"To add to their inconvenience many of them have also been shifted from one longhouse to another over the years," said Tan Jo Hann, president: of Persatuan Masyarakat Wilayah Persekutuan dan Selangor (Permas), an NGO which works among the urban poor.

"KL alone has 6,396 units of long-houses under City Hall's jurisdiction. Private developers provide other longhouses.

"Taking the usual scale of each unit housing between five and seven people, then the total population of long-house dwellers can be between 32,000 and 45,000 and that is in KL alone.

"The figure will be much bigger if it includes those in Selangor such as in Port Klang, Petaling jaya, Gombak and Ampang Jaya," said Tan.

Longhouses were first built in the 1980s and were meant as temporary I housing for families who were evicted from squatter settlements.

Built in a row, thus the name rumah panjang or longhouse, each row is divided into units measuring only 400sq ft in size.

"These longhouse residents are not squatters as they are staying in units built for them.

"However, they are not given priority in buying low-cost houses. They are like forgotten people.

"Instead, newly-evicted squatters are given priority and are moved directly to new low-cost homes.

"Privilege should be given to these people in the half-way home," said Tan last Friday at a press conference held in response to Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo's statement that there was a glut of about 300,000 low-cost homes in Selangor.

Tan said Permas welcomed the Cabinet's decision to reject Dr Khir's proposal to sell low-cost houses' to the rich.

The NGO also welcomed Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Sri Ong Ka Ting's statement that current allocation procedures for low- cost housing would be further studied.

Permas, which was established in the 1980s to help solve community problems, wants permanent housing for the local urban poor.

Some longhouse communities had been forced to move a second time to another temporary longhouse.

This happened for those in Pandan Indah who were moved to Ampang Campuran in Jinjang Utara in the same area.

That was the case of M. Batmanathan from the Jinjang Utara long- house.

He had to share the unit with seven other members of his family including his parents and siblings.

He was evicted from his squatter house in Salak Selatan 12 years ago and moved to the Jinjang Utara long- house, near the rubbish dump.

The family was asked to move to another longhouse last year.

"I applied for a low-cost unit in Taman Wahyu but was told that I was not eligible because it was not meant for us in Jinjang Utara.

"But the units there were still left empty because the families who were supposed to move in did not want them.

"So why can't my family go there instead?" he asked.

To provide a better home for his family, Batmanathan now has to fork out RM400 to rent a house, while his parents and siblings are still staying at the longhouse.

He said his salary as a Alam Flora laborer was not enough but he had no choice and rent the house.

Another resident Suriati Hamidon said life at the longhouse, with its wafer thin walls and limited space, was uncomfortable.

"There is no privacy at all. You can hear everything the people next door are saying because the wall is very thin. It is worst if the neighbor gets into a fight," she said.

Suriati, who is staying in Rumah Panjang Ampang Campuran, said the residents often got into fights.

She said she had been waiting for a low-cost unit for years.

"We just want what was promised to us before we were evicted from our houses," she added.

Tan said these longhouses were usually built on vacant land away from the city or those that were not " suitable for development.

"These include dumping grounds or near cement factories. The longhouses were built using hazardous materials such as asbestos and thin plywood that could easily fall apart. And no CFs were issued.

"These longhouses usually do not provide sufficient facilities. Lack of proper dumping ground, playground and public transport have lead to social problems among the residents.

"These residents were given a lot of promises by the authorities and the developers so that they would agree to vacate their squatter areas.

"Now, they are left there and still waiting for the promises to be fulfilled," he said.

Tan said Permas had been helping the families to get the low-cost units they were promised, including going through meetings with the authorities and developers.

They had also helped some residents to fight for their cause 'through legal proceedings.

However, he admitted that taking the cases to court was their last resort as it would be time consuming and cost a lot of money.

Tan added that most of the agreements made during meetings between the residents and the authorities or developers were verbal, making it difficult for them to prove it in court.

When asked about why some of them refuse to buy the units made available to them, Tan said it was mainly because they were located away from their homes.

He said the families were very poor and they had to think about the public transport facilities for the whole family, including their school going children.

Most of the families find it difficult to move to a far away place, which does, pots have proper facilities for their schooling children.

At the same time, he said, the houses offered to them are not affordable.

"The price is not expensive to us but it is to them.

"The price has also changed over the years," he added.

Tan said in 1984, people evicted to longhouses were promised 650sq ft houses at RM25,000 but the developers complained that land was too expensive and material cost kept going up.

The price was revised in the late 1990s to RM35, 000 for areas in Selangor and then RM42, 000 for those in Kuala Lumpur.

He added that there were some squatters who chose to stay in long- houses although they had the means to live elsewhere.

"However, the number is small, less than 10% of the total number of squatters and longhouse dwellers."

"There are still a great number of families who cannot afford to buy a low-cost house.

Tan said these squatters and longhouses dwellers should be given the priority to buy the low-cost houses. "For areas out of KL, the price ranges from RM25, 000 to RM35, 000 and the houses should be located near their present homes.

Meanwhile, outside applicants (not from the area where the low-cost houses have been built) have to pay RM42, 000 for each unit even though they might be a squatter or longhouse resident.

But in practice, many developers do not make this differentiation and continue to offer low-cost houses to both the outside and local applicants at RM42, 000 justifying their action that the government has approved this price ceiling and omitting the fact that RM42,000 is the price for low-cost houses in Kuala Lumpur and for outside applicants.

"When residents protest, housing developers will then lower the price to RM35,000 claiming credit for having allowed a RM7,000 discount to the buyer. "But in the first place they are not allowed to charge that price," he said.

Tan urged the authorities to conduct a proper study and analyze the situation of the housing for the poor by consulting the people on the ground before making any decision on the matter affecting them.

He said the data should be collected in an integrated manner in cooperation with communities and NGOs working closely on such issues.