About 70 villagers in Kedah who claimed that they have been living without piped water, electricity and phone lines for more than 50 years, have been assured that Menteri Besar Syed Razak Syed Zain will look into their plight.

It is learnt that in a meeting with the villagers' representatives, Syed Razak's political secretary Abdul Wahab Din had said that the villagers from Kampung Sungai Getah Dua, Bedong,will be able to meet the Menteri Besar.

However, the date of appointment will only be set after discussion with Syed Razak.

This was revealed in the minutes of the meeting prepared by the villagers and faxed to malaysiakini by Ganesh Rasagam, a representative of the Estate Workers Support Committee.

The villagers claimed that they could not get basic amenities because one of the three landowners, S Govindan, had allegedly refused to allow any utility companies to install their facilities on what he claims is his land.

Broken promises

In the meeting with Abdul Wahab, the villagers also submitted a memorandum which carries the signatures of 31 villagers.

In it, they said they had visited the Menteri Besar's office three times since May 1998 and met with the office's various representatives on the matter but to no avail.

Among others, they claimed that their state assembly representative V Saravanan, who is also the Kedah MIC chief, has failed to take action although the state executive council meeting has twice discussed the villagers' plight in August 1999.

Apparently, Govindan was then instructed to meet the state legal adviser so that a contract can be prepared between him and the villagers. However, Saravanan allegedly told the legal adviser later that the problem had already been settled.

The villagers also claimed that during the 1999 general elections campaign, Saravanan promised them that he will settle their problems in three months, but two years later, only Govindan's house which is also situated in the area is supplied with electricity.

The villagers said they brought their plight to various people including Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Works Minister S Samy Vellu as well as former Kedah Menteris Besar since 1990, but found no improvement to their situation.