Johor Govt Fails To Strike Out Orang Asli S Suit Over Land Compensation

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Lawyer Tan Poh Lai with some of the plaintiffs outside the Johor Bahru High Court at an earlier hearing. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: The Johor government today failed to strike out a judicial review application filed by a group of Orang Asli from the Selatar tribe to compel the state to compensate them for acquiring their ancestral land about 25 years ago
High Court judge See Mee Chun said the striking out application was procedurally flawed
See allowed the Orang Seletar’s application to include the Johor Baru district land administrator, the Johor Baru City Council and the Orang Asli Development Department as respondents
He fixed Feb 25 to hear the judicial review application in which the 51 plaintiffs are seeking a court order for the land administrator to determine the quantum of compensation
Lawyer Gregory Das, who appeared with Tan Poh Lai, said the plaintiffs had obtained leave for the judicial review application last year
In 2010, the High Court ruled for the plaintiffs and ordered the state to compensate them for acquiring their land for development purposes
The Orang Asli were relocated from the original village in Stulang Laut to Kampung Orang Asli Kuala Masai
Meanwhile, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, who was present in court, hoped that Johor Menteri Besar Dr Sahruddin Jamal would take immediate action to resolve the compensation issue
“The order was issued in 2010 but the old (Barisan Nasional) government failed to comply with it, so the new (Pakatan Harapan) administration should be positive and respect the law
“I hope this matter can be resolved immediately even before the court proceedings begin in February,” he said. - FMT

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