Kampung Siam bids tearful farewell

Multigenerational bond: Ninn (on wheelchair) sharing his family stories with Nai Boon (centre) and his grandson Nai Charern, 16, as they hold one of their traditional pestle and mortars at their home in Kampung Siam. — KT GOH/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Kampung Siam, a settlement of Malaysians with Siamese and Burmese ancestry, is closing the final page of its 200- year-old existence to make way for development.

The tenants had pursued every possible option, including appeals to Federal Court, throughout their 11-year battle to remain in their homes, as the courts determined that the landowners had the legal right to develop the property.