Around fifty residents of the beleaguered Ladang Bukit Jalil gathered in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya to hand over a memorandum to state their case for a four-acre land allocation, today.
The memorandum, which included a detailed plan on how the four-acre land will be used by the remaining 41 families of former estate workers, was handed to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s secretary at the guardhouse of Perdana Putra at 11.00 am.
“This memorandum is unlike any other memorandum we have submitted before because it includes a detailed plan of the four-acre land that we are asking for,” said Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S Arutchelvan.
The PSM secretary-general also revealed that the Bukit Jalil residents were keen to express their lack of faith in the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry.
“They first told us that they will discuss with concerned ministers before reaching a resolution.
“We told them that we do not have faith in these ministers who have been dealing with this issue, so we are here to ask the Prime Minister to intervene,” he added.
Arutchelvan was referring to Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Raja Nong Chik and Deputy Minister M Saravanan, saying “We believe that these ministers do not comprehend the real issue at hand here.”
Ladang Bukit Jalil was once a 1,800 acre land, now it is a mere 26 acres. The residents are demanding that four acres of land be allocated to them so that they could build homes.
DBKL’s previous attempt to demolish their homes was managed to be halted in time with a court injunction obtained last month. A court hearing has been set for April 27, but Arutchelvan said the residents prefer a political solution to the matter, despite falling on deaf ears of the concerned ministry for some time now. “If we go to court, we know whose side the decision will favor. So we are here so that we would get a political solution to the matter,” he said.
A petition with over 4,000 signatures demanding justice for the residents was also submitted along with the memorandum.
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) will lodge a police report against the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail and Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik over the alleged mistreatment of the former estate workers in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
The report, which will be filed at the Dang Wangi Police Headquarters at 2pm tomorrow, will be the 84th police report to be lodged pertaining the Bukit Jalil estate issue.
CJMY
Shufiyan Shukur
Admin
