BY JAROD LIM

FORMER workers of Ladang Sungai Belata, Lembah Beringin in Hulu Selangor held a peaceful protest outside a property developer’s office to ensure they got the homes that were promised them over a decade ago.

The protest outside Land & General Bhd (L&G) office at the 8trium building in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur by 64 affected workers was to ask the developer to resolve their problem quickly.

Action Committee of Former Workers of Ladang Sungai Belata chairman T. Muniandy said a sales and purchase agreement (SPA) was signed in 2003 with L&G’s sister company Lembah Beringin Sdn Bhd where each worker was offered a low-cost single-storey house in Lembah Beringin.

“The company should have built the house within three years after the SPA was signed.

“Many of us have also been blacklisted by the banks due to failure to pay back the loan for the houses,” he said in a press conference at the site after handing a memorandum to an L&G representative.

On March 17, 2006, Lembah Beringin Sdn Bhd was being wound up by the Kuala Lumpur High Court under provisions of the Companies Act 1965.

Estate workers lodged a police report against L&G on Feb 17 this year and it prompted L&G to meet the estate workers alongside with its sister company Clarity Crest Sdn Bhd.

Several meetings were held between the two parties and with Selangor state executive councillor V. Ganapathi Rao but nothing had been done.

Muniandy said L&G was now offering one housing lot for each worker in Kerling, Hulu Selangor.

“This was only a verbal agreement, we want it black and white,” he said.

Action committee secretary Vijayakumar Gopal insisted that the houses should be built for the workers instead of offering only empty land lots.

“We are poor, how are we going to afford to build our own houses?

“We were promised houses by the developer, why can’t the parent company just fulfil the agreement we once had?” he said.

L&G Special Projects manager Abdul Hamid Md Yusof, who represented the company to receive the memorandum at the protest, said he would hand over the memorandum to the higher management.

“Our sister company was wound up by the court and we cannot intervene on the previous deals they had made.

“The offer of 64 lots of land to the estate workers is still under planning stage.

“We are willing to meet the estate workers and sort things out at the SUK building with the said Selangor exco,” he said.

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