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June 27, 2000
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Re: Original City
Residents of Georgetown Threathened by Mass Expulsion After Rental Decontrol.
60,000 people living in the historical city of Georgetown,
Penang, Malaysia are threathened with mass expulsion following the repeal of
half century old rent control law, effective from the start of this new
millenium. The residents were shocked by the demolition of 14 homes at the eve
of the millenium and were disappointed that the state government was not
prepared to come out with effective solution to stop the imminent mass
expulsion. The residents have formed a new tenants union – The SOS! (Save
OurSelves) to fight back for their housing rights, upon which is also depended
the city’s cultural conservation. As a new born people organisation, with no
or little support from existing NGOs (there is no umbrella group representing
housing rights in Malaysia) SOS! is crying for help wherever it can. We have
heard of your organisation as a long establish body working on housing rights in
this region. We therefore like to enquire if we can tap into some of your
resources where they are relevant.
Our needs:
1.
Funding - SOS! so far depends on donations in kind and cash from its
membership – consisting of largely illiterate working class or self-employed
city residents. It cannot afford any staff nor sufficient equipment for
communication. It operate on a loaned computer with few people able to operate
it. It has a rented centre (in part of a threathened building) staffed in the
evenings by after-work volunteers. Funding from the membership of the poor (1000
strong, with half non-paying members) is not sufficient to pay for equipments,
staff, training or other longer term program. It is only enough to keep up a
series of campaign action.
2.
Resource persons - in organising urban poor, in fighting for social
housing, in assessing the housing needs, in assessing appropriate compensation
for eviction cases (currently no compensation is acknowledged), in training
organisers among the tenants, in finding out about international standard and
pratices, etc.
3.
Resource material and forum to extend our message.
We enclosed the following for your refenrence:
1.
Aims of SOS!.
2.
Chronology of SOS! struggle.
3. List of tenants demands.
__________________
Yours sincerely,
Ong Eu Leong
International Liason
sos@pinang.org
MORE ON THIS STORY SOON