MIC has agreed to look into demands by a group staging a hunger strike over the Indian party's grabbing of three acres of land alienated to SJK (T) Ladang Effingham in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.

saravanan kl draft plan 220808 01 MIC vice-president M Saravanan ( right ) said the party wants the protesters to stop their fast and told them that the party leadership would resolve the matter.

"We will take it up with the party leadership to find a win-win situation, and find what is in the best interests of the Indian community," he said.

Saravanan promised to make available for public scrutiny, by Thursday evening, the documents relating to the school's land matters.

He was speaking to reporters after an impromptu visit to the multicoloured fountain on Jalan Tun Sambanthan, where five people on the SJK (T) Ladang Effingham campaign have been on a hunger fast since last Saturday.

The hunger strike was initiated by the Return Effingham Land Action Team (Reflax), made up of school alumni members, parents and teachers who are demanding that the MIC returns three acres of land belonging to the school that it grabbed.

They said the land was allocated to the school, but the MIC had alienated half of the plot for its own use.

Protesters remain resolute

Earlier this month, the MIC central working committee (CWC) deliberated on the matter and decided to establish a community centre and a students' hostel on the land.

Reflax chairperson G Manivanan said the protest would continue despite Saravanan's statement.

"As far the hunger strike is concerned, I have discussed with the five participants and as the chairperson, I agree with them that we will proceed with the hunger strike," Manivanan said.

He also urged the MIC to take necessary steps to return the land for the sake of the protesters and Tamil education.

Also present at the scene today was Subang MP R Sivarasa, who was observing the protest as the school falls under his constituency.

Sivarasa said the Selangor government should earmark an alternative site for MIC's hostel, which would expedite the return of the three-acre land to the school for further development.

"We can create a situation where the school gets the land and MIC also gets land for the hostel it wants to build," he said.