Over 200 former estate workers held a demonstration outside Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur today to demand housing which had reportedly been promised to them by Berjaya Corporation.

The demonstrators are fourth- and fifth-generation settlers of five plantations in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor, which Berjaya had bought and operated from 1998 until 2015.

The settlers claim to have been promised housing by Berjaya in 1999.

PSM central committee member S Arutchelvan, who represented the estate workers, managed to meet Berjaya representatives over the matter today.

Speaking to Malaysiakini later, Arutchelvan said the company had assured that they would look into the settlers' demands, and respond accordingly, although no timeline was given.

"We will give them one month and see whether they call for a meeting," Arutchelvan said.

Berjaya has yet to respond to requests for comments.

Land already sold

In a letter to the Berjaya estate worker's welfare committee sighted by Malaysiakini dated July 6, 1999, then MIC Ijok assemblyperson and Selangor exco member K Sivalingan had stated that Berjaya had promised the state government to build affordable housing for the estate workers.

"Berjaya had agreed to build low-cost housing for residents and priority will be given to former estate workers to own housing when the housing project begins," Sivalingan had written.

In 2008, then Berjayacity director Robin Tan had also written to then menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, promising to allocate 4,000 sq ft of land per family in Sungai Tinggi to the estate workers, on certain conditions.

Berjaya then sold off its holdings in the estates to another company in 2015.