Group Petitions Mb For Housing Act For Estate Workers

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Some 200 oil palm plantation workers have petitioned Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shaari to implement a housing act for disenfranchised estate workers.
They came in four buses from 41 estates around Selangor to congregate in front of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building in Shah Alam.
“Even though we were working at the estate for four generations, we still have not been given houses as promised,” a representative told Malaysiakini.
The memorandum, handed over to Amirudin's political secretary Juwairiya Zulkifli, urged the government to enact the Estate Workers Housing Act, which ensures estate workers can own their own houses.
A 49-year-old former estate worker Vani Vellayan stated that when they reach 60 years, they are evicted from housing and this has been going on for more than 20 years.
"If you want to kick us out, you have to give housing to estate workers.
"When they (plantation owners) want to develop the land, they look for us but when it is already successful, they just ignore us," she told Malaysiakini today.
Karthiges Raja Manickam, the national coordinator for the Estate Society Support Committee (JSML), said that they were handing over the memorandum to call for a task force specifically to enact a law to provide a housing scheme for estate workers.
"We drafted the proposal and the state government can evaluate it and make any amendments," said Karthiges.
Karthiges Raja ManickamAccording to Karthiges, the estate workers have pooled some money in order to do the draft and referred to law expert Ragunath Kesevan and Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy Palanisamy, among others.
No law, just a policy
JSML spokesperson S Arutchelvan, who is also PSM deputy chairperson, said the more than 200 workers want the Selangor government to enact the law to oblige employers or companies involved to provide permanent housing for them.
"Today, there is no specific law, and so when the workers reach the age of 60, they will be evicted although three or four generations were working at the estates.
"The compensation they get is around RM20,000 but it is also rare for them to get the full compensation and the price of houses in the current market is RM300,000 to RM50,000," he said when met outside the compound of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building.
According to Arutchelvan, the state government did have a policy so any company that wanted to take estate land for development had to build houses for the workers as compensation but it failed to be implemented because there is no specific law.
"We see big companies that develop housing projects but these big companies do not implement the estate housing scheme; that is why we are here to demand a law to be enacted because if there is no law, the estate company and developer will not follow the policy because it is just a policy."
"In 1991, the Selangor government is the one which took the initiative to formulate a policy that any estates used for development by any companies should build houses, but still many workers still working at the estate do not benefit from the housing scheme," he said, adding that more than 50 families staying at 41 estates in Selangor were still living in poverty.
"Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim) always talks about wanting to help the B40, hardcore poor and farmers, so now we are asking him to help us by enacting a specific law for estate workers to have their own houses.
"This issue needs to be settled immediately because generations have stayed at the estates and we cannot let the issue pass by just like that while the big companies are enjoying their wealth," he said.
JSML was formed in 1993 to fight for estate workers in Malaysia against forced evictions in many areas. It has succeeded in obtaining terraced housing for estate workers but the struggle still continues as there is no law to protect their rights. - Mkini

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