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Saturday, November 22, 2008, 05.47 PM

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Damansara Heights landslide: Staying put and want firm to leave

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But the hill in Damansara Heights here has fallen "victim" to development.

The majority of residents in Jalan Setiapuspa 1 said they heard a loud boom and felt tremors the day a landslip caused the fence wall of a house to collapse.

House owner Dr Marsita Mansor said she and her family moved in six months ago for its nice view but everything had gone wrong when the development started.

His husband Fauzi Zakaria said their son, 10, was a nature lover and had complained about the development.

"He likes to feed squirrels but they had stopped coming since the developer cleared the hillside. They cut down trees and even shot the monkeys living there."

The couple, who have four children, refused to accept an offer by the developer to stay in a hotel until the mud that covered their house was cleared.

Fauzi said: "We will be renting a house a few doors away, which is owned by our neighbour.

"It's better this way because we need to move our things until everything is settled."

A neighbour who was also told to vacate the house said she could not go to work and her children had to skip school.

Dr Patricia Ambrose said: "When we protested, City Hall and developer told us that it'll be safe. Now they want us to move out temporarily for our safety.

"But I'm not moving anywhere. This is our place. They (the developer) should move out."