While a group of 1,500 villagers await a court appeal involving their dispute with a developer who had reportedly acquired their land, they received an "indirect offer" from the state government giving them a piece of land to relocate to.

The letter was addressed to the head of the local Umno branch dated March 8, informing that the Johor government had in principle allocated 83 acres of land at another place to the villagers involved in the land dispute.

Some 265 families and representatives in Kampung Baru Plentong Tengah, through three lawyers who lost a civil suit against developer Bukit Lenang Company (BLC) in the Johor Baru High Court in 1997, are looking at overturning the decision at an Appeal Court hearing set for tomorrow.

Eugene Tan, Suaram coordinator, said the villagers were order to relocate following the High Court's order that "they vacate the land" they are staying on.

"What can be seen is they (Umno leaders) are trying to resolve the issue before the Umno election in May," Tan said, adding that the government should have settled the problem long ago as the issue was more than 15 years old.

He stressed that Tebarau, within which the kampoung is located, is a stronghold of Johor Mentri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman, one of the candidates for vice president in the coming Umno election.

The villagers who have moved into the 113 acres of land had built up the village since 1985 and applied to the Johor Land Office to legally own the land a year later. However, it was found later that a company, Jet Age acquired the land and later sold to Oakfield Enterprise Company (OEC).

It was learnt later that 1996, the land was again sold by OEC to BLC, which is involved in the law suit with the villagers. BLC had purported offered to compensate between RM5,000 to RM9,000 to the villagers who had asked for RM35,000 to RM10,000 depending on the size of the land and house.

About 120 families received some compensation and their houses were demolished, but others were not happy to settle with the compensation offered and instead claimed ownership to the land themselves.