Couple moving over to Spain
The Star 05/08/2005

MALACCA: Disillusioned over a land dispute involving their beachfront house, a couple who came here in 2002 under the “Malaysia, My Second Home” programme have decided to leave for Spain.

Rajandren Annamalai, 54, his British wife Martina, 36, and two children will call it quits on Aug 10.

“Although I have many friends here and enjoy living here, we have lost our privacy and suffered almost one year of harassment,” said Malacca-born Rajandren, who has taken up British citizenship.

It was reported earlier that the Malacca Government had stepped in to resolve the dispute over a piece of land adjacent to the couple's RM5mil bungalow which the husband and wife claim they have a lease for.

Rajandren had said that he received an offer for a 30-year lease on that land for RM350,000 last November, but turned it down as he was already holding a lease on the land.


UPSET: Rajandren and Martina, who moved to Malacca in 2002, claim that the land dispute has cost them their privacy. However, they will still keep their ‘holiday home’.
However, two people claimed that they owned the land, which was converted from leasehold land to Malay Customary Land on Jan 15.

The case was highlighted in the press after workers chopped down several giant old trees there and started clearing the land.

A cement wall was also built, cutting off the family's access to the sea.

“People can look in on us from the site and this is harassment,” said Rajandren.

However, Rajandren said he did not intend to sell his house, saying that he would treat it as a “holiday home.”

Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, when contacted, said he had instructed the Malacca City Council to acquire the land and turn it into an open space.

“We have to compensate the two landowners.

“We have done our best for Rajandren, and I welcome him to return anytime if he wants to,” the chief minister added.