Families Planned to move

The would-be dismantled apartment in Jalan Imbi (Photo- VOCR)

 

Imbi (VOCR):12 Feb, dozens of families have been told in the past few months to move to other respective places as the mother company known as 1Malaysia Development Enterprise planning to be initiating the project in the near future at where hundreds of recognised refugees reside.

The project, since earlier in 2001, has been home for Chin refugees as is the low-cost apartment and very old as well. Over few weeks, the officials in the company in collaboration with several staffs of UNHCR and CRC staff appeared to visit those residents in the apartments— critically scrutinizing the living condition of refugees on which they could better find ways to help them partly in financial aid in a bid to help shift from the apartment.

People in the apartment told the VOCR that they highly fear loss of deposit primarily paid to the owners. Nonetheless, it is learnt that those who take money are not the actual owners but the in-between brokers who raise the bill on water and electric often and often times.

The said company will by some means provide compensation up to Rm- 800 per family, quoted one of the interpreters helping company officials and UNHCR staff as saying, added that there is no a timeframe planned for their move but the residents will be able to have adequate time to find apartments themselves.

The lesson well learnt after a meeting with officials from the company is that the brokers have been long taking a wide advantage over refugees in ways that they always increase the bills months after months. And company officials along side UNHCR staff seem cognisant of the misconduct, malfeasance exercised towards the poor refugees stranding in the unwelcome transit-country with uncertainty. 

By Simon