Family fears century-old Rawang home in imminent danger

A century-old house in Rawang could be destroyed at any time after the Shah Alam High Court dismissed the owner's appeal to stay the demolition of the house.

The Sidhu family, which owns the house, were informed of the court's decision on Wednesday.

One of the family members, Jimmy Sidhu, now fears that a demolition crew could come at any time before the house can be gazetted as a heritage home.

"We are filing an appeal for the stay application at the Court of Appeal on Monday.

"But as of now, the mining company that owns the surrounding land could come and demolish the house tomorrow," Jimmy told Malaysiakini.

The mining company had repeatedly requested for the family to vacate the premises to make way for its quarrying expansion work.

Although Jimmy's grandfather purchased the house, the house title for the plot the house sits on went missing in the 1970s, thus prompting a legal battle between the two parties.

The Sidhu family lost the case in 2016, following which they applied for a stay application on the demolishment.

The family had received a temporary stay on the matter granting them reprieve up until the last decision on Wednesday.

Jimmy (photo) hopes that they can secure a stay long enough until the National Heritage Department's expert panel sits to decide on whether the house should be gazetted as a heritage site.

However, the panel only sits once a year and Jimmy is unsure when their next meet is.

If the Sidhu house is gazetted as a heritage site, he sees two possible outcomes for the family.

One, he said, is that the family would be allowed to stay at the house as its custodians.

The second outcome is that the family would have to move out, but that the house would be preserved.

"At least the memory of the Sidhu family lives on, even if we don't get the property.

"Take for example Kellie's castle in Perak and the Suffolk home in Penang, both homes, both families have vanished but their memory lives on.

"At least with the Sidhu home there will be a tourist spot in Rawang," he said.

The Sidhu family says the house was one of the first buildings in the country to have electricity. The house was built by a British mining company in the 1920s.

Rawang was the first town in the country to have electricity.- Mkini