The Kuantan High Court today granted the Raub durian farmers group an interim stay order against the Pahang state government with regard to the land legalisation scheme to reclaim their farmland.
The order was granted pending the hearing of an application for a judicial review of the state government's decision to award the lease and usage rights of 5,357 acres (2,168 ha) of land to RPDR-PKPP. The matter will be heard before the High Court on Oct 28.
This means the farmers can temporarily resume operations without interference from the state authorities for two months.
RPDR-PKPP is a joint venture between state statutory body Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Negeri Pahang (PKPP) and the royalty-linked private firm Royal Pahang Durian Resources (RPDR).
Lawyer Siew Choon Jern, who represented the farmers' group known as the “Save Musang King Alliance” (Samka), said they filed the application for leave and interim stay order on Aug 21.
He said the court was scheduled to decide today if leave would be granted for the judicial review application but the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) requested for more time to scrutinise the relevant documents.
However, Siew said the AGC did not object to the granting of an interim stay order.
“Therefore, the state authorities cannot take action against the farmers for two months from now,” he added.
DAP Tras assemblyperson Chow Yu Hui and Bilut assemblyperson Lee Chin Chen were also present in court.
Chow said 111 durian farmers had named the Raub District Land Office, Forestry Department, Pahang government as well as PKPP and RPDR as the respondents.
When contacted by Malaysiakini, the RPDR group declined further comment as the matter involved the state government.
In a statement later, Samka said the application was filed to protect the hard work of the farmers to cultivate their land for several decades.
The alliance described the interim stay order as a “small victory”.
“Durian farmers hope that the judicial review against the state government and big corporation will ensure justice for them.
“The stay order is a small victory for the farmers, who have shown solidarity and courage against oppression,” it added.
RPDR along with its sister company Royal Pahang Durian Produce (RPDP) are part of the Royal Pahang Durian Group, which is linked to the state's royal family.
The companies became embroiled in a land dispute with the unlicensed durian farmers in Raub as it sought to implement the state government’s land legalisation scheme.
Under the scheme, the illegally occupied land would be leased to RPDP-PKPP. In turn, existing durian farmers are offered a sublease of the land to continue farming instead of being evicted.
However, the farmers claimed that the contract they were offered included exorbitant levy prices, having to apply for a permit to enter their farms, not being permitted to trade freely, not being permitted to share their harvests and possibly being forced to make reparations if they choose to stop farming.
In turn, the Royal Pahang Durian Group had denied the accusations of initiating exploitative agreements with the Musang King durian farmers in an interview with Malay Mail.
It stressed that RPDR-PKPP had been awarded the lease and rights to the land in Raub for "30 plus 30" years and claimed that 30 percent of the land was being encroached. - Mkini
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