About 100 hardcore poor families living around Sungai Siput, who were supposed to have been relocated under BN's economic improvement programme, have been left high and dry for the past three years.

In 2006, the then BN Menteri Besar Mohammad Tajol Rosli Mohd Ghazali selected about 100 hard-core families living around Sungai Siput and relocated them to Kampung PPMS about 20 kms from the town, promising them free houses and about 10 acres of land for each family to improve their economic standing through agricultural or other activities.

While most of these families (who are rubber tappers) have been given their free houses, they were however not given the land promised three years ago during which time the residents had to work on other rubber plantations for a meagre salary which could not sustain their family expenses.

As a result, 20 of the families have moved on from the relocation scheme as they could not cope with the expenses of travelling to and fro the town to find jobs and to sent their children to school as each student had to fork out RM80 per month as transport fees for a van to take them to schools in Sungai Siput.

The BN-state government had conveniently forgotten these lost souls who were at their wits-end on how to make ends meet during their three-year nightmare ordeal. As a result, more families have decided to move back to their old homes.

These poor people had to fork-out 30% of their salaries for transportation to their place of work.

Besides, 14 children had to drop out of school as their parents could not afford the transportation fees of RM80.

zambry abdul kadir interview 200409 10 On Aug 17, the Perak Water Board cut off the water supply to these families after they failed to settle the arrears of their water bill and despite making a desperate plea to Mentri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir, it went unheeded.

In desperation they turned to Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar for financial support to help pay their water and electricity bills and make school transport arrangements for their children.

Jeyakumar promised to bear the costs of transporting their children to school for only two months.

He arranged for a school bus at a cost of RM3,000 per month to send the children to school from the months of August till September only.

BN trying to 'paralyse' opposition MPs

"The BN government thinks that it can ‘paralyse' the opposition MPs from performing their duties to their constituents by holding back the MPs' allocations. But the fact is it is hitting the citizens badly where it hurts like in the case of the 100 hard-core poor families," an angry Jeyakumar lashed out.

"I have told them that I can only subsidise for two months of their children's school transport charges and I cannot pay their over-due water and electricity arrears as I do not have the resources or funds to do so," he said.

"Even the two months of school bus rental has been financed by PSM well-wishers," he explained.

However, Jeyakumar helped the villagers draft a memorandum to Zambry asking him about the land, which was promised yeas ago, for cultivation.

Also, in their demands were free school bus for their children and subsidies for electricity and water supply until their economic status has been enhanced, as promised by Tajol in 2006.

"I do not know why BN is dragging their feet in giving the land, as promised, for the past three years which has resulted in untold miseries and hardships for these hard-core poor. It is all a case of bad planning that did not materialise," he lamented.

jerit workers parliament demo 210906 dr jeyakumar Today, Jeyakumar (left) made arrangements for a bus to take the villagers to the State Secretariat in Ipoh to hand over the memorandum to Zambry.

As usual, police were around and only about 10 of the villagers were allowed to enter the compound of the State Secretariat and the memorandum was handed out to the Zambry's special assistant, Azhar.

Azhar has promised to call the Perak Water Board and instruct them to reconnect the water supply and do the necessary for the villagers after consulting with Zambry.