The story is as old as the land itself. And though not quite a thousand years yet, two years is no mean feat either nor justice for 17 Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) holders in Kapar.

More so, when the 17 original TOL holders, who had obtained the land under the federal government's Revolusi Hijau (Green Revolution) scheme in 1981, discovered their land had been transferred to someone else in 2003.

Since the first story hit newsstands in March 2005, various parties from MIC chief S Samy Vellu, former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo, former Klang Land Committee member G Vadiveloo and even the Klang District officers have said their piece.

It must have been some relief to the TOL holders when they were told by Khir in May 2005 that their land would be returned. Sadly, to date, nothing has materialised and the 'illegal' owners still sit on the land transferred to them due to Klang Land Office's "oversight".

"We thought it was the end to our problems when the former menteri besar announced that we would get it back in 2005," said V Nedumaran, who has been fighting the battle on behalf of his father and 16 other owners.

"But nothing has changed and from one bungalow, three now sit on the land," said the 33-year-old accountant.

"How long does it take to reverse an error?" he asked. "Especially, when there is already a state directive to effect this."

Asked if the TOL holders had questioned the Klang Land Office officers, Nedumaran said they were given the run-around each time they went.

"I think they don't want to give us back the land. Instead of returning the original land, they are now offering alternative plots, to which we have rejected," he explained.

"It's not just about getting land but we were the original cultivators of those plots and we deserve to get it back. Not other people's pieces," Nedumaran added.

No land titles given

Nedumaran's father, V Vengu were among 974 picked after a series of interviews in 1978 to get a piece of land under Revolusi Hijau.

According to the conditions, the participants must cultivate the land (agriculture) within one year, after which an ownership offer may be issued. During the "probationary" year, TOLs were issued before they were reviewed the following year.

However, since the holders began cultivating the land in 1981, no land titles were given out. Each time they approached the Land Office, they were only given renewals.

Between 1988 and 1991, the holders were asked to apply for permanent titles. In 1997, their annual TOL renewals were rejected by the Land Office who claimed that the title deeds would be issued that year.

As such, some of the holders continued to renew their licences, with some up to 2002.

This was ended rather abruptly in 2003 when the holders were told to leave the land they had cultivated since 1981 because it belonged to someone else.

For Nedumaran and his father, their plot of land planted with sugar cane and oil palm was now owned by MCA treasurer Lau Yin Pin .

Shocked by the new revelations, Nedumaran made individual checks on the land ownership and discovered that more titles have changed hands without the original cultivators' knowledge.

Among the "new" owners were a lawyer and his family, who owned nine plots. Further checks revealed that the Datuk and his acquaintances owned a total of 17 plots.

A week before the 12th General Election, the issue was revisited when the TOL holders threatened to withdraw their support for the Barisan Nasional state government if their land issues were not resolved by March 8.

MIC's P Komala Devi lost the parliamentary seat to PKR's S Manikavasagam while three of the state seats (Meru, Sg Pinang and Selat Klang) also fell to opposition candidates.

Umno's Abdul Rahman Palil, who supported the applications for land of the said Datuk, won uncontested in Sementa after the PKR candidate Suzaimi Salam went missing on nomination day.