FOR 13 years, more than 400 factory owners in Taman Industri Subang faithfully paid quit rent to the developer for the area. To their shock recently, the RM4mil was never forwarded to the Petaling District Land Office.  

To add salt to the wound, the factory owners also discovered that the amount was three times more than the regular quit rent charged for light industry lots in the area. 

The issue came to light when some of the owners submitted plans to Subang Jaya Municipal Council to seek approval for additional construction. Instead, the council queried them on why they had not paid quit rent for over a decade. 

Lee urging the factory owners to remain calm during the peaceful protest recently.

Affected factory owners who formed a committee to address the issue staged a peaceful protest on Wednesday at Jalan Subang 5 with the hope of highlighting their plight to the relevant authorities.  

Besides hoping for action to be taken against the developer Ultramine Sdn Bhd, their intention was to also urge the Petaling District Land Office to award them individual land titles. 

They handed copies of over 100 police reports lodged against Ultramine to Subang Jaya state assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng.  

According to committee chairman Ronnie Wong, Ultramine had been collecting quit rent from factory owners since 1993 because the company held the master title.  

“Factory owners who refused to pay were threatened with lawyers' letters and forced to pay penalties,'' he said. 

Wong and other committee members who met with Petaling District officers three months ago were assured that the matter would be looked into. However, it has not been addressed to date. 

Besides the quit rent issue, factory owners were also annoyed with the developer for building sub-standard lots. They said some of the lots were uneven due to soil settlement because Taman Industri Subang was formerly a mining pond.  

Factory owner Fahzan Ahmad said improper drainage posed a problem and contributed to floods while Krishnan Murthy said the clogged drains posed a health hazard. 

Attempts to get comments from Ultramine, based in Dataran Prima, Subang, were futile.