S'pore's eviction bid rejected

S'pore's eviction bid rejected

SINGAPORE (AFP): Some 200 residents of an historic Malay settlement in Singapore's premier central district appealed on Sunday to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong against a government bid to evict them from their homes.

The residents, consisting of around 25 families, are descendants of Sultan Hussain Shah, the Sultan of Johore, who was granted by the British East India Company in 1819 some 23 hectares of land for him and his descendants to live on.

The Singapore government in March this year informed the residents in a letter that they hoped to develop the area, known as the Istana Kampong Glam, as a Malay Heritage Center.

But the residents, led by a descendant of the Sultan, Tengku Mohamed Jamil, rejected the move.

They also rejected the government's offer of S$350,000 (US$205,8820 to the residents which was to be paid over 30 years.