Abandoned by BN, Pakatan and plantation owner

By G Vinod and B Nantha Kumar - Free Malaysia Today,

FMT FEATURE SUNGAI BULOH: Life is sheer “torture” for some 24 families staying in the Coalfield oil palm estate near here.
Comprising about 70 people, they are struggling without jobs, water and with only conditional access to the outside world.

They say they are being “tortured” because they cannot afford to buy into a housing scheme developed by the estate owners. And they refused to move out.

“We have lived and worked here for four generations and this is how we are being treated for our blood, sweat and tears...” said a tearful 42-year-old harvester Lobat Raju.

Lobat and the others are jobless after their services were terminated six months ago when they defied orders to immediately vacate their homes.

They were asked to leave because the management, Kuala Lumpur-Kepong Bhd, wanted to continue with its property development plans.

Lobat said the trouble started way back in 1991 when the company served the workers termination notices, saying that it had sold and transferred its ownership to KL-Kepong Country Homes Sdn Bhd.

“At the time, both parties agreed to continue to employ us in the estate without break in service.

“We consulted the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW) and it assured us that we can continue to work and live there. So we agreed to the deal,” said Lobat.

Then suddenly the equation changed in May 2009 and once again KL-Kepong Bhd became their employer and this time, they issued to the workers a notice of transfer.

“We were told to vacate our quarters by June 30, 2009.

“The developer then told us to buy townhouses which they had built in a nearby residential area for RM42,000 each. After much pleading, they offered the houses to us at RM35,000.

“I am earning RM20 a day in the estate as a palm oil harvester. How am I going to get a housing loan for a RM35,000 house? Some of the other workers also shared my concern.

“They (the developer) told us if we disagreed, we would be moved to work in another one of their estates, Tuan Mee, located five kilometres away. There was no indication of housing for us.

“We did not agree to the deal… but went to Tuan Mee as directed by the management. The Tuan Mee management did not provide us transport; we went on our own.

“But when we got there, Tuan Mee management told us there was no work. It also meant that we had no housing,” said Lobat. They continued to live in misery in Coalfield but they are determined not to quit.

No drinking water

Since December 2009, the families have been seemingly penalised. Their employment has been terminated without compensation, and they have no basic amenities like clean water.

“Two months ago, we dug a well and now use the water from here. It’s dirty and many of us fall sick often... before, we used to channel drinking water from a neighbouring kampung.

“We use to pay them RM1,000 to RM2,000 a month but we cannot afford it now,” said Lobat, adding that the developer had cut their water supply in the hope that they will vacate.

“When the developer found out that Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) had been supplying us with clean water via its mobile service, the management told them (Syabas) off and barred them from entering,” he said.

To make matters worse, the developer discovered that some of them were doing odd jobs outside the estate, like selling flowers, and earning some meagre income for their daily survival.

“They found out that we were working outside and closed off the only road in the estate linking us to the outside world. After 7pm we had no access into the estate and our homes.

“The estate has no hospital and if there is an emergency, we cannot get out and if we do manage to run out, we have to wait for public transport to go to hospital.

“They are torturing us…," said Lobat, who is also the chairman of the estate action committee.

Lies and more lies

Asked if they had sought help from the government, Lobat retorted bitterly: “Yes... and they are all the same.

“Twenty years ago, the Barisan Nasional government lied to us... now Pakatan Rakyat is cheating us…”

He said the estate workers had sought the help of Selangor state executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

“In June 2008, we approached Xavier and explained our situation.

“He spoke to KL-Kepong Bhd and later told us that the developer had agreed to set aside 10 acres of land for us to build our own homes.

“The Tamil paper Nanban carried the story quoting him. I still have the report. We believed him and were very happy.

“Then in May 2009, the estate management told us to get out… we went back to Xavier. He arranged for us to meet with the developer at a nearby hall in December 2009.

“While we were waiting for the meeting, Xavier came out of another meeting with the NUPW and told us he had already met the developer.

“He scolded us and said he had never promised us any land.

“He told us to buy the houses proposed by the developer,” said Lobat, daring Xavier to deny his words and reminding him that the “next general election is very soon”.