Villagers who sold land for development poor again after squandering wealth

Home under threat: Resident Mohamad Leman, 84, pointing at a row of houses in Desa Paya Mengkuang, where villagers from Kampung Tanjung Pelepas and Tanjung Adang were relocated.

But families from two fishing villages here have now fallen on hard times in a tale of “rags-to-riches and back-to-rags”.

Two decades ago, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) took over the Tanjung Pelepas and Tanjung Adang villages for the development of the terminal, acquiring 1,416.4ha of land, which is about the size of 1,700 football fields.