<figure id="attachment_3282110" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3282110" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3282110" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/9fee30c3-lee-afizi-ismail-@-fmt-lifestyle-13226.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3282110" class="wp-caption-text">Twenty-two-year-old Lee Zhi Jie, who was raised in Kampung Jalan Papan, has no home to celebrate the Lunar New Year this year. (Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)</figcaption></figure>
KLANG: By this time of year, homes would usually be dressed in festive Chinese New Year decorations. But in Kampung Jalan Papan, the festive spirit of the folks here has been crushed amid the rubble.
Located in Pandamaran, Klang, Kampung Jalan Papan is a settlement with roots tracing back to 1939. Yet for decades, its residents have lived in uncertainty because of a dispute over a roughly 95-acre parcel of land.
In the name of<a href="https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2025/11/12/selangors-broken-promises-in-the-name-of-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> development</a>, the community has been pushed to the margins.
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Many families here once held Temporary Occupation Licences (TOLs). And in 1992, they were assured of their land rights by the Selangor government.
However, they now face eviction by private developer Melati Ehsan Holdings Berhad, despite earlier promises that they would not be displaced.
Residents also claim they were once offered 20’ x 70’ double-storey homes priced at RM99,000 as replacement housing.
Since 2020, however, they have been labelled illegal squatters. Tensions reached breaking point in November last year, when 29 occupied homes were demolished as the families watched on in horror.
<figure id="attachment_3281818" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3281818" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3281818 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ec1daef9-6_kg_papan_residents_interview_moganraj_fmt_lifestyle_12022026-copy.webp" alt="KG PAPAN RESIDENTS" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3281818" class="wp-caption-text">Teoh Ah Guat, 63, has been actively engaged in protests with fellow residents. (Moganraj Villavan @ FMT Lifestyle)</figcaption></figure>
FMT Lifestyle visited the village recently and spoke to some of its residents – most of whom are elderly.
As the news team walked around, it was clear that even basic clean-up had not been carried out. What were once homes now lay in heaps of splintered wood. Up close, floor tiles, doors and wooden planks with exposed nails were strewn everywhere.
Sixty-three-year-old Teoh Ah Guat, deputy chairman of the Kampung Jalan Papan Residents Association, told FMT Lifestyle that their struggle has been ongoing for around 30 years.
“They’ve treated us like we’re terrorists. Now we are always anxious, wondering when the rest of our homes will be demolished again. When will we finally get a house? Where are we supposed to go?”
<figure id="attachment_3282125" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3282125" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3282125" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/5c0f3794-demolished-to-make-way-for-development.-muhammad-rabbani-jamian-@-fmt-lifestyle-13226.webp" alt="demolished to make way for development. (Muhammad Rabbani Jamian @ FMT Lifestyle) 13226" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3282125" class="wp-caption-text">Last November, around 29 homes in the village were demolished to make way for development. (Muhammad Rabbani Jamian @ FMT Lifestyle).</figcaption></figure>
Teoh recalled that Kampung Jalan Papan was once a bustling agricultural village, where residents farmed vegetables and raised pigs.
“Our ancestors saved little by little over the years to build these houses themselves. We paid for our electricity and water, and developed this place on our own,” Teoh added.
A predominantly Chinese community, they were asked about their New Year plans this year.
“When so much has been destroyed, how can we feel like celebrating? Our homes have been demolished. We’ve lost so much. We don’t even have the mood to buy new clothes, make cakes, or hang decorations. We feel empty,” Teoh said.
<figure id="attachment_3282127" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3282127" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3282127" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/4e23760f-room-moganraj-villavan-@-fmt-lifestyle-13226.webp" alt="room (Moganraj Villavan @ FMT Lifestyle) 13226" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3282127" class="wp-caption-text">Many displaced residents are now staying in temporary single-room shelters built by volunteers and fellow residents. (Moganraj Villavan @ FMT Lifestyle)</figcaption></figure>
United across race, the community here used to celebrate all festivals together. But Nathan Marimuthu, whose home was built by generations before him, has lost his home and his sense of belonging.
“They used a machine to demolish my house, and within 30 minutes it was destroyed. My wife was crying. My child was crying. We are not asking for anything big &#8211; just one house in exchange for one house. That is all,” he said, sounding defeated.
As they stood before the ruins of what was once their home, Nathan and his wife couldn’t hold back their tears.
Having lived in Kampung Jalan Papan for more than 55 years, Nathan said his son was arrested while trying to stop the demolition of occupied homes. Since then, the family has been staying in a rented property further away, and his children have had to transfer schools.
<figure id="attachment_3281820" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3281820" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3281820" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/52a7cb72-8_kg_papan_residents_interview_moganraj_fmt_lifestyle_12022026-copy.webp" alt="KG PAPAN RESIDENTS" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3281820" class="wp-caption-text">Despite the circumstances, the multi-racial community has stayed united and resilient. (Moganraj Villavan @ FMT Lifestyle)</figcaption></figure>
But even in the face of such great loss, the community grew stronger. Over a three-week period, residents and volunteers joined hands to build temporary single-room shelters, using debris salvaged from the demolished houses.
One of the most heart-wrenching stories is that of 22-year-old Lee Zhi Jie, who was raised by his 86-year-old grandmother here. He has no tertiary education, no job, and now, no home.
“I sleep in the temporary shelter at night and go back to my family’s house in the morning to eat. The New Year is coming, but I don’t feel festive. Not even the slightest bit,” Lee explained.
As fireworks light up the skies across the nation, the people of Kampung Jalan Papan enter Chinese New Year in silence and sadness, still waiting for answers about their fate.

MatchPoint Times

Demolitions leave Kampung Jalan Papan folk without a Chinese New Year

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