Borneo Komrad coordinator Sabir Syarifuddin, who was present at the scene, told FMT that the single power supply to the settlement had been cut off before local authorities, including police and Kota Kinabalu City Hall enforcement personnel, arrived this morning.
He quoted the villagers as saying that the fire started in one of the houses after the residents had been ordered to leave, and local enforcement officials entered the house.
“The villagers said they heard the officials say: ‘Apa lagi? Bakarlah (What more? Burn it)’. The fire started after a few minutes.
“The villagers also told me the power had been cut off to the settlement in the morning so the houses could be safely demolished.
“So it is a little illogical to say that a short circuit caused the fire,” he said.
Earlier today, the New Straits Times reported Sabah fire and rescue department assistant fire superintendent Riki Mohan Singh Ramday as saying police, Rela and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd helped Lintas fire and rescue station personnel extinguish the fire.
According to the report, the fire was believed to have been caused by a short circuit during the demolition of squatter houses.
Sabir said the villagers had received no prior warning and they told him the authorities had initially said they had 10 minutes to pack their belongings and leave before the houses would be demolished.
He said the villagers also claimed they had attempted to stop the spreading fire by tearing down one of the houses, but were stopped by enforcement officials.
“Sources among the villagers said they were also threatened by enforcement officials with pistols not to record videos when officials entered the houses or when the houses were burning,” he said.
Sabir said the fire, which started at around 12.30pm, razed around 40 houses and destroyed the villagers’ belongings, including their personal documents.
He said around 60% of the settlement’s residents had blue Malaysian identity cards and the rest were undocumented or had IMM13 documents, which are issued to Filipino citizens with refugee status in Sabah and Labuan.
Police deny allegation
Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu police chief Kasim Muda refuted claims in a viral video on social media that alleged the authorities had set fire to the squatter houses in Inanam today.
Bernama quoted Kasim as maintaining that the incident, which he said resulted in 26 squatter houses being burned down, was believed to have originated from a short circuit in one of the houses.
He explained that the short circuit is also believed to have occurred because the first house that caught fire was the sole source of electricity supply before it was connected to other houses.
“At that time, the police were about 50 to 60 metres away from the location. The police were at the back of that area and were not involved in the front portion (where the fire originated). The fire had no connection to the police operation area,” he said.
Kasim said police also explained to residents that the authorities did not come to the area to burn squatter houses but rather to conduct operations against illegal immigrants and crime.
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