HULU SELANGOR, April 20 (Bernama) -- After a 15-year wait, former settlers of the Sungai Buaya Felda scheme heaved a sigh of relief over an announcement that the Sungai Buaya tiered interchange will finally be built next year.
The project will be a catalyst to the development Bandar Baru Sungai Buaya - what was previously the Sungai Buaya Felda scheme.
To the former settlers, it would mean the developer, who acquired the land from them, would be able to repay the balance of their compensation which was long overdue.
The 1,240ha area is being developed by a company which look after the settlers' interest, Murna Jaya Development Sdn Bhd, since 1994.
"We are suffering for so long... our money have turned into ash," said Jamaji Mohamed, 65, who was among 363 pioneer settlers of the Sungai Buaya Felda scheme which was opened in 1964 before it was acquired for development in mid 1990s.
The Sungai Buaya tiered interchange, which will provide access to more than 100,000 users in the development areas of Sungai Buaya, Sungai Choh, Serendah and north Rawang, is expected to be built in the first quarter of 2011.
Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the joint project between the concession company, Lebuhraya Utara Selatan (Plus), and the ministry took some time before it could be implemented as it involved the process of land acquisition.
The tiered interchange that would be erected at the KM436 North-South Expressway between the Rawang Tiered Interchange (KM444) and the Bukit Beruntung Tiered Interchange (KM428), is expected to cost RM90 million, which would be borne by PLUS, excluding the cost of land acquisition.
Jamaji said the settlers were each promised RM1 million in compensation or a house but to date they only received RM270,000 in installments.
"We are claiming our rights," said Jamaji when met at a coffee shop in Bandar Baru Sungai Buaya near Kuala Kubu Baru here on Tuesday.
Fish trader Khairul Mohd Ahya, 49, who is a second-generation Felda settler, said the settlers were not embroiled in the political issues raised by the opposition in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election campaign.
"What is important, we want a candidate who can help us get the balance of our compensation," he said, adding that he sued Murna Jaya in 2002 for not paying the balance of the compensation.
The 1997 economic downturn was said to have affected Murna Jaya's cash flow.
"The court said wait until the land can be sold. If an interchange is built, maybe the land can be sold. So we want all quarters, including the state government, to facilitate the construction of the interchange so that it can be built quickly," added Khairul.
Until 1995, Hulu Selangor had five Felda schemes in Sungai Buaya, Soeharto, Gedangsa, Sungai Tengi and Sungai Tengi Selatan.
The settlers left the schemes for 10 years before returning to toil the land again except for Sungai Buaya Felda settlers, who still have high hopes of getting the rest of their compensation.
In the meantime, most of them are eking out a living with some forced to do menial jobs like taxi drivers.
With Barisan Nasional and opposition leaders descending on Hulu Selangor in droves in the run-up to the by-election over the weekend, the settlers are making their voices heard again.
-- BERNAMA
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