I read with frustration the views by Mitra officers in Malaysiakini and would like to add on the plight of three generations of plantation workers.
On 13th August, hundreds of plantation workers gathered at Parliament urging the government to enact a sunset law that would legally compel plantation owners including government-linked companies (GLCs) like Sime Darby to build adequate housing for local plantation workers. This practical solution could permanently resolve the housing crisis for these communities. With only an estimated 25,000 local workers still employed in plantations, providing housing is feasible and aligned with PM Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani framework.
Yet, what followed was a display of governmental disarray and performative politics.
At our Parliament gathering, former Human Resources Minister and current Deputy Law Minister YB Kula Segaran mentioned about a RM50 million allocation for plantation workers houses. Inside Parliament, YB Ganabatirau questioned YB Sim Chee Keong the current HR Minister about the status of that fund. It is revealing that all these MPs are from the same party DAP yet seem unaware of how the funds are being managed or implemented. Another DAP MP, Rayer, had previously claimed there was enough allocation to help Indians on housing, further highlighting the gap between rhetoric and reality.
The truth is, these schemes are failing because they are designed without engaging with the activist, Unions and the plantation people they claim to help. I was told that the RM50 million fund intended to “help plantation workers build houses” is useless for most plantation workers because plantation workers do not own land. They live on estate land owned by plantation companies.
So all those workers being made homeless or evicted from plantation cannot seek this money because they simply don’t have land for the houses to be build.
Then, there is also the Skim Khas Pembiayaan Rumah Pekerja Estate (SKRE) managed by Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), with another RM50 million allocation. Is this the same RM50 million or a new one? No one knows. What we do know is that scheme is also a failure.
While there is no real data, but our feedback from Labour Department Officers(JTK) is that the application rate is low and the rejection rate is high. Most plantation workers don’t seem to qualify for these schemes. Besides the scheme is limited to houses priced below RM150,000, while “affordable housing” in Selangor now costs RM250,000. WE have also tried to help plantation workers who were facing eviction and yet they were also rejected and the reason was not told to them.
We are currently assisting 8 families from Bukit Rajah Estate who were denied housing because they couldn’t secure bank loans. The estate ceased operation in 2008 and 82 workers were offered houses for RM160 000. Finally workers moved to their own houses in 2016 but 8 families were denied housing because they couldn’t secure a loan. The houses allocated to them has been sold to others. They continue to fight for houses but how come both these 50 million schemes were not ble to assist them? Both YB Sivarasa and YB Ganabatirau who assisted them before could have resolved their problems. These workers should be considered the poorest of the lot because they could not even secure a loan. This is the cruel irony: the neediest—those too poor to qualify for loans—are excluded from government aid meant for them.
Now, the Prime Minister has announced another RM10 million for minor repairs and maintenance of houses for B40 Indian plantation workers. But this is senseless and misses the point: under the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446), it is the legal responsibility of plantation owners, not the government to maintain and repair workers’ housing. Why is public money being used to subsidize private companies that are failing their legal duties?
In last one week, a form is now circulating among plantation workers and we were told that the Government intend to offer RM1,000 in cash aid per head of family in plantation.
While cash support for the B40 is welcome, this has created others issues among the closely knitted plantation workers as these assistance is only from Malaysian Indian workers leaving out Malay workers who also live and work alongside their Indian peers. They are now feeling marginalized. This is a divisive move that undermines solidarity. We now hope Malay workers will also get similar cash aid and again which source will be an issue, since these allocation are only for indian workers
A Permanent Solution Is Needed
Instead of scattering small funds across multiple poorly designed schemes, the government should
- Enact a sunset law: Legally compel plantation owners to build houses for workers within a clear timeline.
- Review loan schemes: Make funding accessible to the poorest workers who cannot qualify under current bank requirements and work with activist to develop a scheme which will really help the workers facing these problems. .
- Have a clear upliftment scheme for the plantation workers irrespective of race and this was also the goal of the NEP in 1970 and the failed house ownership scheme of Tun Abdul Razak
The government must stop throwing money at the problem and start listening to the communities living through it. Only then can we achieve justice for plantation workers.
S.Arutchelvan
Deputy Chairperson
Parti Sosialis Malaysia
&
Coordinator
Jawatankuasa Sokongan Masyarakat Ladang
7 September 2025