Earlier today, the land office agreed to a two-week postponement of any action to demolish the building which houses the restaurant located on Persiaran Rajawali, Taman Berkeley, pending a court hearing.
“Discussions will take place between the owners and the state government and I’m sure these will bear fruit,” Manivannan said, adding that today’s attempt was the third time the authorities had tried to demolish the restaurant.
He also said that he was now more hopeful that this will also be the last attempt as Klang MP Charles Santiago and Sri Andalas assemblyman Xavier Jayakumar had joined the struggle. Both Manivannan and Xavier are from PKR, while Santiago is from DAP.
Meanwhile, Santiago said Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali had agreed to a meeting with the restaurant owners, after he was contacted via text message.
“It’s very important to point out that at this juncture, the eviction has not been withdrawn, it has only been postponed. We’ll see what happens after the meeting in two weeks time,” Santiago said.
Xavier pointed out, however, that the discussions with the state government could only take place after the court had come to a decision. The court hearing to prohibit the demolition of the building is scheduled to be held tomorrow.
Early this morning, trouble broke out after the restaurants patrons and supporters, including various Indian NGOs members, tried to stop authorities from confiscating furniture from the premises.
It was reported that the famous neighbourhood restaurant had been sitting on a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL), but faced problems renewing its licence with the Selangor land office.
Berkeley Corner restaurant owner Muthusamy Thirumeni said that the TOL was in the process of being renewed back in 2007.
“But in 2014, the land office suddenly decided not to proceed with the renewal just after a 12-storey high Wisma 99 Speedmart went up a few metres opposite the restaurant,” he said.
Muthusamy, who is also president of the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas), said that he had previously asked the land office to explain why it denied the restaurant’s application to renew its TOL but received no response.
In September 2014, a planned demolition of the restaurant was cancelled after Manivannan interfered.
After things had quietened down, Muthusamy said he was touched by the amount of support he had received from his friends and family, as well as Manivannan, Santiago, and Xavier.
“These are the kind of parliamentarians that we want. Those who show no favouritism and are only here to support the public,” he said referring to the trio who are members of PKR and DAP, both of which are also part of the Selangor state government.
At approximately 11am, the authorities agreed to postpone the eviction for two weeks following discussions between the relevant authorities until the court decision and a meeting takes place between the state government and the restaurant’s owners.