Cement company wins appeal to evict century-old Perak monastery

Monks and devotees in the Dhamma Sakyamuni Caves Monastery which is said to have occupied the cave in Gunung Kanthan, Perak, for more than 100 years. (Dhamma Sakyamuni Caves Monastery pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Cement manufacturer Associated Pan Malaysia Cement (APMC) has won an appeal to evict a century-old Buddhist monastery located on land in Gunung Kanthan, Perak.

A three-member bench of the Court of Appeal said the monastery had failed to raise any triable issue to prevent the grant of order.

The bench, comprising Justices Azizah Nawawi, See Mee Chun and Zaini Mazlan, later also rejected an application by the monastery for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Federal Court.

In the appeal heard online earlier this week, the bench accepted the company’s argument that as registered owners they were entitled to succeed in a summary application for possession.

The case had begun in January last year when the company sought a High Court order in Ipoh for the eviction of all squatters from Lot No. 46497 in Hulu Kinta where Gunung Kanthan is located.

Gunung Kanthan is one of the last 12 remaining limestone hills in the Kinta Valley National Geopark which is home to some endangered species of flora and fauna like the bent-toed geckos, snow-white orchids and tiny snails.

About 80% of the hill has already been cleared for quarries.

APMC said in its application that it had leased a 146.4-hectare plot of land from the state for quarrying.

Monks of the Dhamma Sakyamuni Caves Monastery with members of their legal team. (Kinta Valley Sakyamuni Caves Monastery Facebook pic)

However, the monastery’s management contested the application, contending that the company could only occupy a small portion of the land as the monastery’s monks have resided and occupied the area for more than 100 years.

They also asked for the application to be dismissed as the company had suppressed material evidence in their application by not disclosing to the court the fact that the land was occupied by the monastery.

The company’s application was dismissed in October last year by judicial commissioner Bhupindar Singh. He said the monastery had demonstrated that they were not squatters and had a strong arguable defence to the eviction.

He also said there were triable issues as to whether they had occupied the land with the acquiescence of the company and state authorities.

The Court of Appeal overturned his judgment.

Nahendran Navaratnam appeared for APMC while Chan Kok Keong represented the monastery. - FMT