‘Resolve long-standing land ownership issue in Dengkil’

Sepang assistant district officer Hazlim Hapaz (middle, in blue shirt) receiving the memorandum from Kampung Sri Tanjung settlers and their families outside Sepang District and Land Office.

SETTLERS in Kampung Sri Tanjung, Dengkil in Selangor, want the Sepang District and Land Office to give them ownership of the land as promised 36 years ago.

Kampung Sri Tanjung Land Action Committee representative K. Vivekanathan, 56, said the settlers were among the 132 people recruited by Malaysian Association of Youth Clubs (MAYC) for the Cash Crop Project by the then Rural Development, Culture, Youth and Sports Ministry in 1988.

He said the group, comprising 106 Indians, 20 Malays and six Chinese, were given 0.4ha land each for farming purposes.

“We were promised ownership of the land if we kept it clean,” he said.

“The settlers paid RM400 each to MAYC at the start of the project to fell trees before we moved in to clear the land for agricultural development.

“However, many faced challenges developing the land because of frequent floods and there was no proper road access,” he added.

Vivekanathan said the settlers started facing problems concerning the land within the year.

Vivekanathan wants the government to process the land ownership for the settlers’ plots.

“The Sepang District and Land Office seized at least 40 plots of land the same year, purportedly because it was left idle.

“The land was actually swamp land. We found out later that it was sold for another project.

“In 1992, the Sepang District and Land Office issued letters to all settlers that the Cash Crop Project had been cancelled because of some legal land matters and our crops were destroyed.

“In 1994, we learnt that the land had become reserve land.”

He said the settlers had, over the years, reached out to the Selangor Mentri Besar and Sepang District Officer to claim their rights to the land but the matter was still pending.

Vivekanathan said 48 settlers initiated legal action against Selangor government, the Mentri Besar and Sepang District Officer but lost in 2011.

“There was a glimmer of hope between 2015 and 2016.

“The Sepang District and Land Office informed us that the reserve land status had been removed from Kampung Sri Tanjung,” he said.

The land office called for objections after identifying 69 settlers who were to become title holders.

“There were objections. All of the named settlers were interviewed and seven names were removed,” said Vivekanathan.

“In 2018, it was reported by a news portal that 80 plots of land had been allocated for Kampung Sri Tanjung settlers but the recipients’ list was still being finalised.

“There has been no progress since,” he added.

On April 4, Vivekanathan and 60 settlers along with their families submitted a memorandum to the district and land office to finalise issues concerning the ownership of the land.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan was present to lend support.

Sepang District and Land Office could not be reached for comments at press time.