A group of residents of a Semenyih rubber plantation has accused a developer of providing them with dirty water as a means to drive them off the land.

About 60 people from the Sungai Rinching plantation in Semenyih - about one hour south of Kuala Lumpur - picketed yesterday in front of their housing estate to protest the lack of clean water since late last month.

They claimed that Agenda Istimewa, which bought the 1,200-acre plantation to develop the Kesuma Lakes area, has tried to deprive them of their water supply.

Residents Committee chairperson T Ramalinggam said that their woes began when the pump in the water storage tank broke down.

"We asked them to replace the broken pump... What they gave us, however, was a tank from a project site which had in it dirty water."

An outraged resident, Subramanium Apulasami, 87, said the water came from a stagnant pond nearby.

"Sewage water from the bungalows drains into that pond!" he said.

"Many of us who are old, as well as the children on the plantation, have fallen sick after drinking the water."

After three days, the water in the tank has dried up and the residents have since been left with no water.

After the picket, the irate residents sought to hand over a letter to Agenda Istimewa at its project site office, but no officials were available to receive it.

Company responds

When contacted by malaysiakini , company project manager Richard Leong denied that the company has been tardy in restoring water supply for the residents.

"We are doing what we can. We've fixed the pump many times before. I've promised the residents that we would try to get it repaired today."

Leong said that the residents should also exercise some patience.

"What more can the company do at this point? The pump was hit by lightning. It's not our fault that it is damaged. We have taken steps to make the repairs. We request these people to be patient and wait," he said.

He also lamented that the residents have failed to pay their water bills.

"We've gone the extra mile many times with these people. In fact, the company is making losses due to the failure of some residents to even pay their water bill," said Leong.

"Whereas the bill has at times come up to RM3,000-RM4,000, we only collect about RM1,000 from them."

Eviction notice

However, residents leader Ramalinggam said the company's refusal to ensure a supply of clean water is endangering the health and safety of the people living here.

"We filed a report on Aug 2 at the Kajang police station, but that has not produced any results," he added.

Ramalinggam said the provision of clean water is one of the developer's basic responsibilities to the residents - some of whom have lived and worked in the plantation for three generations - until the issue of relocation is settled.

"For some time now, we have been asking the developers to provide us with low-cost housing. We've had meetings after meetings. Up to now, the issues are still not resolved."

Human rights activist S Arutchelvan said that the residents are staying on a piece of land earmarked for development.

"This 'dirty water' tactic is just one way to persuade the residents to leave," he claimed.

Arutchelvan said that the tactic could force more families to leave instead of waiting for the court's decision on the matter.

The developer has filed notice to evict the residents and this is scheduled to be heard by the High Court in November.

According to non-government organisation Community Development Centre's Ravie Chandran, there were originally about 100 families in the Sungai Rinching plantation. Now there are only 12.

He said the company is basing their law suit on the premise that many of the residents are 'squatters'.

"How can they be squatters when a number of the families have stayed and worked on that land for more than three generations?" he asked.