“Don’t forcefully evict four generations of estate workers and fulfil the alternative housing agreement.”

Those were the words etched on the memorandum, which was presented by Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member, S Arutchelvan to Selangor executive council member, V Ganabatirau, at the entrance gate of the State Secretary Office this morning.

The PSM leader was accompanying about 100 representatives of estate residents from the 11,500-acre Mary, Sungai Tinggi, Bukit Tagar, Nigel Gardner and Minyak oil palm estates of Hulu Selangor and Kuala Selangor.

“On March 11, the current estates’ owner issued eviction notices to 57 of the 197 families living there,” Arutchelvan said.

“The notices demand that the families must vacate their current residences by April 15,” he added.

Led by E Agilan, the head of the estate workers committee, residents appeared at 10.30am, carrying placards with Tamil and Bahasa Melayu messages requesting for replacement homes and Menteri Besar Azmin Ali’s intervention.

Ganabatirau, who is the poverty, caring government and plantations workers' committee chairperson, received the memorandum on the menteri besar’s behalf.

“We understand the significance of this issue and will hold an exco meeting to discuss this as soon possible,” Ganabatirau said.

Dashed dreams

According to Arutchelvan, these estate workers’ quest to obtain alternative housing is an epic saga spanning 16 years.

“Back in 1974, then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak formulated a policy where all estates are required to construct homes for their employees.

“Unfortunately, this policy was not implemented by all Malaysian estate owners,” the PSM leader added.

However, Arutchelvan claimed that when a new owner purchased the estates in 1998, they agreed to allocate 4,000 sq ft to build low-cost homes for the residents.

Rejuvenated by fresh hopes of finally having a proper place to call home, the workers waited…

And waited.

Their dreams were dashed when the current owner acquired the lands at the end of 2014.

“We hope the estate residents will receive the homes promised, along with amenities like water supply and electricity,” Arutchelvan said.

Malaysiakin i has contacted the corporations allegedly involved in the land deals for comments.

When contacted, senior corporate communications manager, Emily Tan, of Berjaya Corporation Berhad – one of the corporations mentioned in the memorandum – declined to comment.