Estate workers’ kin allowed to stay in Bukit Jalil

By G Vinod - Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: City Hall will withdraw the eviction notices it issued to descendants of former estate workers in Ladang Bukit Jalil.
This was one of the decisions reached today at a meeting between Kuala Lumpur Mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail and the Ladang Bukit Jalil Estate Action Committee, said Parti Sosialis Malaysia Secretary-General S Arutchelvan, one of the committee’s representatives.
He told reporters after the meeting that City Hall had also agreed to allow a Tamil school and a Hindu temple and cemetery to remain undisturbed at their current sites in Bukit Jalil.
“The mayor said he was willing to put his promise in black and white but no deadline was given,” added Arutchelvan, who was flanked by action committee secretary S Thiakarajan, Suaram coordinator E Nalini and Hindraf Makkal Sakthi national coordinator K Balakrishnan.
Last Oct 20, City Hall issued eviction notices to seven Bukit Jalil families, saying they were squatting on government land.
On Oct 29, the residents submitted a memorandum to City Hall claiming that they were kin to former estate workers and therefore had the right to occupy the land. They also demanded a meeting with the mayor.
“The mayor was told in the meeting that the families were actually kin of deceased estate workers and that the Human Resource Ministry had agreed earlier to recognise their children and grandchildren as former estate workers as well,” Arutchelvan said.
“Therefore, the mayor agreed to retract the eviction notices as long as we can provide evidence of their kinship with former estate workers there.”
He said his committee would provide documents next week to prove the claim of kinship.
Today’s meeting was also attended by officials of the Human Resources Ministry.
Arutchelven expressed his appreciation to the mayor for agreeing to meet the committee and for promising to conduct another meeting soon with officials from the Human Resource Ministry to resolve housing and compensation issues affecting other residents of Ladang Bukit Jalil.
“In the previous meetings, none of the action committee members were invited,” he said.

17/11/10