KAMPAR: Three siblings are seeking payment from the Perak government, claiming that their late father's land in Labu Kubong, Hilir Perak, has been turned into an irrigation system by the state Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID).
Speaking on behalf of his siblings, Mohamad Rohaizas Azhar claimed that the DID had encroached into the 1.1ha piece of land about a decade ago and turned it into the irrigation system that is part of a flood mitigation solution in the area.
The 45-year-old oil palm estate operator said his family had found out about the matter after a survey was conducted by Felcra Berhad in 2014.
"My late father's land, which he owned since 1986, was handed over to Felcra as part of an oil palm plantation project. In return, he would receive earnings once every three to four months.
"In 2014, Felcra informed us that they would like to do another plantation project on the land but found that most of the land had been turned into a canal," he said when met at his home here recently.
"Felcra said they would check with the land office and also the DID on the matter," he said, adding that his father Azhar Yunos, 76, passed away in September 2021.
"My father was informed in 2015 that his name would be removed from Felcra's new plantation project because the land was no longer suitable for any agriculture activities," he added.
Mohamad Rohaizas said they had also written to the DID in 2017 to get clarification on the matter.
"The DID claimed that the irrigation system had existed in the 1980s and there was no encroachment issue.
"We wrote to DID again to resolve the issue, but there was no further feedback from them," he said, adding that his late father had suffered due to the loss of revenue from Felcra.
Mohamad Rohaizas said they retained a lawyer in 2018 to take legal actions against the state DID director, the Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister and the federal government.
He said the High Court judge had urged them to withdraw the case in April and to settle the matter amicably with the government.
"The judge had asked us not to close the canal, fearing that the area there would be inundated. We are not heartless, sympathised with the villagers, and decided to drop the case, as we just want to resolve this predicament.
"We've requested an undertaking letter from the government to resolve the matter between six and 12 months, or we will have to take the matter back to the court," he said.
"My family has also received a letter from the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry indicating that approval had been granted to compensate us for the land, but we have yet to receive it," he added.
Mohamad Rohaizas said his family had already spent RM30,000 in the legal fees over the course of the case.
"We've been told that as the land has already been turned into a canal, it is hard to evaluate what the land is worth now," he said.
"My family just want to sell the land off and be done with it. We are only questioning why the government is dragging its feet," he added.
When contacted, Perak water committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said that the matter was not under the DID but the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry's irrigation and drainage unit.
Meanwhile, state rural development, plantation, agriculture, and food industry committee chairman Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun said he would need to get clarification from the DID on the matter.
"The state government is prepared to work together and to help resolve this issue," he added.
