SELAYANG MCA members threw down the gauntlet on the issue surrounding the Kampung Datuk Lee Kim Sai Hall in Rawang.

After failing to get a response from Rawang assemblyman Gan Pei Nei about the status of the hall that housed the local MCA branch office for 40 years, the MCA members will make a human shield to stop its demolition.

Selayang MCA chief Datuk Goh Ah Ling said the bulldozers would have to pass through them first before the hall could be torn down.

They were issued a notice to move out by Aug 25.

“I challenge Gan to demolish the hall.

“We visited her service centre in Taman Bersatu three times over the last three weeks but failed to meet her.

“It is disappointing to have an assemblyman that does not want to meet the people,” said Goh, who was accompanied by 50 MCA members with banners.

On July 31, Gan said the state government gave Selayang MCA two weeks to move out of the disputed premises and look for alternative venues as notices to move out were issued since 2015.

She said the building was built illegally on state land and they failed to pay a premium in 2003, when it was offered by the state government then.

Gan added that since the land only had Temporary Occupancy Licence (TOL), the state had the right to repossess the land without paying compensation and that the land was gazetted under a community hall on Nov 8, 2012.

On Aug 3, Goh offered two solutions to solve the problem.

He said if the state government wanted to demolish the hall, it should compensate them with another piece of land to build their own hall.

The second solution was that they demolish the existing hall and build a new one to be managed by the Kampung Datuk Lee Kim Sai JKKKP, because the current single-storey hall belonged to MCA.

However, Gan rejected both proposals. Goh’s new proposal was that the hall be demolished on condition that both Kampung Datuk Lee Kim Sai Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) and JKKKP committees manage the new hall. There was no answer by Gan on this.

-The Star-