But now she, her three children and her father Ivan TR Lopez face the threat of being evicted, just like the occupants of five other houses in the same village.

Lopez, who works as a clerk at a Catholic church, said her family has been living in the house since 1958 after her grandfather bought the property from one Toh Ah Boon.

She said Toh obtained the land from the Sultan of Johor at that time.

However, last year, a group of five local individuals claimed they had purchased the land on which the six houses have been built and sent a demand for rental, said Lopez.

“We ignored the demand given that they failed to furnish proof that they owned the land,” she told FMT.

FMT is withholding the identity of the five pending a response from them.

In June, the residents received a notice from a lawyer claiming to represent the five, giving them seven days to move out.

“We want to keep our homes. We are the legal owners of the property, not squatters,” Lopez said.

To compound matters for the residents, water meters to their homes have been removed, leaving their taps dry.

They have also been warned that power supply will be terminated by Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

Lopez said they have lodged a report with the police and water concessionaire Ranhill SAJ but have yet to hear from them.

Their MP Akmal Nasir has also not responded to their request for help.

Another resident, Victor Lim, said many of the residents were elderly and ill and the water cut has made things worse for them.

“We now rely on the good graces of kind Samaritans and a Hindu temple nearby,” he told FMT.

However, the residents are not giving up so easily. They plan to take their case to court in a last-ditch effort to save their homes.