VILLAGERS from Kampung Orang Asli Bukit Baja will have a new site to call home following a decision by the Selangor government to gazette 72.84ha of land for them to relocate to, following plans to develop their present site.
This was announced by Mentri Besar Datuk Amirudin Shari at the Selangor State Assembly in answer to a question from Datuk Jamil Salleh (PN-Dengkil) who had asked about the fate of the village which was occupying a site measuring 98.33ha but had to make way for upcoming development.
Amirudin said that in addition to gazetting the new site as an Orang Asli village, discussions had also taken place to help the villagers set up funds for education and a village security committee.
The village, he said, would have new burial ground, surau, community hall, kindergarten, shops and other infrastructure.
In addition, the basic foundations for the villagers’ houses will be built and their moving costs covered, he elaborated.
“The costs are substantial. The burial ground alone has been estimated at RM217,000 while the surrounding infrastructure for the village is estimated to touch RM37mil,” said Amirudin, who expressed relief that a win-win solution had been finally agreed on.
He added that discussions had taken a long time to come to conclusion, highlighting that he is the third Mentri Besar to take on the issue.
In his explanation to Jamil, Amirudin, said the original site of the village had never been gazetted as an Orang Asli village, most probably due to the nomadic nature of the inhabitants.
The land, he added, is owned by Selangor State Development Corporation.
The new village site will be located just beside the upcoming development.
