A group of residents from a housing estate in a plantation in Selangor lodged several reports with the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters yesterday against the Subang Jaya police for allegedly ganging up with a developer.

The 17 residents from Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak in Shah Alam claimed the police had allegedly abused their power by helping their former employer-turned-developer, Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad, to illegally demolish their houses and other amenities in the estate.

Three of the residents Jehnson Kattiah, I Perumal and V Vani had their statements recorded.

After lodging the police reports, the residents went to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to highlight their problems with the commission's investigating officer, Mohd Nasir Abdul Hadi.

Speaking to malaysiakini later, the residents said they have also lodged a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) more than two months ago.

They had urged the agency to start an investigation on Guthrie and several high-ranking Selangor state government officials.

Named in their ACA report were Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, Guthrie's senior officials and several government officials, including Shah Alam police chief Zolkapli Ahmad, under whose purview the Subang Jaya police station falls.

However, they lamented that the ACA has yet to respond on the matter.

'Illegal demolitions'

In September, more than 60 people, including women and children, gathered in front of the ACA office in Kuala Lumpur, chanting anti-corruption slogans as the complaint was lodged.

According to the residents, the "illegal demolitions" took place on four occasions Feb 6, June 26, Aug 26 and Sept 26.

They alleged that the police allowed Guthrie to proceed with the demolition even though the developer did not possess any court order allowing them to do so.

The residents showed malaysiakini a letter dated Jan 24 from Guthrie's Property Development Holding Sdn Bhd's general manager Zarul Akmar Abdul Aziz to Shah Alam's mayor Abu Sujak Mahmud.

In the letter, Guthrie requested for assistance from Shah Alam City Council's enforcement unit to help the developer in its demolition exercise on Feb 6. The letter also indicated that the police had been informed to be present at the demolition site that day.

It also stated that the Feb 6 demolition would be carried out in stages and the developer would only file for a court order when there is an objection against the demolition.

The residents argued that the letter showed that Guthrie had already requested help from the police and local government although they have yet to obtain a court order to demolish their houses.

The letter was tendered as an exhibit in the current legal battle between the residents and Guthrie.

According to the residents, the police had sided with Guthrie to arrest the residents, including women and children who tried to stop the developer from destroying their homes.

They claimed that during a demolition exercise on Aug 26, the police gave Guthrie the privilege to make a police report on the spot resulting in the arrest of 25 residents.

The residents subsequently lodged about 15 police reports on the matter to no avail.

Another demolition exercise took place on Sept 26. This time, the police arrested 18 of the residents.

They claimed that they were initially taken away to the police station with Guthrie's vehicles but were later transferred to a police truck when the residents made a fuss, claiming that the developer was conspiring with the police.

Three generations

The saga of Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak is among several disputes between Guthrie and its ex-employees, many of whom have lived in the rubber estates for more than three generations.

Most of Guthrie's workers were retrenched when some of its plantations ceased operations. Some of these plantations are developed into high-end housing projects while others underwent replanting exercise from rubber to oil palm, which is more profitable.

For many workers, losing their jobs is only half the story. Most estate workers who are already surviving on a meager income also risked losing their homes which are located in the plantations.

The workers disenchantment with Guthrie escalated as the company adamantly refused to give in to their demand for free alternative housing which they claimed they deserve after toiling in the estates for generations.

Guthrie however insisted that it was agreed in its meetings with the National Union of Plantation Workers, a Selangor executive councilor and MIC Bukit Jelutong that the workers would only be given low-cost housing units in Bukit Subang at a lower price.