Orang Asli villagers get injunction to stop trespass of ancestral land

 

Lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan (left) and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal (right) with plaintiff Ahak Uda holding a copy of the statement of claim.

PETALING JAYA: Three Orang Asli villagers from Gua Musang who filed a suit against the Kelantan government and 13 others over encroachment into their ancestral land last week today obtained an injunction to stop all work on their land with immediate effect.

Kota Bharu High Court judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh granted the injunction today, lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan told FMT.

“With the granting of the ex parte injunction, no work should be carried out pending disposal of the inter parte hearing on April 7,” he said.

On March 11, villagers Ahak Uda, 54, Aziz Angah, 33, and Anjang Uda, 30, filed a suit on behalf of 200-odd villagers in Kg Kelaik, Gua Musang.

They claim that their ancestral land had been used for logging, planting of oil palm, rubber trees and mining of ores, and that these activities had affected their livelihood and ability to seek sustenance.

They also claimed a river that they sourced for food had been muddied due to pollution from the earthworks in the area, affecting water and fish supply.

Rajesh said the High Court will also have an inter partes hearing from the 14 defendants on their objections against the injunction.

He said the court allowed the injunction based on six points raised by the plaintiff.

This includes a stoppage of all logging, mining or farming on the land, which are native customary land of Kg Kelaik; the Kelantan government and the land office to not approve any more further approvals on land-related matters; and, to stop any company from carrying out any encroachment on the said land.

The plaintiffs named Syarikat Perlombongan Gua Musang Sdn Bhd, Redstar Capital Sdn Bhd, Aqua Orion Sdn Bhd, Damai Corporate Services Sdn Bhd, Sindiyan Sdn Bhd, and Sindiyan Agro Park Sdn Bhd as the first to sixth defendants, respectively.

Ladang Kelantan Sdn Bhd, Ikrar Bumi Sdn Bhd, Ladang Ulu Nenggiri Sdn Bhd, Iliasco Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd, Kelantan Lands and Mines Department, Kelantan Forestry Department, Orang Asli Development Department and the Kelantan state government were named as the seventh to 14th defendants.

In the suit, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the Orang Asli of Kg Kelaik are the rightful owners of the ancestral land. The plaintiffs are Ahak Uda, Aziz Angah and Anjang Uda.

The court will hear the inter partes hearing on April 7. Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal also appeared for the villagers. - FMT