About 500 disgruntled individuals from 15 villages in the Klang Valley held a peaceful demonstration outside Parliament today to protest eviction from their homes by local authorities.

Organised by rights group Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), the 90-minute demonstration saw protesters brandishing placards denouncing the authorities and chanting slogans demanding rights to housing.

Jerit spokesperson A Sivarajan ( right ) told reporters that the majority of the villagers had been evicted although alternative housing promised to them were not ready.

In some cases, villagers were forced to camp out where their former houses once stood, as they had no where to go.

He added that in most cases, villagers were unable to buy the land as they had fallen in the hands of private owners, although the villages were established since the British colonial era.

"The government have been building roads and providing electricity to the residents - this showed that the government recognised them as Malaysian citizens, hence the state government should not treat them (the residents) unfairly," he said.

Cold shoulder

Towards the end of the protest, BN Backbenchers Club (BBC) acting chair Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (Larut) received a memorandum detailing the villagers' plight.

Other BBC members present included Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin), Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu) and Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading).

Addressing the crowd later, several Jerit leaders lamented that the ministers were unable to meet them while the BBC representatives showed little interest in their grouses.

The meeting between the BBC. Jerit representatives and the villagers lasted only two minutes, following which all four parliamentarians were heard asking the villagers to 'go home' after receiving the memorandum.

The memorandum was addressed to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Among the demands made by the 15 village representatives who signed the memorandum were:

Hold discussions with villagers facing forced eviction.

Retain pioneer settlements; or

Prepare suitable low-cost housing and not evict villagers until the houses are ready

Used by politicians

Meanwhile, Kampung Papan, Klang representative Ang Mah Chye (left) told reporters that the residents had paid for a temporary occupation license (TOL) through a former local MCA politician, but to no avail.

"Hence, we have been waiting for the grant which have been promised by him, but yet there is no response, and now the state government is demolishing the villages," he said.

The grants were part of a 1995 general election promise, which MCA scored a huge win in the Pandamaran state constituency where the village is located.

The Selangor state government started demolition works in 2004. Only 120 of 522 houses are left standing and are under threat from the on-going demolition.

Ang claimed that RM7,000 were paid as compensation while efforts to air grouses to Housing and Local Government Minister and MCA president Ong Ka Ting were futile.