A group of 80 residents from Kampung Baru Batu 18 near here staged a protest today to object to land survey work being carried out in the area. However, they dispersed when police arrived.

The village's Development and Security Committee chairman Che Mid Man told reporters that the residents were unhappy because they had not been given the titles to their land although they had applied for it in the early 60s.

He claimed that the instead were issued to outsiders following which the survey work started.

"We wonder why our application was not entertained but the land title given to others instead," he lamented, adding they would forward their grouse to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Perlis authorities to investigate

Che Mid hoped Titi Tinggi assemblyman, Yip Sun Onn, who was also present at the gathering, could assist them to resolve the matter.

Meanwhile, Perlis Land, Forestry and Enforcement committee chairman Mat Rawi Kassim said he would investigate the matter from all angles.

"This is a perennial problem; I will get the real picture on the status of this land," he said, adding he would meet with the residents this Monday to obtain further information on the issue.

- Bernama