Ninety Indonesian illegal workers who had recently complained that they were owed wages , have now accused the main contractor of Medan Prestasi in Damansara Damai, Selangor, of threatening to demolish their makeshift homes at the site.

Their leader, named only as Lukman ( photo ), said personnel from Plato Construction (M) Sdn Bhd had told them to vacate the area by this morning.

"We called the Indonesian embassy. They told us they would ask the police to patrol the place. After that the contractor did not take any action," he said.

He said there were initially 12 makeshift homes but that eight have been demolished, forcing the 90 workers to share the remaining quarters.

He said the houses were demolished last month while the workers had gone to the embassy to seek help in getting their wages paid.

As a result, the workers are reluctant to leave the site again. Lukman insisted that malaysiakini should speak to him at the site.

"I don't want to go out. The eight houses were demolished when we went out," he said.

'We need the money'

Lukman stressed that the group will not leave the site although they have been advised by their embassy to return to Indonesia first.

"We will wait for our wages to be paid. The only proof that we have done our work are the buildings here," said the worker from East Java.

"We really need the money. We hope the employer will pay us. Even if we go back, we will need money to survive."

Work at the site - an 18-storey condominium - is continuing and a security guard said the disgruntled workers did not cause any problems.

The workers had earlier accused the sub-contractor of not paying their wages amounting to a total of RM150,000.

Plato Construction is owned by MK Land Holdings Bhd, whose officials remained tightlipped on the matter when approached at the site.

The workers have sent a letter to MK Land Holdings, urging executive chairperson Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar to look into the matter.

An officer said today that the company would issue a statement on the issues involved, but declined further comment.

Police report

Meanwhile, Indonesian parliamentarian Chaerul Anwar who has been on a fact-finding visit to Malaysia said the workers' case will be discussed in Jakarta.

Chaerul, with five other parliamentarians from Parti Keadilan Sejahtera, visited the workers in Damansara Damai last week.

A report on this case and other matters involving Indonesian immigrants will be released at a press conference in Jakarta later this week.

Last Monday, local workers support group, the Labour Resource Centre, has filed a police report against MK Land chief Mustafa for the alleged hiring and non-payment of wages to the illegal workers.