, of which 64 lots currently have active leaseholders, while 105 are inactive.

“Those with active leases will be compensated, while those with expired leases will receive a token (compensation), to be decided by the state government,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kampung Sembulan Tengah Residents and Welfare Association chairman Osman Omar Khan expressed cautious optimism after the dialogue.

Although they were pleased with the extension of the eviction notice, Osman said they are awaiting the final decision on Oct 8.

He hinted at the possibility of protests if their demands are not met.

Osman reiterated the community’s three key demands: the renewal of land titles for landowners, the gazetting of portions of the land as a village, and housing for residents under the Hardcore Poor Housing Programme (PPRT), now called the Prosperous People’s Housing Programme.

“This is a historical struggle over land ownership. Previous governments used ‘dirty tactics’ to block landowners from renewing their leases, which led to our current situation.

Despite these challenges, we are confident the Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor) is on our side, and we hope for a favourable outcome,” said the 57-year-old Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd employee.

It was learned that the original families of Sembulan Lama, who settled in the area as early as 1788, later occupied a 3.5-acre vacant land when their community outgrew the original settlement.

In June, the Sabah cabinet approved a revised version of the Sembulan Urban Renewal Scheme. Chief Minister Hajiji said that landowners would be allowed to remain after the development, with agreed monetary compensation.

However, details of the compensation remain unclear.

Also present at the dialogue were Deputy Chief Minister III and Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, who is also the Putatan MP, Petagas assemblyman Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari and Chief Minister’s special officer Datuk Arthur Sen, among others.