With the demise of the rubber plantations, which began in the late 1960s, the main employer and social safety net for Malaysia’s Indians has been destroyed. Homes and livelihoods are gone, the government provides no support, and the unskilled and semi-skilled are forced to move into low-paying jobs like driving trucks for hire.
The Subramaniam family lives on a former rubber plantation, where Mr. Subramaniam worked as a rubber tapper. When the estate was parceled and sold to developers, the workers were fired. They are supposed to receive a compensation package based on their tenure. Since the Subramaniams have not been paid, they refuse to vacate their home, which is their only leverage.
A bus driver, Mr. Govindasamy has lived in this house, built by his father, for 45 years. Nearby property development has turned the area into a slum. The land was owned by the Batu Cave temple corporation, who sold it to a developer, who has in turn evicted the family. Refusing to leave, they squat in their family home.
Underprivileged Boys
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