Kg Medan: Being victims and social outcasts

A bloody racial incident started in Kampung Medan and the surrounding squatter areas in Petaling Jaya Selatan on March 8, 2001.

After almost 15 days of attacks on the local Indian squatters, the final result was this - six killed and more than 200 seriously hurt. Of the dead, four were local Indians, one Indian citizen and one Indonesian.

Talk to the affected people/victims and they will say they were attacked by the Malays. The cause of the incident is still unknown.

Many theories have been proposed since then as to why the attacks took place - from accusing the ruling party to a grand campaign by property developers to get rid of the squatter areas to local tiffs between the Malays and Indians getting out of hand.

To date, no conclusive reason has been found, with the government preferring to let the matter rest. Local level politicians too are only keen to forget and move on.

However for the affected victims, the wounds and fears are still fresh, despite the squatter settlements in the area having a new landscape - gone are many of the squatter houses and slums, replaced with low-cost flats and apartments.

I did a two-part series on the incident which was carried in malaysiakini yesterday and today.

Read them here and here for a complete picture of what’s been happening in that area six years on.