Malaysia: Appeal for urgent protests to Malaysian embassies and government over attacks on homes

Malaysia: Appeal for urgent protests to Malaysian embassies / government over attacks on homes

Your help is urgently needed. Please send protest letters to Malaysian Embassies and the Malaysian government in relation to the demolition and brutal eviction of ‘Berembang house’ by the state government of Selangor. (Please see previous appeal on CWI website www.socialistworld.net/eng/2006/11/23malay.html). The background of this morning demolition, a model sample letter, information where to protest etc, are below.

This morning, state government forces, including armed police and bulldozers, again carried out another operation to demolish a Muslim prayer house and makeshift shelters that were built by people after the first state demolition on 20 November. Some 60 people, and activists, stood steadfast against the demolition, and were involved in a physical battle with enforcement officers from state government, who were backed by police force. Villagers who tried to block the demolition were violently pushed aside by the enforcement officers, who numbered by more than 100. In the aftermath of the melee, 11 people – nine activists and two villagers – were arrested. As the dust settled, Kampung Berembang looked like a battle-zone, with villagers on the ground, some crying in pain, some unconscious and some hurt after getting hit by police (for further information and pictures go to : http://www.parti-sosialis.org/ )

Please send urgent protest letters (email, fax or, if possible, phone the embassy) to condemn this brutal act by the state government of Selangor and its Chief Minister, Mohammad Khir Toyo.

Model Protest Letter:

To the Prime Minister of Malaysia/ Minister of Housing and Local Government/ Malaysian Ambassador

I/We are from ………..and condemn the brutal act of the State Government of Selangor under Chief Minister Mohamed Khir Toyo, which on 20 November and 30 November 2006, brutally demolished houses at Kampung Berembang, where 500 people lived for more than 30 years.

This inhuman act goes against fundamental human rights and the basic right to shelter. We also learned that the state government used the police force and local government enforcement officers to brutally arrest and assault the people and social activists who were trying to defend the residents.

It is obvious this inhuman act undermines the fundamental rights of the people, and was taken despite the Prime Minister’s department instructions to halt the planned demolition, given that a relevant legal case is at the courts. The representative of the Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM), Dato Siva Subramaniam, who was at the village on 20 November, also instructed the local government authorities to stop the demolition.

We are very alarmed with this vicious attack, and the inability of the government of Malaysia to stop the demolition. If the government instructed the state government to halt the demolition, the order was wilfully ignored.

This incident at Kampung Berembang clearly shows the Malaysian government’s lack of credibility when it claims to defend the rights of working and poor people. This undermines the democratic and human rights of workers and people in general.

We, strongly, condemn this brutality, and urge the Malaysian government to:
  • Investigate this abuse of power in Selangor state by the police force, the local authorities, the developer of Kampung Berembang, and the Chief Minister of Selangor over this brutal and inhuman act in Kampung Brembang, which is against fundamental human and democratic rights
  • Stop police the brutality against social activists and working people. Drop the police charges against social activists and residents of Kampung Berembang who were merely acting to defend the fundamental right of all ordinary people to housing
  • Compensate, in full, the cost of all the damage done by the state government to the people of Kampung Berembang through the brutal house demolitions
  • Provide Kampung Berembang residents with proper housing, with all the basic utilities, until decent alternate houses are built. All disputes should be settled by proper negotiations, not by inhuman and uncivilised acts.

The Malaysian government promotes Malaysia as a democratic and harmonious country through the ‘Visit Malaysia 2007’ campaign. We call for the Malaysian government to act fast, end the demolishing attempts and to condemn the actions of the Chief Minister of Selangor.

We will step up the campaign against this brutal and uncivilised act, if the Malaysian government fails to take action against the immoral actions of the state government of Selangor and to uphold the rights of Kampung Berembang residents.

Yours Sincerely,
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Make protests to:

1)Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia
Pejabat Perdana Menteri,
Bangunan Perdana Putra,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
62502 Putrajaya, Malaysia
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 603-8888 8000.
Fax: 603-8888 3444

2)Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting (Housing Minister)
Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan,
Paras 3-7, Blok K, Pusat Bandar Damansara,
50782 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 603-2094 7033

Fax: 603-2094 9720

E-mail: [email protected]

3) Malaysian embassies (the addresses/email/fax/phone of embassies are in the file attached)

Send your copy of protest letter to [email protected], [email protected]