KUCHING: Of the 63 squatter families at Chawan Road SDNU cemetery here, 40 have agreed to be relocated.
Kuching Iban community paramount chief Temenggong Datuk Bernard Agan told this during a meeting of Kuching District’s 22 Iban headmen and ‘ketua genturong’ (settlement chief) yesterday.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah chaired the meeting at his office in Petra Jaya.
“The families, however, have a condition for moving, that is, they want assistance from the government to pay deposits for their new homes. They also requested for financial aid to transport their belongings,” said Agan.
According to Agan, the other 20 families decided to stay put because they would not be able to pay the RM150 monthly rent at the new place.
“They also fear incurring transportation costs of commuting to and from their current workplaces,” he said.
To this, Agan said sooner or later, all would have to move out as the place is a cemetery.
Three of the residents that have decided to stay put are visually impaired couples and a single mother without a steady monthly income.
