Help Fund Orang Asli In Suit To Save Their Land Public Urged

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Orang Asli protesting logging activities in Gua Musang, Kelantan. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: Three Orang Asli villagers from Gua Musang who are suing the Kelantan government and 13 others over encroachment into their ancestral land are facing another new problem – they are running out of funds to pay for the cost of filing the case.
Two NGOs – rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) and the Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (PEKA) – are now seeking funds to pay for the filing although two lawyers are helping the villagers on a pro bono basis.
“We are appealing for help from the public. Our funds are not limitless,” the NGOs said.
The villagers are seeking a declaration that the Orang Asli of Kampung Kelaik are the rightful owners of the ancestral land. The villagers, Ahak Uda, 54, Aziz Angah, 33, and Anjang Uda, 30, were granted an injunction on March 18.
Recently, the High Court in Kota Bharu granted an interim stay until April 25, their lawyers Sachpreetraj Singh and Rajesh Nagarajan told FMT.
Sachpreetraj hoped the High Court would extend the injunction so that no further work could be carried out on their land, including the felling of trees.
The villagers had 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.
Ladang Kelantan Sdn Bhd, Ikrar Bumi Sdn Bhd, Ladang Ulu Nenggiri Sdn Bhd, Iliasco Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd, Kelantan Land and Mines Department, Kelantan Forestry Department, Orang Asli Development Department and the Kelantan state government were named as the seventh to 14th defendants. - FMT

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