The struggle has raged on for 14 years but S Muniandy and P Dharmaraja are prepared to fight till the end, even if this means doing it on their own.

Muniandy, a 55-year-old taxi driver, heads a group of squatters locked in a legal battle with the Selangor government after being evicted from their houses along the Sungai Buloh railway line in 1992.

However, some of them have changed their minds and opted for the low-cost housing offer from the state government.

Unfazed, Muniandy said this will not deter him. "No matter what, I still want my land," he added when contacted.

While, Dharmaraja, 42, said even his death will not stop his family from pursuing their dream.

Broken promises?

Following their eviction, the squatters were promised land in Matang Pagar, also located in Sungai Buloh, to build their own houses. But this never materialised.

In 1996, they discovered that the land promised to them was being cleared by a developer to build low-cost houses to be sold to the squatters at RM17,000 per unit.

When they registered their protest with then menteri besar Abu Hassan Omar, they were told that those who wanted land would still get it while the rest could opt for the houses.

But the housing project came to a standstill and residents were left in the lurch for years.

In 2000, they discovered that state-owned Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) had begun constructing low-cost houses on the same site.

Desperate and tired of the long wait, most of them agreed to purchase the houses, this time priced at RM28,000 per unit.

However, 72 of them remained resolute in their demand for land and filed a claim against the state government, Selangor land and mines office director and the administrator of the Gombak land and mines office. The case is still pending.

Subsequently, current Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo made it crystal clear that allocating land was 'impossible'.

One-month ultimatum

Yesterday, residents who had opted for the houses were elated to know that the project had been completed

But for Muniandy and Dharmaraja, the prospect of realising their hope to get a plot of land became bleaker after the Gombak district office slapped them with an one-month ultimatum.

"If they fail to take up the (housing) offer within a month from Jan 19, the Gombak land office will assume that they have rejected the offer.

"The government had asked them to make their choice - either to take the house or get the land without any basic amenities and with big rocks around. The decision is in their hands," Gombak district officer Tarmedi Omar told Bernama.

Even this has failed to unnerve Muniandy and Dharmaraja.

"We would have taken the house by now if we really wanted it. We did not have to wait for nearly 15 years and now say we want the houses," said Muniandy.

He conceded that some of those who had been part of the struggle had changed their minds after seeing the completed houses.

"I know some of them have 'run' over there. I cannot do anything. We cannot force them to stay. It's their choice. But I will wait," he stressed.

Muniandy, who is suffering from a heart disease, believed that he will find justice in court.

"I will wait for the court's decision. We would not give up. Don't you think it's embarrassing that you could give up something that you have insisted for so long? I don't want to embarrass our lawyer too," he added.

'We were cheated'

As for Dharmaraja, come hell or highwater, there is no turning back.

"I wont change my mind. I am sad I have been waiting for so many years. Let it be 10 or five people left in the group, I still want to wait (for the land). I told my eldest son that even after I have died, you must continue to get the land for our family.

"They (the government) had promised (the land).We were cheated," said the machine operator who has five children aged between seven and 14.

In a related development, non-governmental organisation Persatuan Masyarakat and Wilayah Persekutuan (Permas) advisor James Lee criticised the state government.

"They argue that the land was full of rocks hence there was no point in giving it to the squatters. If this was the case, why did they build houses on this land?

"The case in still pending in court. How can the houses be built. This is contempt of court. Or are they (the state government) above the law? asked the activist who has been assisting the squatters since the onset of their struggle.

Tarmedi could not be reached for further comment.