Settlers betrayed, shylocks closing in
special report
More than two decades have passed, but there is still no solution in sight to the plight of the settlers of Kampung Serampang Indah (Gatco village) at Bandar Baru, Serting Hilir, Bahau, Negeri Sembilan.These settlers, former NUPW (National Union of Plantation Workers) members and estate workers, were settled in this land scheme comprising more than 4000 acres. The land was granted on leasehold by the Negeri Sembilan state government to the union in the 1970s for the purpose of settling estate workers.
In the late 1970s, workers and their families were brought from different estates to be settled in this scheme. However, before more workers could be brought in, the scheme collapsed due to a variety of factors.
Among these were the lack of proper management, inefficiency and the fall of commodity prices. The Bank of Commerce then hired the property management firm of Arthur Anderson to sell the land so as to recover the bank's loan and interest amounting to about RM30 million.
However, the firm was unable recover the losses and eventually it seems, the property was handed over to Danaharta, although the details of this transaction are not known. Now there is a rumour circulating among the settlers that Danaharta intends to dispose of the property on which the settlers are located.
The settlers in the scheme are literally lost. They are in debt to a financial agency for loans procured to build their houses, a venture undertaken by an earlier management company. Many are unable to settle their debts and on the average, a settler owns this financial company an amount of between RM50,000 to RM60,000.
Because there were some complications in respect of loan withdrawals, settlers were forced to take the matter to the High Court. Despite serious discrepancies in the application of law, the High Court passed the decision that the borrowers had to pay their loan.
A subsequent appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal. Now the settlers, through their lawyers, are negotiating with the financial agency to arrange for phased-out payments.
Politician's promise
Before the last general elections, the settlers, through a committee, had brought their problem to the attention of their member of Parliament (MP), Dr Rais Yatim, who is now Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
The settlers, it seems, were informed by Rais that he would personally look into the matter if he was reelected as MP. Following the elections and his victory, Rais Yatim was approached again.
However, to their dismay, he said that the land scheme had been sold to an outside party and that he could not do anything about it. The settlers are under the impression that politicians like Rais Yatim might make new promises before the next general elections, assuming of course the matter is not resolved in the near future.
There are nearly about 500 settler families in this abandoned land scheme. Out of this number, 280 are Indian, 120 Malay and 30 Chinese. Over the last two decades, these settlers have formed various committees to resolve the problem of land ownership.
Prior to them settling in the scheme, it was agreed that each settler would obtain a ten-acre piece of land for crop cultivation and a one-acre piece of land for housing. Later, the promised ten-acre plot was reduced to eight acres.
For the one-acre plot of land for houses, the land together with the house was later mortgaged to a financial company. And to date, despite numerous complaints to politicians and others, the workers are basically in limbo as to whether they will own their eight-acre land given for cultivation purposes.
Because the project was abandoned, some settlers, having no choice, had to sub-divide a certain portion of the total acreage to enable the land to be re-distributed. It is not that workers want the land for free, but they are willing to pay a reasonable sum for the sub-division of the land. There is fear that the entire property might be sold to agencies who only to make a quick profit from the sale.
It is because of the uncertain nature of the scheme that the settlers themselves went to court to obtain a declaration of their bona fide status. Today, this court order is the only proof that they possess to show that they have stake in the land scheme. But there is a fear that this order might be set aside if the settlers are unable to buy the land due to an exorbitant price.
Greedy agencies
Recently, a few months back, a 'group' comprising persons known to settlers were in Bahau to discuss the possibility of this 'group' buying over the abandoned land scheme. Apparently, since some of them were known to the settlers, there was a fiery exchange of words.
There is a concern that if some of these people are going to be involved in the purchase of the scheme, then the solving of their problem might be sidetracked.
It is hypocritical of the government and its numerous agencies to abandon the welfare of these settlers. They have worked and contributed much, but at the end of the day, might become victims of unscrupulous and greedy agencies who are out to make a quick profit.
The Rural Development ministry, federal agencies in charge of land settlement matters, the Negeri Sembilan state government and others should resolve the problem as fast as possible. The settlers have waited for far too long for justice.
P RAMASAMY is a professor of political economy at the Political Science Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and has academic interests in Malaysian politics and labour. He has written quite extensively and is currently focusing on conflict management in Sri Lanka.
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