Merdeka Celebrations at LangatJaya

MAPARBEMPCO

During the 1970's, a land dispute between First Southern Land and the residents of Barangay Mapantig occurred. First Southern Land occupied all available tracts of land to the consternation of the residents of the area. People were driven away from their farms and some were even taken to court and imprisoned. Upon facing serious resistance from the company, the villagers gave up and some even moved to different locales in order to survive when the land was taken from them. When the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform programme was implemented during the presidency of Corazon Aquino, the villagers saw an opportunity arising to get back their land. However, the company applied for a deferment of 10 years which delayed further the implementation of the land reform programme. Finally in 1998, the Department of Agriculture decreed that the land being occupied by the Kenram Estate (the name of the plantation) would be subjected to agrarian reform. The residents who w...

Day 2: Manila (Katipunan)

Well, Day 1 was sleep, eat and find more edibles. Curry withdrawal syndrome has led to a voracious appetite for all sorts of contraband. Seafood pancit which some gooey noodles. I made a lousy choice and ended up with something I will NEVER try again. Day 2 was super optimistic and lived up to its promise. Met the wonderful Miss Shyl Sales who is effiencient and resourceful, administrative wonder at IPC. I will be taking her for coffee later. She was kind enough to show me a directory of all the work which has been produced by the Institute of Philippines Culture (Ateneo de Manila University). The researchers there are so prolific and do such seminal work. I managed to pick up a great book by Jeanne Frances I.Illo & Cecile C. Uy "Members But Not Leaders - Finding a Niche for Women in Cooperatives". Met the director the amazing Dr. Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu - powerhouse of brilliance and very approachable. She was surprised to know that oil palm plantations existed in ...

Getting organized for Merdeka

D-Day: 30 August, residents of Taman Langat Jaya are geared up for a semi-spontaneous Merdeka celebration, as it is the culmination of the annual community sports day. The event is going to be held on the field adjacent to the community hall in Taman Langat Jaya . The spirit of Merdeka is already apparent among the residents as cars are being decorated with mini Malaysian flags. We have had lots of help with our preparations. In fact, the Kuala Langat Local District Council has graciously provided us with tents, p.a system and technical assistance; not forgetting the 9 hampers of goodies for winners of the community sports events. Parlimentarian , Y.B Tuan Abdullah Sani Bin Abdul Hamid will be gracing the event, which will start at the stroke of midnight with declarations of MERDEKA ! Malaysian flags will be distributed to the children of the area as well as bags of sweets. The decorations are already underway as the excitement builds up. More pictures of the preparations ...

Unseen Faces, Unheard Voices

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