Delay In Grounds Of Judgment Hindering Degazettement Bid At Apex Court Say Ngos

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Representatives from the Shah Alam Community Forest Society and Khazanah Alam Malaysia with their lawyers at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.
PETALING JAYA: Two NGOs seeking to challenge the degazettement of Bukit Cherakah as a forest reserve have questioned the Court of Appeal’s delay in issuing its grounds of judgment, saying this has hindered the scheduling of their case at the Federal Court.
In a statement, the Shah Alam Community Forest Society and Khazanah Alam Malaysia said that despite numerous reminders and follow-ups by its legal team, including a formal letter to Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, the grounds of judgment had yet to be released after more than a year.
“This unusually prolonged delay raises serious concerns about the transparency and efficiency of the judicial process in matters of public interest,” they said.
“The pursuit of justice… is being obstructed by the delay in the release of the grounds of judgment by the Court of Appeal. Without it, we are unable to obtain a hearing date for our Federal Court appeal.”
The NGOs urged the Court of Appeal bench presided over by judges Azizah Nawawi, Azimah Omar, and Wong Kian Kheong to expedite the issuance of the grounds of judgment to facilitate the course of justice.
The case centres on the Selangor government’s decision to backdate the degazettement of the Bukit Cherakah forest reserve by 22 years.
In 2022, the Shah Alam High Court dismissed the NGOs’ application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings over the state government’s decision to degazette the 406.22ha site.
The gazette was published on May 5, 2022, some 22 years after the decision was made in 2000.
The NGOs contended that the Selangor government had acted illegally in backdating the impugned gazette.
In January 2024, the Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court ruling, giving rise to the present appeal at the Federal Court.
The NGOs were granted leave to appeal at the Federal Court last September, a decision which they said affirmed the legitimacy and importance of their case. - FMT

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