Representatives of the developer, who had sought to evict the families,  were at the village from about 10am, accompanied by several policemen, but the villagers refused to budge.

The developer said they had given the residents due notice of 44 days to leave the land which belongs to them, and that the eviction and demolition of their houses must proceed today.

Meanwhile, power supply to the 12 houses has been cut off.

However, the residents, who have occupied the land for nearly 40 years,  want the developer to give them a seven-day extension.

They had submitted a memorandum to Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari last week opposing the eviction.

After deliberations, the developer agreed to give the 12 families until May 11 to move out, and decided to proceed with the demolition of six houses which have already been vacated.

The demolition began at about 12.30pm.

Saifuddin Shafi, an aide to Amirudin, said he has managed to find three homes so far to house some of the families, and was hoping to source more over the next few days.

“I will help get them a generator in view of the hot weather,” said Saifuddin, who is also the state coordinator for the Batang Kali constituency after the seat was declared vacant in February.

He said Amirudin will assist the families in relocating through the Rumah Selangorku housing scheme.

Maszahar Hashim, who is heading a committee to challenge the eviction of the 12 families, said the residents have appealed to the Court of Appeal but have yet to receive a hearing date.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.