A group of ex-Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak workers have accused plantation giant Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd of misusing and abusing government machinery and the court process to evict and demolish their houses.

Yesterday, the group submitted a memorandum each to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim in Putrajaya asking them to intervene to stop the rot in the system.

"We want the PM to stop the gross misuse of government machinery by private developers to demolish our houses," they said in the memorandum to Abdullah.

"We hope he will be considerate of the plight of low-income earners and try to resolve the threat of forced eviction over our livelihood."

No execution order

The group's spokesperson, S Arutchelvan, said the enforcement unit of the Shah Alam City Council and the police would be working hand-in-glove with the developer to demolish the houses and detain those who try to stop them.

"In this case, four demolition exercises were carried out without first obtaining a proper execution order from the court. Guthrie is only using a default judgment obtained from the registrar on June 6, 2002, to break down the houses."

Another round of demolition has been scheduled for May 5, and both parties are trying to outsmart each other through a protracted legal battle.

The families want Abdullah to intervene and advise Guthrie to shelve the eviction and demolition exercises until all legal avenues have been exhausted.

"We want low-cost houses built in Bukit Jelutong and not in some far away place which would cause us much hardship, especially when we are being relocated for the second time," they appealed in the memorandum.

"We also want to be compensated for all losses incurred during the four previous demolition exercises and for the matter to be resolved amicably without resorting to force."

The memorandum, signed by four ex-workers representing 27 families of Ladang Bukit Jelutong Rasak in Batu Tiga, Shah Alam, was received by Abdullah's press secretary, Teoh Ai Hua.

Arutchelvan said the group was met by Teoh who received the memo on the prime minister's behalf.

"He (Teoh) promised to try and stop the demolition scheduled for May 5. We hope poor people like this group will get fair and just treatment from the PM."

In 1979, workers from Ladang Bukit Jelutong and Ladang Rasak were placed together at the present location to make way for the Shah Alam Stadium and the Royal Malaysian Air Force base.

In 1997, they were told to move for the second time to Ladang Subang to make way for another development. The families refused to move without first being given low-cost housing as per Guthrie's promise.

Manipulation

Later in the day, the group submitted a similar memorandum to Ahmad Fairuz in Putrajaya which was received by his secretary Nurhaniah Abdul Hanan.

In raising the issue of manipulation of the court process, the group appealed to the chief justice to ensure that no manipulation takes place in favour of Guthrie.

Arutchelvan said while the developer obtained justice through the back door, the people had nothing to fall back on, not even the law.

"The people are seeking legal protection and want a fair and just judicial process."

He said despite numerous pleas to the authorities, no one questioned the illegality of the eviction and demolition exercises done with the help of government agencies.

"Since last year, we're been trying to set aside the default judgment. This matter will be heard on May 19 but only now, Guthrie is seeking an execution order to legally carry out the demolition.

"But what about Guthrie's actions all this while without such an order? The demolition is already considered illegal," he added.

On Wednesday, the group filed to set aside the demolition order and applied for a certificate of urgency to bring forward the hearing date.

"Yesterday, we were told that the date has been set for May 7," Arutchelvan said.

Guthrie could not be reached for comments at press time.