Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar recently expressed his disappointment that his motion to debate the impending demolition of Ladang Bukit Jalil at the Parliament was rejected.
“The speaker (Pandikar Amin Mulia) rejected the motion by saying that the matter is not urgent, whereas there was only one day left for demolition,” he said, referring to his motion which was tabled on March 14, one day before the scheduled demolition of Ladang Bukit Jalil by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
DBKL officers did not show up on the morning of the scheduled demolition after the residents’ lawyers managed to obtain a court injunction, which is valid for 21 days.
“The Parliament is where you bring up the issues of the people. I stood up and told them that I was very disappointed,” he added, while met by Komunitikini during the scheduled demolition day at Ladang Bukit Jalil.
“The residents from the sister estate, Kinrara estate, got terrace houses as well as compensation money, while the Ladang Bukit Jalil residents are facing this situation today.”
“I think this demonstrates that there is a blind spot in our administration system and also shows how the leaders plan for this country,” he added.
For Thiagarajan Sathasivam, who was born and raised in the estate, it does make sense why DBKL would evict them and later build a cemetery as stipulated at the very same location.
“It will become a dormant land. They can’t use this land after that? Why would they want to do that? If they need a cemetery, they could use the land at the Bukit Jalil Gold Course. Golf only benefits a select few. Why do they want to disrupt out livelihoods?” he asked.
The residents are being offered a mere compensation of RM 23,000 per family and a relocation to a PPR flat, which they must rent, in order to leave the former estate quarters.
However, the residents claim that the authorities still owe them EPF money.
“Ever since the government acquired this land in 1980, the people have continued rubber-tapping until 1995. All these years, the designated EPF amount was deducted from their salaries by the DBKL contractors who operated this estate, but the money never showed up in the workers’ EPF accounts,” said K. Balakrishnan, an ex-army officer, whose wife was an estate worker.
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